The Bible by Karen Armstrong

The Bible by Karen Armstrong

As the work at the heart of Christianity, the Bible is the spiritual guide for one out of every three people in the world. It is also the world's most widely distributed book--it has been translated into over 2,000 languages--and the world's best-selling book, year after year. But the Bible is a complex work with a complicated and obscure history. Made up of sixty-six books written by various authors and divided into two testaments, its contents have changed over the centuries. The Bible has been transformed by translation and, through interpretation, has developed manifold meanings to various religions, denominations, and sects. In this seminal account, acclaimed historian Karen Armstrong discusses the conception, gestation, and life of history's most powerful book. Armstrong analyzes the social and political situation in which oral history turned into written scripture, how this all-pervasive scripture was collected into one work, and how it became accepted as Christianity's sacred text. She explores how scripture came to be read for information and how, in the nineteenth century, historical criticism of the Bible caused greater fear than Darwinism. The Bible is a brilliant, captivating book, crucial in an age of declining faith and rising fundamentalism.

KAREN ARMSTRONG is the author of numerous other books on religious affairs, including The Case for God, A History of God, The Battle for God, Holy War, Islam, Buddha and The Great Transformation--and a memoir, The Spiral Staircase. Her work has been translated into 45 languages. In February 2008 she was awarded the TED Prize and began working with TED on The Charter for Compassion, created online by the general public, crafted by leading thinkers in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, as well as in Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism. It was launched globally in the fall of 2009. She is currently an ambassador for the UN Alliance of Civilizations. The author lives in London, UK.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780871139696
ISBN 10	0871139693
Title	The Bible
Author	Karen Armstrong
Series	Books That Changed The World
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press
Year published	2007-11-10
Number of pages	192
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.