A Most Peculiar Book: The Inherent Strangeness of the Bible

Today’s Nonfiction post is on A Most Peculiar Book: The Inherent Strangeness of the Bible by Kristin Swenson. It is 261 pages long and is published by Oxford press. The cover is part of a medieval painting of Moses receiving the Commandment from god. There is some foul language, discussion of sex, sexuality, and rape, and lots of violence in this book. The intended reader is someone who is interested in the history of the Bible and how it was made. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- The Bible, we are constantly reminded, is the best-selling book of all time. It is read with intense devotion by hundreds of millions of people, stands as authoritative for Judaism and Christianity, and informs and affects the politics and lives of the religious and non-religious around the

world. But how well do we really know it? The Bible is so familiar, so ubiquitous that we have begun to take our knowledge of it for granted. The Bible many of us think we know is a pale imitation of the real thing.

In A Most Peculiar Book, Kristin Swenson addresses the dirty little secret of biblical studies that the Bible is a weird book. It is full of surprises and contradictions, unexplained impossibilities, intriguing supernatural creatures, and heroes doing horrible deeds. It does not provide a simple

worldview: what "the Bible says" on a given topic is multi-faceted, sometimes even contradictory. Yet, Swenson argues, we have a tendency to reduce the complexities of the Bible to aphorisms, bumper stickers, and slogans. Swenson helps readers look at the text with fresh eyes. A collection of

ancient stories and poetry written by multiple authors, held together by the tenuous string of tradition, the Bible often undermines our modern assumptions. And is all the more marvelous and powerful for it.

Rather than dismiss the Bible as an outlandish or irrelevant relic of antiquity, Swenson leans into the messiness full-throttle. Making ample room for discomfort, wonder, and weirdness, A Most Peculiar Book guides readers through a Bible that will feel, to many, brand new.

Review- An interesting survey of the Bible, how it was made, and some of the many problems within it. Swenson is a good writer and she approaches her topic with insight, humor, and first-hand knowledge. But that said, this is a very brief overview of the Bible and she does not go in depth with one issue or topic in the Bible. She does cover the whole Bible and does talk about some of the history of how it was made and the problems that brings with it. It is very well written, easy to read, and if you have never studied the Bible before, this is a good place to start. 

I give this book a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.