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The Atheist Handbook to the Old Testament: Volume 1 by [Joshua Aaron Bowen]

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Joshua Aaron Bowen

The Atheist Handbook to the Old Testament: Volume 1 Kindle Edition

by Joshua Aaron Bowen (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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The Old Testament is a fierce battleground for atheists and Christian apologists, with each side accusing the other of taking challenging and troubling passages out of context. In this handbook, Joshua Bowen not only provides the background to the Old Testament and the ancient Near East, but engages with hotly contested topics like slavery, failed prophecy, and the authorship of debated Old Testament books.

This book provides:

Clear and straightforward explanations to complex topics.
Direct engagement with hot-button Old Testament issues.
Specific arguments to help you in a debate or discussion.

Whether you are looking to debate problematic Old Testament issues on social media or have a relaxed, meaningful discussion with a family member over coffee, The Atheist Handbook to the Old Testament is an indispensable resource for you.

Praise for "The Atheist Handbook to the Old Testament, Volume 1":

Exhibiting an enviable depth of knowledge across a wide range of texts and topics – and with more than a dollop of humor spread throughout – Bowen has written a useful and much-needed overview to some of the most significant topics in the study of the Hebrew Bible. You don’t bring a knife to a gunfight, and you shouldn’t go into a debate about the Bible without your copy of this book handy.

Dr. Joel Baden, Professor of Hebrew Bible, Yale Divinity School.

This is more than a book about the Hebrew Bible. And it’s more than a book for atheists. It’s a masterclass in how to read and understand the Hebrew Bible on its own terms - and not those imposed by modern-day believers. An Atheist’s Handbook to the Old Testament digs down deep into those biblical texts so often used by fundamentalist Christians to render the Hebrew Bible a prophetic guidebook to their God - and turns their own arguments on their head. This book is essential reading for anyone who’d like the tools to excavate the Hebrew Bible for themselves with precision, skill and intellectual integrity.

Dr. Francesca Stavrakopoulou, Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Religion, University of Exeter.

Bowen's book reminds us that the Hebrew Bible is not precise, and the evidence is overwhelming that it wasn't written by Moses. This assembled compilation of works from unknown authors, editors and redactors promotes barbaric cruelty, and it contains failed prophecies and irreconcilable contradictions, such that a literal interpretation of all of it is untenable.

Aron Ra, Host of the Ra-Men Podcast, Board of Directors for American Atheists.

Print length

316 pages
Language

English
Publication date

May 28, 2021
Grade level

10 - 12
File size

3536 KB
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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B094RF3CF3
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Digital Hammurabi Press (May 28, 2021)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 28, 2021
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3536 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 316 pages
Lending ‏ : ‎ Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #52,629 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #3 in Christian Old Testament Criticism
- #5 in Atheism (Kindle Store)
- #28 in Atheism (Books)

Customer Reviews:
321 ratings

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Joshua Aaron Bowen

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Dr. Joshua Bowen graduated from the Johns Hopkins University in 2017, with a Ph.D. in Assyriology. He wrote his dissertation on the lamentational liturgies of the city of Kiš, and specializes in the Sumerian language. Joshua was awarded the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (D.A.A.D.) and Fulbright scholarship during the 2014-2015 academic year, allowing him to spend the year in Tubingen, Germany, working with Dr. Konrad Volk on his dissertation project.

As well as his Ph.D., Josh holds a B.S. in Religion from Liberty University, a Th.M. in the Old Testament from Capital Bible Seminary, and a M.A. in Near Eastern Studies from the Johns Hopkins University. Prior to entering academia, Joshua was a chaplain in the U.S. Airforce where he also gained an A.A. in Avionics.

Joshua hosts the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near East (HeBANE) podcast, and co-hosts the Digital Hammurabi podcast and YouTube channel with his wife, Megan Lewis.

Customer reviews

5 star		78%
4 star		14%
3 star		5%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Mark Lamourine

Scholorship first, then conclusions, not the other way around.

Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2021

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Make no mistake. It's in the title. Dr Bowen has an agenda. This is not a book of new work that he is presenting for critique and evaluation. Every historical point he presents is established and accepted by reputable scholars. His explicit audience is atheists and skeptics and his goal is to prepare us to discuss ancient history from a position of strength when faced with people trying to claim that their religious judgments are supported by history. So trying to discredit him by claiming he has an agenda is kind of pointless.

On the other hand, you don't need to share his agenda to find his book both informative and enjoyable. If you're even mildly curious about the origins of the bible and of the history in which it is embedded, and the ways it can be obscured, misinterpreted and abused you'll find a lot to consider here.

The in the first half of the book, Dr Bowen provides the context that frames the actual arguments; first the history of the writing of the first books, then the chronology of the ancient world before and through the time those books describe, and finally a treatment of the methods and history of archaeology of the region. With that foundation he has given the reader the grounding needed to understand and assess what follows.

The four chapters form the body of the book. Each addresses one of the most common misuses of biblical texts and historical scholarship to attempt to support various religious views. In each Dr Bowen shows how the historical record fails to support the religious conclusion.

If I had one editorial criticism, it would be on the number of times Dr Bowen feels the need to emphasize critical statements in the quotations he presents. I tended to emphasize those in my mind without the need for typographical indication. I'm mixed on this. I agree that the emphasized portions are the critical statements of those passages, Im just not sure if they needed to be visually set apart.

In closing, Dr Bowen returns to his original goal: providing the reader with the background necessary to assess and address claims that the findings of archaeology and historical studies support various modern religious interpretations of the first books of the bible.

I'm not in a position to comment on Dr. Bowen's presentation except to point to the wealth of citations of accepted scholarship and original sources. This book stands against poor scholarship motivated by a desire to give an unjustified historical flavor to religious views.

I recommend The Atheists Handbook to the Old Testament, Vol 1 to anyone who is curious about real biblical and historical scholarship, but especially to those who wish to (or need to) understand the origins and history that the bible represents.

87 people found this helpful

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C. C. Jones

Terrific book, well written, fantastic material and scholarship

Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2021

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Most of the resource books written for specifically for atheists to inform themselves for purposes of argumentation tend to be written most of the time by people who are not scholars in a relevant field, but rather well-read laypeople who might even have advanced degrees in something still useful for the writing but not necessarily specialized in the particular field covered by the book. Most of the books I've found that are written by scholars which are helpful are more often advancing knowledge of the field but not formatted for addressing specific arguments. I don't mean there isn't great value in both of these -- the non-scholar can still have done some excellent research and may be providing accurate and useful information that is formatted well, but there is something to be said about the depth of the information and the nuances that can be provided by someone who does have the relevant Ph.D. to go with it.

That is where this book is a real gem and rarity. Here we have a scholar of Assyriology whose knowledge of historical methodologies, archaeology, and biblical studies along with the relevant textual critical methods comes to write in a format intended to address so many of the contentious arguments stemming from claims from various believers about the biblical text, its origins and literary development, the history behind it, the contemporary history of its neighbors. This book is quite a resource for someone who does not have expertise in these subjects who would like to be well enough informed to be able to interact with those arguments and perspectives. Even for someone who has no intention of actually setting out to argue on biblical inerrancy or multiple source composition of the Pentateuch or the historical likelihood behind some of the stories presented in the text, this is a great read. There is much to be learned from it, and it is very accessible to any reader. I don't expect that there should be much reason for a biblical literalist to be reading this, but I'd expect that wholesale rejection of mainstream scholarship's widely held views on these topics due to personal ideology would likely be among the few reasons one might find this book unsatisfactory. Luckily I don't happen to have that kind of worldview so my rating is 5 stars. Again, highly recommended. Looking forward to the next volume, and if he intends for this to be more than two volumes, the one after that as well.

3 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

N Clarke

Brilliant introduction to Biblical scholarship.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 31, 2021

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An excellent introduction to the Old Testament (Tanakh) from a talented young scholar of the ancient near east. It is written from an atheist perspective, but it is also objective, and seeks to inform the reader of the scholarly consensus, while also fairly discussing divergent opinions.
The first part is a narrative of the Bible from creation to the exile, followed by an historical survey of the ancient near east and concluded by a reasoned discussion of common Biblical controversies, such as a discussion of Biblical attitudes to slavery. Highly recommended.

2 people found this helpful

Darren Kealey

Good book to provoke some thought and extra research

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 30, 2021

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I like this book and will buy volume 2 when it is published so that I complete my journey with the author.
It is written like an academic dissertation mixed in with some attractive informality. But it lacks analytical depth. That said I think that is entirely deliberate because I think it is targeted more at a casual reader.
The biggest fault in the writing is too much repetition- making the same point over and over again. But in summary, it provides the interested beginner a nice gateway in to this particular aspect of the ancient Near East.

Lawrence

A useful resource

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 3, 2021

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Although I haven't yet read it all the way through, I am impressed by the clarity of presentation and the way in which the relevant sources are quoted.

I have read other books by Dr Bowen and am confident that this one is up to his usual high standard.

I recommend the book to anyone who wants to find out more about the Old Testament.

One person found this helpful

Susan McFadden

Needed another pass from the editor

Reviewed in Canada on July 27, 2021

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Very detailed overview, well researched and thoroughly cited. But needed another pass through by the editor to trim down on the repetition and lazy transitions.

Amazon Customer

Actual scholarly information

Reviewed in Australia on June 1, 2021

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There are so many half-remembered and generally assumed pieces of information about this subject matter, it is an incredible breath of fresh air to finally find out what the scholarly consensus is. This book makes it easy to capitalise on all that hard work with the way the facts are presented in such an easy to read and understand format.

One person found this helpful

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