The Year of Living Biblically

I have to share with you 2 books that seem wonderfully weird and therefore worth a looksey. My friend Beth picked up The Year of Living Biblically: A Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible at our local Barnes and Noble. She brought it to our Sunday school class where we tend to choose books that are not necessarily main stream Christian reads. In fact our next book is The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief.

Jacobs also wrote The Know-It-All: One Mans Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World. the writer shares the year he spent reading all 32 volumes of the 2002 edition—that's 33,000 pages with some 44 million words. To test his smarts he intermittently goes to Mensa group gatherings and Chess Club meetings... and shares some really random and fascinating stuff he learns from those tomes.

Both books look very entertaining. Beth said that The Year of Living Biblically was in no way offensive. Of course, that is probably up to the reader. During this year he travels a bit to meet up with other literalists of the Bible including Samaritans in Israel, snake handlers in Appalachia, Amish in Lancaster County, Pa., and biblical creationists in Kentucky. There is a picture of him at the end of the year with a beard that someone said was as impressive as any seen in Lord of the Rings. haha One thing Beth shared from the books was that Jacobs, the author, had to make some interpretation of the content... like when it said "be fruitful and multiply" he didn't think the Bible meant he should eat a lot of apples and do math problems. Because sure, if you are gonna try to follow the Bible "literally" you may have some real challenged ahead or find yourself doing some pretty inane things.

Do you remember Amelia Bedelia books. I always remember the list of chores she was left to do which included "drawing the curtains when the sun shines in" and so she sat down with paper and pen in hand and sketched those drapes. And omgoodness, when she trimmed the fat on the roast... haha, it was all prettily sitting in the refrigerator with bows all over it. I can not remember all the things on that list but she did them all literally and what a mess she made of it but I thought she was just clever as all get out.

Well I am up for a little zaniness in my life, a good read and some old time religion. I am gonna get me to Amazon and order me a copy... when it goes paperback.