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Living Traditions of the Bible: Scripture in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Practice

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This is an excellent collection of essays that explores how the bible came to be what it is today: a library of ancient writings that is held in unique esteem by a variety of religious traditions. The "bible" here refers to a broad variety of scriptural traditions including Judaism, Islam, and the major groups of Christianity (Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant). If you were raised in one of these traditions, it is likley that you were taught about the authority of the bible, and probably some very traditional ideas on who wrote it, etc. You may never have been exposed to a study of how those scriptures came into their current literary form, and why they are viewed as authoritative. Further, you may have never heard perspectives on the bible in other tradtions, by people from those traditions. In the words of one of the reviewers on the back cover, this book "Provides answers to a lot of questions that you have wondered about." The best thing about the book is that it addresses those questions with no particular sectarian agenda. Rather, it is a thinking persons' guide to this most famous and well-read literature. This is an outstanding book for any thoughtful person with an interest in the bible.