Review
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Title: How to Read the Bible
Author: Harvey Cox
Publisher: Harper One
Genre: Religion
Year Published: 2015
No. of Pages: 272
Binding: Hardcover
ISBN 13: 978-0-06-234315-4
Price: $26.99 ($33.50 Can.)
Reviewed by Gary McCary for the Association for Mormon Letters
People like to argue. We argue about sports, politics, movies, religion, healthcare, the price of gasoline, hairstyles, film stars, Lady Gaga’s tattoos, the weather–just about anything! And in this age of religious extremism and holy terror, we argue about sacred texts and the people who wrote them. And in the predominantly Christian West, we argue about the Bible. What’s interesting is that people who know next to nothing about the Bible often like to argue its merits or demerits with people who read the Bible regularly. This can be a somewhat frustrating exercise on the part of the less-informed, since what the Bible contains is, for the most part, a mystery to them. They only know a tiny fraction of what is actually written IN the Bible, and so their arguments often come across as hilariously ignorant (Wasn’t Moses saved in the ark, and didn’t the apostle Paul walk on water?). In other words, we are living in a country where the general population is increasingly biblically illiterate. Even millions of CHRISTIANS today don’t know their Bible!
In spite of all the good books written in the past half century about the Bible, in spite of the excellent work done by biblical scholars in understanding the context of the times in which the biblical authors wrote, in spite of the fact that we know much more today than 50 years ago about ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Galilee and Judea, the average Christian and non-Christian knows little of the important context behind the biblical text. This is probably due to the fact that books ABOUT the Bible tend to be written with scholars in mind, or at least written from a scholarly point of view. So along comes Harvey Cox with an excellent LAYMAN’S guide to understanding the Christian’s sacred text titled “How to Read the Bible.”
Mr. Cox, Professor of Divinity at Harvard University, doesn’t assume that the reader knows about the historical-critical biblical research of the past two centuries. He doesn’t assume that the reader knows the Old Testament from the New. He doesn’t assume anything. He lays out for the reader a basic primer–a lesson book for an intelligent beginner–that is as interesting as it is enlightening. MOST people don’t know how the Bible even begins. Cox’s first chapter (“Serpents, Floods, and the Mystery of Evil”) lays it all out in shocking detail. He explains the “Documentary Hypothesis,” not by calling it that, but by showing how different parts of Genesis strongly suggest different authorship–and therefore different agendas. He takes one on a journey through the Old Testament–even explaining WHY the Hebrew Bible of Israel came to be called the “Old” testament.
When he comes to the “New” testament, he carefully breaks down the four Gospels, showing their similarities and differences. When he comes to the writings of Paul, he takes great care in placing Paul in his first century time and place. In his chapter “On the Road with Paul of Tarsus,” he includes a section titled “Paul and Gay People,” in which he challenges the common perception that Paul was a homophobe. Paul–and every other biblical author–MUST be understood in context (something Christian fundamentalists have a hard time grasping). Cox’s treatment of the book of Revelation is timely and thorough, placing relatively recent interpretive stances such as the Dispensationalism of the past 150 years in context (Jenkins & Lahaye’s “Left Behind” series will probably be LEFT BEHIND after one reads this chapter).
If “How to Read the Bible” is read by the average American, our arguments about the Bible will be much more informed–and much less contentious.
Editor’s note: Gary’s excellent review highlights some of the reasons why Cox’s book is so valuable to modern readers. It introduces the Bible in a way that is readable and graspable by contemporary audiences.
LDS audiences, in particular, will find much of value here. Much of the Mormon understanding of the Bible comes from the work of a relative handful of biblical scholars presenting the Bible from the Mormon point of view. As such, it has avoided presenting in its curricula critical studies of the Bible, choosing instead long-held and faith-promoting views. But, as readers of Cox’s splendid volume will soon learn, there’s a big world of biblical scholarship out there.
I encourage everyone who wants to embark on this rewarding journey through the Bible to begin with this book. It’s a splendid work by a renowned scholar.