In a work reminiscent
of Voltaire's Philosophical Dictionary, Allen presents his ideas as a series of
alphabetically arranged essays on characters, events, and books of he Holy Scriptures, as
well as on such controversial topics as abortion, anti-Semitism, capital punishment,
death, evolution, flying saucers, and original sin. He draws on the expertise of
biblical scholars, theologians, and philosophers to demonstrate that fundamentalist
assumptions about the reliability and authenticity of the Bible as a historical document
or as the inviolable Word of God simply have no rational or factual basis. Like
Thomas Paine's The Age of Reason, this book highlights the errors,
inconsistencies, self-contradictions, and morally repugnant episodes and characters in he
Bible. So much in Scriptures is at variance with our Western ideals of morality and
common decency that an intelligent, objective reader cannot help but judge the Bible as a
fascinating, important but very fallible, all-too-human book. While not denying the
value of many biblical passages, Mr. Allen argues that Americans can and should critique
the Bible as they would any other historical document. This by no means implies,
however, that in so doing they must discard their faith.
Steve Allen's interest in biblical scholarship began with
the casual reading of the Gideon Bibles that are found in hotel rooms across the country.
In the course of his reading, so many questions were raised in his mind that he
started recording his thoughts. The practice turned into a 20-year habit and enough
material to fill the present volume and many more. Steve Allen on the Bible,
Religion and Morality will stimulate readers to go back to their Bibles and consider
a variety of thorny but ever-important issues. |
