Ever since I spent a year reading and blogging the Bible, I have had a soft spot in my heart for works that try to convey what the world was like for the actors in and authors of the Bible.

The Five Books of Jesus explore through fiction what it might have been like to be around Jesus during his ministries. As an atheist, I am most interested in the sociological aspect of the book. Even though it is fiction, this book does two important things.

Modern Christians often seem to forget that believing a man to be God is terrifying blasphemy. What's more, much of what Jesus did went against the social, political, and the religious norms of the day. To be a follower of Jesus -- even before he was believed to be anything more than a prophet or an instigator -- would have been dangerous and, sometimes harder to swallow, downright unpleasant and uncomfortable. How many Christians, if they are honest with themselves, would have been followers? Less, I think, than they would like to admit.

Another thing that humans tend to forget is that the world of the past was different. Not just different in what it lacked technologically or how it differed politically, but with fundamentally different worldviews and social norms. I highly doubt this book is accurate in the details, but it doesn't need to be to convey a sense of how the world was a different place. Even biblical literalists should pause before trying for a plain sense reading that was written about, by, and for people that they probably would have a hard time relating too if they met.

While speaking of bibical literalism, because of lack of knowledge, internal ambiguities and inconsistencies, and the different worldviews of modernity, biblical literalists will certainly find many ways to take issue with the text. Remember, its' fiction, and it's purpose is not to replace the gospels but to help readers think about them differently.

Fiction can be a powerful way to get at truths that are difficult to convey as plain facts, and it was used to good effect here. This was definitely worth the read.… (mer)

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eri_kars | Jul 10, 2022 |

Revelations in Context av James Goldberg

I often wonder what became of the people mentioned in the Doctrine and Covenants. This book gives some useful background and explanation about them.

This book may be read electronically on devices using the free Gospel Library app, or at https://history.lds.org/section/revelations?lang=eng

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bread2u | 1 annan recension | Jul 1, 2020 |

Revelations in Context: The Stories Behind the… av The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

This was a very handy guide for my latest read-through of the Doctrine & Covenants. I thought I knew a lot about church history, but this book was full of stuff I didn't know about or fully understand. It focuses on both broad events and how specific individuals were affected by them, which I appreciated. I really enjoyed having a more thorough background on each section, beyond what's in the section summaries.

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AngelClaw | 1 annan recension | Mar 27, 2018 |

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