The Next Dark Age
We're in it Now
Walking the Bible, by Bruce Feiler
Book 20
Bruce Feiler has written several books about the Bible from a modern perspective and this is the first I have read. He thought it would be cool to visit the geographical places (that could be identified) in stories from the Old Testament. While mapping it out, he focused less on the sites that could be determined with (relative) certainty and more for the general places noted in the best stories. So..landmarks in Turkey, Egypt, Israel and Jordan.
The book was a bit heavy on Feiler’s spiritual journey. I remember his complaining that people who tried to find a scientific basis for things like the ten plagues of Egypt were missing the point. He said that if there is a scientific basis, it takes the magic out of it. The point is that God made it happen. So if there is a scientific basis, it means God didn’t make it happen?
I dunno, Dude.
He talked a lot about God’s covenant with the Jews and the different branches of Abraham’s line as the beginning of the modern religions. That was cool. I particularly appreciated the WTH moment he had with a Muslim companion over a difference in understanding regarding the fate of Moses. His observation was that the Jewish text and the Muslim text could not be talking about the same guy.
Overall, it was a decent read. But I’m not sure I am diving into the next one.
The Next Dark Age 