THE BIBLE

"The Bible is the most widely distributed book in the world. Translated into ove
r two thousand languages, it is estimated that more than six billion copies have
been sold in the last two hundred years alone. In this seminal account, Karen A
rmstrong traces the gestation of the Bible to reveal a complex and contradictory
document created by scores of people over hundreds of years.



Karen Armstrong
begins her analysis with the origins of the very earliest books of the Hebrew B
ible, in which God was called both 'Yahweh' and 'Elohim'. She then traces the de
velopment of both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament to reveal the disparate
influences that helped to form these sacred texts. From the Jewish practice of
Midrash and the Christian cult of Jesus; to the influence of Paul's letters on t
he Reformation and the manipulation of Revelations by Christian fundamentalism,
Armstrong explores the contexts in which these sixty-six books were understood a
nd explains the social needs they answered.