A History of the English Bible as Literature

A History of the English Bible as Literature PDF Author: David Norton
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521778077
Category : Bibles
Languages : en
Pages : 526

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Book Description
Revised and condensed from David Norton's acclaimed A History of the Bible as Literature, this book, first published in 2000, tells the story of English literary attitudes to the Bible. At first jeered at and mocked as English writing, then denigrated as having 'all the disadvantages of an old prose translation', the King James Bible somehow became 'unsurpassed in the entire range of literature'. How so startling a change happened and how it affected the making of modern translations such as the Revised Version and the New English Bible is at the heart of this exploration of a vast range of religious, literary and cultural ideas. Translators, writers such as Donne, Milton, Bunyan and the Romantics, reactionary Bishops and radical students all help to show the changes in religious ideas and in standards of language and literature that created our sense of the most important book in English.

A History of the English Bible as Literature

A History of the English Bible as Literature PDF Author: David Norton
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521778077
Category : Bibles
Languages : en
Pages : 526

Get Book Here

Book Description
Revised and condensed from David Norton's acclaimed A History of the Bible as Literature, this book, first published in 2000, tells the story of English literary attitudes to the Bible. At first jeered at and mocked as English writing, then denigrated as having 'all the disadvantages of an old prose translation', the King James Bible somehow became 'unsurpassed in the entire range of literature'. How so startling a change happened and how it affected the making of modern translations such as the Revised Version and the New English Bible is at the heart of this exploration of a vast range of religious, literary and cultural ideas. Translators, writers such as Donne, Milton, Bunyan and the Romantics, reactionary Bishops and radical students all help to show the changes in religious ideas and in standards of language and literature that created our sense of the most important book in English.

How to Read the Bible as Literature

How to Read the Bible as Literature PDF Author: Leland Ryken
Publisher: Zondervan Academic
ISBN: 0310536332
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 209

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Book Description
Why the Good Book Is a Great Read If you want to rightly understand the Bible, you must begin by recognizing what it is: a composite of literary styles. It is meant to be read, not just interpreted. The Bible’s truths are embedded like jewels in the rich strata of story and poetry, metaphor and proverb, parable and letter, satire and symbolism. Paying attention to the literary form of a passage will help you understand the meaning and truth of that passage. How to Read the Bible as Literature takes you through the various literary forms used by the biblical authors. This book will help you read the Bible with renewed appreciation and excitement and gain a more profound grasp of its truths. Designed for maximum clarity and usefulness, How to Read the Bible as Literature includes * sidebar captions to enhance organization * wide margins ideal for note taking * suggestions for further reading * appendix: "The Allegorical Nature of the Parables" * indexes of persons and subjects

A History of the Bible as Literature: Volume 2, From 1700 to the Present Day

A History of the Bible as Literature: Volume 2, From 1700 to the Present Day PDF Author: David Norton
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521333993
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 506

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Book Description
Early eighteenth century literary critics thought the King James Bible had "all the disadvantages of an old prose translation." But from the 1760s on criticism became increasingly favorable. In the nineteenth century it swelled into a chorus of praise for "the noblest monument of English prose." This volume traces how that reversal of opinion came about. The story of the development of modern literary discussion of the Bible in general is told also, showing not only how criticism has shaped understanding of the Bible but how the Bible has shaped literary criticism.

A History of the Bible

A History of the Bible PDF Author: John Barton
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0143111205
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 642

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Book Description
A literary history of our most influential book of all time, by an Oxford scholar and Anglican priest In our culture, the Bible is monolithic: It is a collection of books that has been unchanged and unchallenged since the earliest days of the Christian church. The idea of the Bible as "Holy Scripture," a non-negotiable authority straight from God, has prevailed in Western society for some time. And while it provides a firm foundation for centuries of Christian teaching, it denies the depth, variety, and richness of this fascinating text. In A History of the Bible, John Barton argues that the Bible is not a prescription to a complete, fixed religious system, but rather a product of a long and intriguing process, which has inspired Judaism and Christianity, but still does not describe the whole of either religion. Barton shows how the Bible is indeed an important source of religious insight for Jews and Christians alike, yet argues that it must be read in its historical context--from its beginnings in myth and folklore to its many interpretations throughout the centuries. It is a book full of narratives, laws, proverbs, prophecies, poems, and letters, each with their own character and origin stories. Barton explains how and by whom these disparate pieces were written, how they were canonized (and which ones weren't), and how they were assembled, disseminated, and interpreted around the world--and, importantly, to what effect. Ultimately, A History of the Bible argues that a thorough understanding of the history and context of its writing encourages religious communities to move away from the Bible's literal wording--which is impossible to determine--and focus instead on the broader meanings of scripture.

The Bible, Designed to be Read as Living Literature

The Bible, Designed to be Read as Living Literature PDF Author: Ernest Sutherland Bates
Publisher: Poseidon Press
ISBN: 9780671879594
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 1258

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Book Description
Brief background information precedes each chapter of this King James version of the Bible

An American Bible

An American Bible PDF Author: Paul C. Gutjahr
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 9780804743396
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
"An American Bible is an extremely compelling piece of cultural history that succeeds in making rich rather than schematic sense of the major dramas that lay behind the production of over 1,700 different American editions of the Bible in the century after the American Revolution. Gutjahr's book is especially powerful in demonstrating how nineteenth-century efforts to purge the Bible of textual and translational impurities in search of an 'authentic' text led ironically to the emergence of entirely new gospels like the Book of Mormon and the massive fictionalized literature dealing with the life of Christ." --Jay Fliegelman, Stanford University During the first three-quarters of the nineteenth century, American publishing experienced unprecedented, exponential growth. An emerging market economy, widespread religious revival, educational reforms, and innovations in print technology worked together to create a culture increasingly formed and framed by the power of print. At the center of this new culture was the Bible, the book that has been called "the best seller" in American publishing history. Yet it is important to realize that the Bible in America was not a simple, uniform entity. First printed in the United States during the American Revolution, the Bible underwent many revisions, translations, and changes in format as different editors and publishers appropriated it to meet a wide range of changing ideological and economic demands. This book examines how many different constituencies (both secular and religious) fought to keep the Bible the preeminent text in the United States as the country's print marketplace experienced explosive growth. The author shows how these heated battles had profound consequences for many American cultural practices and forms of printed material. By exploring how publishers, clergymen, politicians, educators, and lay persons met the threat that new printed material posed to the dominance of the Bible by changing both its form and its contents, the author reveals the causes and consequences of mutating God's supposedly immutable Word.

The Book of Books

The Book of Books PDF Author: Melvyn Bragg
Publisher: Catapult
ISBN: 1582438447
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 300

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Book Description
A fascinating, in-depth history of the King James Bible (KJV)—the best-selling book in the world—and its lasting impact on language, literature, politics, and religion The King James Bible has often been called the “Book of Books,” both in itself and in what it stands for. Since its publication in 1611, it has been the best–selling book in the world, and many believe, it has had the greatest impact. The King James Bible has spread the Protestant faith. It has also been the greatest influence on the enrichment of the English language and its literature. It has been the Bible of wars from the British Civil War in the 17th century to the American Civil War two centuries later, and it has been carried into battle in innumerable conflicts since then. Its influence on social movements—particularly involving women in the 19th and 20th centuries—and politics was profound. It was crucial to the growth of democracy. It was integral to the abolition of slavery, and it defined attitudes to modern science, education, and sex. As Lord Melvyn Bragg's The Adventure of English explored the history of our language, so The Book of Books reveals the extraordinary and still–felt impact of a work created 400 years ago.

The Blackwell Companion to the Bible in English Literature

The Blackwell Companion to the Bible in English Literature PDF Author: Rebecca Lemon
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118241150
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 959

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Book Description
This Companion explores the Bible's role and influence on individual writers, whilst tracing the key developments of Biblical themes and literary theory through the ages. An ambitious overview of the Bible's impact on English literature – as arguably the most powerful work of literature in history – from the medieval period through to the twentieth-century Includes introductory sections to each period giving background information about the Bible as a source text in English literature, and placing writers in their historical context Draws on examples from medieval, early-modern, eighteenth-century and Romantic, Victorian, and Modernist literature Includes many 'secular' or 'anti-clerical' writers alongside their 'Christian' contemporaries, revealing how the Bible's text shifts and changes in the writing of each author who reads and studies it

The Bible as History

The Bible as History PDF Author: Werner Keller
Publisher: Barnes & Noble Publishing
ISBN: 9781566198011
Category : Bible
Languages : en
Pages : 412

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Book Description
The Bible As History by Werner Keller, will take you on a breathtaking journey to the heart of Holy Scripture as it pieces together one of the most stunning spiritual puzzles in the history of mankind.

The Bible in Translation

The Bible in Translation PDF Author: Bruce M. Metzger
Publisher: Baker Academic
ISBN: 0801022827
Category : Bibles
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
Outlines the historical development of biblical translation, including analyses of over fifty versions of the Bible.