Few, if any, thinkers and writers today would have the imagination, the breadth of knowledge, the literary skill, and-yes-the audacity to conceive of a powerful, secular alternative to the Bible. But that is exactly what A.C. Grayling has done by creating a non-religious Bible, drawn from the wealth of secular literature and philosophy in both Western and Eastern traditions, using the same techniques of editing, redaction, and adaptation that produced the holy books of the Judaeo-Christian and Islamic religions. The Good Book consciously takes its design and presentation from the Bible, in its beauty of language and arrangement into short chapters and verses for ease of reading and quotability, offering to the non-religious seeker all the wisdom, insight, solace, inspiration, and perspective of secular humanist traditions that are older, far richer and more various than Christianity. Organized in 12 main sections----Genesis, Histories, Widsom, The Sages, Parables, Consolations, Lamentations, Proverbs, Songs, Epistles, Acts, and the Good---- The Good Book opens with meditations on the origin and progress of the world and human life in it, then devotes attention to the question of how life should be lived, how we relate to one another, and how vicissitudes are to be faced and joys appreciated. Incorporating the writing of Herodotus and Lucretius, Confucius and Mencius, Seneca and Cicero, Montaigne, Bacon, and so many others, The Good Book will fulfill its audacious purpose in every way.
Review
'There is an immense depth of human wisdom on display here, and five minutes with any passage will have you contemplating all day' * Independent * 'An extravagantly erudite manifesto for rational thought' * Guardian * 'Full of sage counsel, wise advice and comfort for the sorrowing' * Observer * 'Undeniably thought-provoking' * Sunday Times *
About the Author
A.C. Grayling is professor of philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London. He is the author of the acclaimed Among the Dead Cities: The History and Moral Legacy of the WWII Bombing of Civilians in Germany and Japan , Descartes: The Life and Times of a Genius , and Toward the Light of Liberty: The Struggles for Freedom and Rights That Made the Modern Western World. A fellow of the World Economic Forum and past chairman of the human rights organization June Fourth, he contributes frequently to the Times , Financial Times , Economist , New Statesman , and Prospect. Grayling's play "Grace," co-written with Mick Gordon, has played to full houses in London and New York, starring Lynn Redgrave; its central debate over the virtue of religion gives Grayling a strong platform for The Good Book. He lives in London.
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Product Description
Few, if any, thinkers and writers today would have the imagination, the
breadth of knowledge, the literary skill, and-yes-the audacity to
conceive of a powerful, secular alternative to the Bible. But that is
exactly what A.C. Grayling has done by creating a non-religious Bible,
drawn from the wealth of secular literature and philosophy in both
Western and Eastern traditions, using the same techniques of editing,
redaction, and adaptation that produced the holy books of the
Judaeo-Christian and Islamic religions. The Good Book consciously
takes its design and presentation from the Bible, in its beauty of
language and arrangement into short chapters and verses for ease of
reading and quotability, offering to the non-religious seeker all the
wisdom, insight, solace, inspiration, and perspective of secular
humanist traditions that are older, far richer and more various than
Christianity. Organized in 12 main sections----Genesis, Histories,
Widsom, The Sages, Parables, Consolations, Lamentations, Proverbs,
Songs, Epistles, Acts, and the Good---- The Good Book opens with
meditations on the origin and progress of the world and human life in
it, then devotes attention to the question of how life should be lived,
how we relate to one another, and how vicissitudes are to be faced and
joys appreciated. Incorporating the writing of Herodotus and Lucretius,
Confucius and Mencius, Seneca and Cicero, Montaigne, Bacon, and so many
others, The Good Book will fulfill its audacious purpose in every way.
Review
'There is an immense depth of human wisdom on display here, and five minutes with any passage will have you contemplating all day' * Independent * 'An extravagantly erudite manifesto for rational thought' * Guardian * 'Full of sage counsel, wise advice and comfort for the sorrowing' * Observer * 'Undeniably thought-provoking' * Sunday Times *
About the Author
A.C. Grayling is professor of philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London. He is the author of the acclaimed Among the Dead Cities: The History and Moral Legacy of the WWII Bombing of Civilians in Germany and Japan , Descartes: The Life and Times of a Genius , and Toward the Light of Liberty: The Struggles for Freedom and Rights That Made the Modern Western World. A fellow of the World Economic Forum and past chairman of the human rights organization June Fourth, he contributes frequently to the Times , Financial Times , Economist , New Statesman , and Prospect. Grayling's play "Grace," co-written with Mick Gordon, has played to full houses in London and New York, starring Lynn Redgrave; its central debate over the virtue of religion gives Grayling a strong platform for The Good Book. He lives in London.