The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible

A man takes a 30 Days episode and stretches it out to a year. Sounds like the start of a plausible documentary, and it is. Recently, I have taken disgust to my generations lack of interest in Philosophy and Religion -- lack of the later or not, you should at least know what you are accepting or rejecting. As well as reading holy texts themselves, I have taken to accounting for other peoples views or experiences on religion. This book served its purpose beautifully in that aspect. But more on that in a moment. A. J. Jacobs is a phenomenal writer, whom I plan on buying more of as soon as I can. His fabulous use of vocabulary, as well as recounting events in the most humorous aspect possible, without offending others, could only be matched by a priest. It is his delightful use of comedy that makes this book bearable, even for the most sacrilegious of persons. Even then, he is brutally honest in his writings, telling his thoughts in truth -- as the Bible so dictates him to do so. It is the combination of me wanting to know more about the Bible, as well as A. J. Jacobs well timed writing that makes this book second to none in terms of retrospects on the Jewish and Christian faith. He follows as many as he can literally, as well as the few obvious philosophically. He accounts for the flaws of atheism, as well as the flaws of faith itself and delves into a world he may have never seen had he not perused the Bible to the letter. He begins his adventure on a rocky start, having to follow -- and break -- so many commandments in his first few days that he drives himself buggy. Should I wear these slippers? I can't have strawberries? Following crosswalk rules in NYC? Having to carry a spare chair with you, even on the subway? Dealing with heavy, aggressive atheists and Christians? All of these are covered in the book and gives great tribute to the pluses and minuses that come from these. He even goes to far as to stone some people -- but I don't want to ruin anything. As well as following the Bible so strictly, he goes out of his way to meet many colourful characters. My favorite was the person whom he met to analyze his clothing, checking for mixed fibers. A. J. had to break a commandment many times with this character. We also get to meet his son, his wife, as well as faithful and unfaithful people who agree and disagree with his project. Some who go out of their way to test how resolved he is in his project -- including his own wife. But nonetheless, A. J. shows his faith (if you'll excuse the bad joke) to his project by every means. Especially for the obscure ones. I would recommend this to both who hail Richard Dawkins and Thomas Aquinas. 9.5/10.

By that title I mean for the underlying messages, not the surface words. The aspect of this book I love the most is how well the author questions and second-guesses himself. Even towards the end of the project after the dance floor moment with his son he still questioned the experience. That's very important to me, to constantly question oneself, especially during a project as big as this. The book is an easy read, linguistically, but a difficult read in content for me. I really needed to read this, I've been curious about performing this sort of experiment myself, so I paid a great amount of attention. I went back a few clicks and re-read portions if I zoned out even a little. I focused closely on almost every topic, reading them very slowly and laboriously, ever scrutinizing A.J. and his efforts like a nun holding a ruler. This project was important to me, and the author didn't let me down (at least not often enough to bother noting. Nobody's perfect.). It might be a very easy, very quick read for someone else, someone who didn't really need to read it and just read it for entertainment could probably power through this book in two afternoons. I was actually a little bit relieved when I got to the Notes section at the end because I could start reading casually again without having to focus so much. There are very interesting sociological evaluations that can be done on this book; the power of cognitive dissonance, re-education tactics, and brain-washing methods to name a few. That might sound negative, but once you've read the book you'll realize it isn't. It simply is, there's no need to add a moral connotation. You'll find many commentators simply address the grass without looking at the dirt from which it grows in their reviews of this book, but that's the wrong path to take. Read this from its digital (kindle edition) cover to its digital cover (much like how you should read a bible) before you judge it. The author does an excellent job making it clear that he isn't religious and this is off-putting apparently for some religious readers. They judge A.J. harshly for his efforts which I'm sure he expected. One can't write this sort of book without pouring symbolic lighter fluid all over oneself and passing out matchbooks. The philosophy behind the book, the lessons A.J. picks up from his experience and the changes in his life and outlook he received from this project are what readers should take away from this book, setting nit-picking aside and reading it realistically with reasonable expectations. A.J. builds a strong case for how living by a reasonable moral code, either self-imposed as many atheists do or biblical as many religious people do, can improve one's life. He builds a good argument for "cafeteria religion" in his words. I also especially enjoyed his experiences with charity. Charity really is its own reward, and it knows no religion. Atheists, Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, all walks of life from the very non-religious to the most perform acts of charity without seeking thanks for it. It didn't offend me when he said he never saw any atheist charities (I'm atheist), it made me feel really good. It means we're doing a good job not seeking recognition or reward for our giving. I gave it four stars because while it was an excellent book, A.J. really did run out of time for the project. I loved the in depth way he covered the O.T., but when he got to the N.T. he was obviously being rushed by his calendar, and that's unfortunate. I don't blame him, he had a very tolerant wife a young child and (during the book) a few new ones, but the way he seemed rushed in the New Testament did detract a little bit from the book as a whole for me. I would have very much enjoyed a similar level of attention being paid to the minusia of the New Testament as was to the Old.

For a bible aficionado like myself, I love AJ Jacobs genuine agnostic account of his experience to live according the prescriptions of the Bible. Although officially it was planned for a year. But by the end of the book, one gets the impression that his 100% committed immersion in Gods words will have effects on him and the people around him for a lifetime. The core strength of AJ Jacob's book lie in his true life account of his experiences and encounters with quirky characters which made it very engrossing for me. I love his use of biblical verses to begin a new new theme to his chronological collection of stories. Although his coverage of Bible included both old and new testament, it was clear he gave heavier emphasis on the Old testament. He explained his bias by his pride in his Jewish ancestry. He could also achieve greater mileage by humorous take on the ancient laws of Deuteronomy. Although towards the end of his book, I sensed a greater reverence in Mr Jacobs has for Jesus Christ. By extoling the virtues of Jesus near the end of his book, like charity, forgiveness and humility, he as journeyed to a high point and bringing his readers along with him. And I absolutely loved his presentation of supporting verses on the pro life issue, especially the part on John the Baptist as foetus leapt with joy when Mary, pregnant with Jesus drew near to Elizabeth. Foetuses are unborn human beings, not tissue to be discarded when life becomes inconvenient. His journey to the bible belt, the holy land, and encounters with quirky characters like uncle Gil and snake charming pastor provided much humorous entertainment that thrilled me no end. In allowing his beard to grow from day one to the end of his project, his enormous beard aptly symbolised the gradual accumulation of his rich experience of bible living and meetings with a diverse number of religious people. It is heartwarming that when at the end of the project, shaving off his beard cleanly, there will still be an invisible 5 o clock shadow covering his clean shaven face. Jacobs cannot be the same agnostic secular man he was a year before the project started. The experience must have enriched him and the virtues and wisdom become apart of him. Jacobs still has a long way to go given his young age of 38 and still father to baby twins and a toddler. What began a good work in Jacobs by luring him into this Biblical project will continue on no doubt to mould him into a better man. I would love to hear from Jacobs again 20 years from the end of his project to find out more on this life changing year long experience has impacted his life. I am certain he would not consider himself agnostic anymore but a compassionate, charitable and humble man like Jesus, the servant king.

I heard about this book a couple of years before I got around to purchasing and reading it. I know a lot of people who claim to take the Bible literally and who claim to live their life as closely to the guidelines set out therein. Well, the author did just that and his results are wildly different than the people I know. While trying to follow the Bible as literally as possible, A.J. Jacobs discovers contradictions, some explicit, others springing from differences in translation and interpretation. He has difficulties incorporating the realities of modern life (like having to carry a chair with him so he doesn't accidentally sit in a seat a menstruating woman has been in; it's unclean) and it is only due to the eternal patience of his wife that he is able to live within some of these restrictions (although she draws the line at a rule that states he can't touch her at ALL for weeks after her c-section delivering their twins; spoiler: he suspends his "quest" for about a month after their birth). The challenge the author undertakes in this book is something I, myself, would NEVER attempt, but I did find his account illuminating. Like him, I think a lot of people seek to live the best lives they can by following tenets set out in the good book, but being human, fail to varying degrees. Jacobs's quest did lead him to being a kinder, more thoughtful person, so even as a self-described agnostic, by the end of his journey, he felt it was worthwhile. I don't want to go too in depth about my views on religious; my personal beliefs aren't relevant to this review. It's a well-written, engaging, funny account that answers a lot of questions I had about how would one have to live if they really took the Bible as literally as they said they do. His conclusion confirmed what I suspected: it's impossible to follow ALL the rules literally and EVERYONE cherry picks. But don't take it from me. Read this and be yourself, enlightened. It's not going to make you a true believer (it certainly didn't affect my beliefs in any way), but it might increase your understanding.

A.J. Jacobs, an editor at Esquire, must have a lot of time on his hands. Several years ago he decided to read Encyclopedia Brittanica from cover to cover, apparently in a quest to become the smartest person in the world (though a subsequent attempt to prove his knowledge on "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?" showed that he had a long way to go (he missed the $32,000 question). He documented his year-long journey through the Encyclopedia in a bestselling book titled The Know-It-All. In his second book, The Year of Living Biblically, he dedicates a year to attempting to follow every rule and law in the Bible. Like its predecessor, this book has sold very well, quickly making its way onto the lists of bestsellers. Jacobs is Jewish by birth but grew up in a family that did not practice the faith, or not seriously at any rate. After the birth of his son, though, Jacobs began to wonder if teaching his son about religion would scar him or make him a better person. He set out on this quest to determine how religion could impact a life. To that end he decided to study the Bible and seek to understand its every rule. For the first eight months he focused exclusively on the Old Testament, looking through the Bible to find even the most obscure laws. He implemented as many of them as he could. And in the last four months of the year he turned to the New Testament. He simply overs a chronological records of his year, providing a journal entry every two or three days. While the book claims that Jacobs lived "biblically," the reader will soon note that he often relied in large part on Jewish extra-biblical interpretation of the Old Testament laws. Hence his practice of many of these rules was based not on a plain reading of the Bible but on age-old interpretations, many of which are almost unbelievably obscure and strangely mystical. We'll have to use the word "biblically" quite loosely. Jacobs is at his best in this book when seeking the heart of the biblical commandments, when rather than just blindly following the commands he is seeking the reason God gave them and attempting to obey not the letter but the spirit. He is at his worst when he is being deliberately Pharisaical, seeking to adhere to the letter rather than the spirit. Hence he finds himself in a park tossing tiny pebbles at adulterers so he can fulfill the law to stone those who commit adultery. Or maybe he is at his worst when he is searching out the most radically liberal Christians to teach him not what the Bible teaches but what he wants to hear. Thus he attends a Bible study for homosexuals where he is taught that the Bible does not forbid homosexuality but merely homosexual rape. This appeals to him as a self-professed liberal but veers far from the broad stream of Christian interpretation. There are several occasions where he essentially admits that he is finding interpretations that appeal to him even if they are not strictly accurate. In the end of it all, Jacobs seems to be little better off than when he began. He remains agnostic but somehow feels he can and should pray (to whom? to what end?). He has discovered some cultural Jewish roots but does not seem to have found any true faith. He has discovered the value of the sacred, but continues to forsake God. The Year of Living Biblically has many poignant moments and many that are quite funny. There are even a few laugh out loud moments. But there are plenty of others that are no doubt supposed to be funny but which fall strangely flat. This is bound to happen in a book that stretches to almost 350 pages, perhaps a hundred more than it ought to have been. Yet it is by no means all bad. It was quite an enjoyable read, even if it did drag near the end. Still, as much as he seems to attempt to make this a book the reader will take seriously, Jacobs cannot escape it seeming more like a gimmick. This experiment is really a strange form of exhibitionism where he invites the readers into his life as he deliberately makes a fool of himself. It is more entertainment than of any serious value. It is for good reason, I suppose, that you will find the book filed under the heading of "Humor." It is a year of living loosely biblical and a year of gathering information that will lead to a bestselling book. The reader will have to decide which of those motives was foremost in the author's mind. Personally, I suspect the latter.

This book provides a lot of interesting observations on the interpretation of the laws as set out in the Bible and the Old Testament in particular. Perhaps it is most interesting because it is written by a declared agnostic who by trying to live according to the Bible as literally as he could, is affected by what he reads and so changes himself almost unwittingly. I think his conclusion that all who proclaim to be believers of one of the forms of Judo-Christian religious movements, all are selective in what they actually follow, is one of the most interesting. However, he does also try and make sense of and put into practice some of the stranger rules and thereby gives them a certain logic. However, the main problem with the book is the obsessively anal character of the author and his tendency towards paranoia. His upbringing of his first child forms a major part of the book and drove me mad. I felt I wanted to shake him and say, dont be so controlling. I felt enormous pity for his wife, although she seemed to have some coping mechanisms, such as using the word 'Helmet' when he was being obsessively protective with his son. The fact that half my review focuses on the author is a reflection I believe of the weakness of the book and yet also its strength, for it applies the rules to the author and in so doing exposes the author, who becomes like a character one may feel little sympathy for, but is still vivid, in a novel. In conclusion, I would certainly recommend this book to anyone with a living Judo-Christian faith as it does remind us of the foundations of that faith, while at the same time highlighting the differences in the interpretations of the faith by Orthodox Jews and Christians, with the latter putting much more emphasis on forgiveness and a life beyond the death of the body, while the former provides a stronger set of rules whereby one should live regardless of existence after death.

For the past two months, I’ve been talking about this book to just anyone who would listen. No matter what the other person might be talking about, I could easily find a way to bring up some little something about A.J. Jacob’s entertaining, yet educational, book. Somehow the author manages to shed light on many religious topics and practices without being offensive, preachy, disrespectful, or overbearing. Regardless of the person he’s spending time with, Jacobs always comes away more knowledgeable and open minded. Jacobs met with rabbis, Amish, and Red Letter Christians, to name a few. About the latter, they adhere strictly to the direct quotes of Christ, and Jacobs learned that although Christ didn’t say anything about homosexuality, he had a lot to say about giving and sharing with others. I often hear people say something is biblical and that it must be followed. I also hear the opposite: something is NOT biblical and shouldn’t be a behavior or ideal to subscribe to. Jacobs tried living all the teachings, laws, and commandants in the bible and showed that it couldn’t be done. A person might spout off the story of the good Samaritan, for example, and yet be prejudiced as all get out. Jacobs was earnestly attempting to follow the Ten Commandments when he told his little boy his English muffin was just that, an English muffin and not a bagel like the tiny tot wanted. His son had a tantrum, causing the author to wonder if lying is okay for such occasions. Jacobs’ year of living as closely as possible to biblical laws, commandments, and principles changed the way he now thinks about things. He’s more grateful and mindful these days, and he completed the project with a greater sense of the spiritual side of his nature; he also feels more peace and appreciation. While Jacobs remains agnostic, I love his statement about his newborn’s eyes: “I spot what a nun I know calls ‘God’s DNA.’ Those eyes are alive.” Read this book. It’s funny, educational, and honest. It’s based, by the way, on the Revised Standard Version. His favorite verse is Ecclesiastes 3:1, a scripture that I often remind myself of.

I read this book because it was assigned to me in my online "World Religions" class. I did not have to pick this book though. We were given a list of ten books and had to read three of them. I picked this book as one of my three and I'm very glad I did. First off, the writing style of the book was very good. Since the author works for Esquire, this should come as no surprise. The writing flows well, doesn't stall on points that have lost their attraction and uses just the right amount of detail to convey whatever message the author is attempting to make. This point, that the writing itself was not in poor quality, was a major sticking point for me. Another one of the three books I read for the class I describe above was moving, but only because of the message. The writing was awful. This book delivers both. The author embarks on a quest to follow the bibles laws as literally as possible. He goes as far as to not touch his wife for a week when she is considered "impure" (read the book for more detail)and many other things that would be considered "fanatic" these days. While the story of his year long project is unfolding, life continues around him. A neighbor dies, his wife becomes pregnant with twins and his daily routine work related stresses mount up. How his quest affects his daily life, for me, became central to the message the book was trying to deliver. Good writing and an interesting story though are not how I decided this book was five star quality. I've read other books that I enjoyed every bit as much that didn't have that little extra to make them five star quality. This book has that "something", for me, and that something was its personable qualities. As I read the book, a great many question and concerns I had as I assessed my spiritual life came up. When should we follow the rules literally and when should we look for the underlying meaning? Who should we trust to interpret the rules for us? Can you be so caught up in the rituals that you miss the overall meaning? At the end of the book there is an author's note explaining how the story is true and in certain key areas, the names of people have been changed or the timeline of the events have been played with. Otherwise, it is an accurate documentation of what the author experienced during his quest. I say, no need for the author's note. Anyone who reads the book will arrive at the conclusion themselves that it is genuine. On a side note, upon completing the book, I felt compelled to contact the author through his website. I just wanted to share with him the fact that his book did lighten up my little corner of the world a bit. True to his word, he got back to me (the same day in fact).

This book is an extremely well-written account of a spiritual journey that was fully and carefully researched, and included consultation with a wide spectrum of advisors before the writer set out on his quest. The book could have been a mere stunt: “look at me; aren’t I funny? Aren’t these fundamentalist interpretations of the scripture both quaint and ridiculous? And aren’t those who adhere to them either stupid or wilfully blind?” Instead, while the author has written a book that is indeed often very funny (cf. stoning an adulterer), it is written with such humility and generosity that it never becomes condescending or patronizing to those whose views the author cannot share (i.e. creationists, Hasidic Jews.) He is somewhat less generous, and rightfully so, to those who exploit the credulity of other to enrich themselves--the Jerry Fallwells of this world. A. J. Jacobs is Jewish but what he has to say is relevant to any person struggling with belief. A wise man told him not to expect to be the same person at the end of his year as he was at the beginning, and a note at the end of a later book about carrying out various projects,) which I also enjoyed, confirms that. He describes himself now as “a reverent agnostic”. Not a bad place to be--but probably, considering his relative youth, his inquisitive nature, and the moments of transcendence he experienced as a child and adolescent, not his final position. As a practicing (I’m still learning) liberal Episcopalian, I’ve been recommending this book to many members of the parish to which I belong.

I liked the way AJ writes. Its casual and personal. Like having a casual chat with a friend. It is definitely a good read if you are someone who is a tad bit interested in religion. I also learned a lot, especially about the sects and denominations. Now that the book is over, I kind of miss AJ, Julie, Jasper and the rest of the lot. PS: AJ's dad, in case you are reading this review, Hi! :)

Die Erfahrungen des Autors sind einzigartig. Das war eine sehr mutige Entscheidung von ihm, so ein Projekt durchzuziehen. Die Sprache ist sehr verständlich,.

Como cristiano evangélico mi vida está basada en las Escrituras y es muy interesante ver los esfuerzos del autor para llevar a cabo el cumplimiento de las normas bíblicas, sin Dios. ¡Es imposible!. Aprovecho estas líneas para decir que no hay más camino al Cielo que la persona de JesuCristo en quien nos apoyamos para un día, más allá de la tumba encontrarnos con El. Libro grandemente recomendable.

I really enjoyed this book. It was funny and thought provoking. I learned a lot . The journey is, at various times, hysterical, frustrating, informative and moving. It will challenge your own thinking on religion and open up new doors for exploring your own relationship with the divine.