Jun 18, 2009
The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible
Author: A.J. Jacobs
Pages: 416
Year Published: 2007
I’ve had this book on my list for a while, having discovered it from Heliologue’s blog a while back. Since religion, despite my own absence thereof, holds a certain level of interest for me, the subject caught my eye. Could someone attempt to follow the Old Testament as literally as possible and not wind up in Bellevue within forty-eight hours?
Author A.J. Jacobs attempts to find out. At the beginning of the book, he’s a non-practicing Jew, fully ensconced in the secular world. Jacobs even writes in the book, “I’m officially Jewish, but I’m Jewish in the same way the Olive Garden is an Italian restaurant.” Nice line. Fresh off his attempt to read the entire Encyclopedia Brittanica within a year, he’s itching for another project in which to throw himself. (Jacobs seems to be a milder, far less funny version of the gonzo journalist, but Hunter S. Thompson would have at least recognized another soul experimenting on themselves in the name of a good story.) He resolves to adhere, as closely as possible, to the rules in the Bible to their literal meaning and not just the Ten Commandments, oh no. Those are for amateurs.
At one point, he counts up over 3,000 different Biblical rules, presumably handed down by God, to govern His follower’s behavior. That’s just in the Old Testament alone. Some of them you might have heard – the prohibition against planting two crops side by side, or wearing garments made of two different threads. You’re supposed to stone adulterers on sight and never, ever chow down on a bag of boiled crawfish. Some, on the other hand, are so esoteric and eccentric, one would have to be a Jewish scholar to dig them up. such as the commandment to always wear white.
Along the way, Jacobs decides to investigate religious fundamentalism as well, paying visits to an Amish community, a Creationist museum, and even inviting a Jehovah’s Witness for a very long conversation. Of course, the irony is that while investigating fundamentalism, Jacobs is attempting to become a fundamentalist himself. Some of the outcomes from these meetings are exactly what you’d expect, some are not at all.
In the end though, the Jacobs that emerges is not the Jacobs that started the journey. As the old Nietzsche quote says, “if you look into the abyss, the abyss looks into you.” In fact, Jacobs is warned by several people of that very thing.
The Year of Living Biblically is a nice read, and certainly a very novel concept. While I remain skeptical about just how much Jacobs might have been moved by such a feat (not to mention the presumed religious requirement), its accomplishment is a wonder in itself.
-K
I thought about picking this one up myself. I was raised in pretty secular household, but what little I know about the Bible indicates to me that it should never, ever be used as a manual for modern living. It amazes me that some people even try.
I think you’ll definitely enjoy the parts of the book where he explores the rules less as an act of divine will, but more of a ritual of discipline that may very well have helped the Israelites succeed in a fairly inhospitable land.
I’d also be very interested to hear the impressions from someone with no “religious” background. I’m afraid all those years of Catholic school have probably warped mine, despite my wish to exorcise myself of them.
-K
As a person warped by Catholic School (or Hebrew School, for that matter) you’re in a very non-elite group.
Have you read any of the books by the more prominent atheists (Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, et al.)?
The God Delusion is sitting on my Kindle, waiting to become the next read.
-K
It’s a good book, although perhaps a little too science-centric. Of all of those guys, I think Sam Harris is probably the most lucid arguer. It’s great to get that side of things from time to time since we live in a culture where nearly everyone claims to believe in God. I tend to lean more toward agnosticism myself since it’s impossible to arrive at a definitive answer without dying. Which I am unwilling to do to settle a petty spiritual debate.
Or at all for that matter.
Which Sam Harris book would you recommend?
-K
“Letter to a Christian Nation”.
In the queue. Letter seems to be cast as a reaction to The End of Faith. Is there any reason I shouldn’t read the latter first?
-K
I thought “Faith” was good too, although it devolves into offering alternatives to Christianity toward the end. If memory serves, you needn’t read “Faith” first, but you’d probably enjoy it too.