The Bible: A Very Short Introduction

Description

This Very Short Introduction explores how the Bible was written, the development of the canon, the role of Biblical criticism, the appropriation of the Bible in high and popular culture, and its use for political ends.

• A truly global history of the Bible from a leading expert in the field
• Looks at readings of the Bible from the world of theology, philosophy, music, the visual arts, and poetry, as well as post-colonial and feminist readings
• Examines the diversity of the Bible, from its numerous translations and complex textual history to the ways it has been interpreted by different communities
• Shows how the Bible has played a formative role in the development of human culture
• Part of the Very Short Introductions series - over ten million copies sold worldwide

New to this edition

• New chapter about the reception history of the Galatians, showing how it shaped different forms of Christianity, East and West, how it influenced the development of Europe at the Reformation, and how it continues to influence debates around gender
• New chapter outlining how bibles were produced, translated, and distributed around the world in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries

About the Author(s)

John Riches, Emeritus Professor of Divinity and Biblical Criticism, University of Glasgow

John Riches was the Chaplain and Fellow at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, where he taught philosophy of religion from 1968 to 1972. He then taught the New Testament at Glasgow University from 1973 to 2002, with periods as a visiting lecturer in theological colleges in apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa. Riches' major areas of study have been the Gospels and Paul, with a particular interest in the history of reception of the Bible.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations
1:The Bible in the modern world: classic or sacred text?
2:How the Biblical books were written
3:The making of the Bible
4:The translation, production and distribution of the Bible
5:Jewish and Christian readings of the binding of Isaac
6:Galatians through history
7:The Bible and its critics
8:The Bible in the post-colonial world
9:The Bible in politics
10:The Bible in high and popular culture
11:Conclusion
References
Further reading
Index of biblical references
General index

Reviews

"Review from previous edition clear and lively . . . a distinguished addition to the series" - Christopher Rowland, University of Oxford

"Very Short John Riches' book may be, but it is not simple - nor could it be. It is a masterly reduction, without minimizing the problems: indeed, it exposes them as they need to be exposed." - Canon Eric James

"John Riches makes the Bible's strong vitality abundantly apparent" - Tom Butler, Bishop of Southwark

"John Riches reminds us that one of the most read books in the world - the Bible - is now most widely read in unfamiliar places - South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, the Philippines, and Peru - by poor and marginalized people." - Gerald West, University of Natal

"This lively book will be read with profit and delight by a wide range of readers. The author's many examples of the ways the Bible has been used and misused in different parts of the world make fascinating, and sometimes disturbing reading." - Graham Stanton, King's College, London