What the Good Book Didn't Say:

I guess the main insight of this fine book is this: If people actually READ the Bible, there would be a lot fewer misunderstandings about it. The book looks at the 100 most common miscenceptions and debunks each one. Some of them are fairly trivial, but interesting, such as the belief that the forbidden fruit in Eden was an apple. (The Bible doesn't say what it was.) But some are pretty important, such as the common belief that "Thou shalt not kill" prohibits capital punishment and war. (Most newer translations, as the book explains, are more correct in using "murder" instead of "kill.") The book even tackles the common belief that the Bible is anti-environment. Some of the chapters are short, barely a page, and on the whole the book is an easy read, even in places where there is some fairly technical data on the meanings of Greek and Hebrew words.

If you think you really know the Bible, you may be wrong--that is what this book is all about. I thought I knew it pretty well, but this book put me in my place, since it appears I was walking around with some serious misconceptions about what the Bible really says. For example, the Bible never says there were three wise men who visited Jesus (it doesn't tell how many), never says Mary Magdalen was a prostitute, that money is the root of all evil, that angels have wings, that all people are God's children, etc. There are 100 misconceptions that this book explodes and debunks, some minor things, others very major misunderstandings. Fortunately, the author has a pleasant, user-friendly style and obviously is trying to enlighten the reader, not make him feel like an idiot (though I did feel that way a few times). I can guarantee that even if you had a seminary education, you would still find something here that would astound you. Just as a minor point, I really loved this book's cover art of a stained glass window showing Adam and Eve.

I guess we all think we know something about the Bible, but speaking for myself, I probably haven't read it enough. This book clears up a lot of the serious misconceptions about the Bible, and those misconceptions come from all shades of opinions--Catholic, fundamentalists, and what I would call 'urban legends,' those goofy truisms about the Bible that aren't true at all. I guess one obvious example is the idea that Jonah is hogwash because no man could survived being swalloed by a whale, but in fact the author does recount a documented case of it happening. A lot of us think the Bible says "money is the root of all evil," but the book clears that up. Given the controversy over Mel Gibson's recent movie about Jesus, I also liked the chapter which deals with the accusation that the Bible is somehow anti-Semitic--which the author assures us is not the case. Anyway, it is a real grab bag of topics, something here that will interest and amuse everyone.

I like a book that challenges me, and this one did. Some things that I believe--such as the necessity of tithing--are called into question in this book, but most of the chapters I agreed with totally. The book goes after some cherished (and WRONG) notions about the Bible, such as that the fruit in Eden was an apple (we don't know what fruit it was), that Delilah gave Samson his haircut (someone else did!), that Christians should not drink alcohol (not true!), and so on. I really enjoyed the style, since it is not a "heavy" or academic type of book at all.

The book's title grabbed me, because it is What the Good Book DIDN'T Say--and I had a feeling I was in for some surprises. The author has put together 100 of the most common misconceptions about the Bible, and I have to admit that most of them were things I had never questioned. Some of them were very minor things, such as the fruit in the garden of Eden being an apple (it wasn't) or that there were three wise men (the Bible doesn't say how many there were), and so forth. Some misconceptions have to do with problems in translating--such as, the Israelites under Moses did not cross the Red Sea (!) but the Reed Sea. These were interesting and amusing to read about, but some of the things were more consequential, such as the common beliefs that the Bible is anti-environment or anti-woman and even anti-sex. The book does a pretty good job of holding these misconceptions (and outright lies) up to the light of truth. Most of the chapters are fairly short, and it is easy and non-technical to read. It would make a nice book for a gift because it is the sort of thing a person could open at random and just browse through the different chapters.