The year of living biblically – A.J. Jacobs
- Shalini Prasad
- Apr 30, 2020
- 3 min read
It is no secret that I am a left-winged, agnostic member of society. One of my roommates has been trying to bring God into my life ever since I moved into the house. We have discussions about the matter often, but she has not managed to convince me of His existence. One of her attempts is to have me read the book “The year of living Biblically” by A.J. Jacobs.
Synopsis:
A.J. Jacobs was raised in a secular family. His increasing interest in the relevance of faith in society makes him decide to dive into it and attempt to obey the Bible as literally as possible for one full year. He vows to follow the Ten Commandments, which include ‘Be fruitful and multiply’ and ‘Love thy neighbour’. But, he will also follow all the other less publicized rules as well, such as avoid wearing clothes of mixed fibres and play a ten-string harp and more.
The book covers his journey of experiencing the Bible, with insight from many religious leaders, while navigating the changes and stress of the impending birth of his twins.
Review:
This book came to me as a method to understand and maybe even welcome God into my life. Although I grew up in a believing household, I have become a non-believer. So I know that by the end of the book I would not suddenly believe in God and start praying. Although my thoughts on God have not changed, this book has definitely softened my views on religion.
The book starts with the author’s journey of reading the Bible, all versions of the Bible. In the year, he dedicated 8 months to the Old Testament and the remaining four months to the New Testament. Apart from the well-known Ten Commandments, the Bible also has hundreds of other rules that he had to adopt in order to literally live biblically. Most of the book seemed to be the author trying to figure out the rules of the Bible. Following the Bible literally meant that he had to dress differently, not touch women as they might be impure, blow a horn at the beginning of every month, and some other rituals that might seem weird to the non-religious.
He has captured his year well. I found the way he connected his life with certain passages in the Bible provided me with context for those passages and brought me closer to understanding how people see the Bible. Even though the Bible was written thousands of years ago, its characters and their stories can still be relevant today.
Being a part of a group, connecting to others through religion, even for a year, provides the author, AJ with a sense of purpose. He believes that having a higher purpose is so much more fulfilling. If not, then life is just pointless, isn’t it? This is a sentiment I understand, although I have a few different ideas on how you can form belonging other than religion.
For some people, the rules give them a routine in which they don’t have to think about the little things done in everyday life. I don’t know how much brainpower one saves with that, but the concept is understandable.
Given this is a religious journey, I feel like he could have talked more about the extreme rules in the Bible. It almost feels the author meant to keep the book very neutral to avoid any huge controversies. Nevertheless, it is a good read for both the religious and non-religious people.
Rating: 3/5 PC: Internet
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