The New Jew Canon: God: A Biography |
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| The ultimate guide to the books every Jew needs to own | |
by AJ Jacobs, August 25, 2008 |
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Title:
God: A Biography
Author:
Jack Miles
Description:
Richard Dawkins somewhat famously describes God as a "misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully." He's not such a fan. If you want a more nuanced view of God, I loved God: A Biography by Jack Miles. It's an amazing work. Miles decides to analyze God in the way you'd analyze the main character of a great work of literature. The portrait that emerges is of an evolving God, a complex and fascinating God, a God with the capacity for both mercy and swift judgment. Miles doesn't whitewash the God of the Hebrew Scriptures, but he doesn't take the Dawkins character assassination route either.
Recommended By:
AJ Jacobs is editor at large at Esquire magazine and has contributed to The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, New York Magazine, and Jewcy. He is the bestselling author of The Know-It-All and The Year of Living Biblically, earning him the self-proclaimed status of human guinea pig.
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The New Jew Canon is a long-term project that seeks to canonize essential Jewish (and some Non-Jewish) reads as recommended by extraordinary rabbis, experts, and cultural leaders. Suggestions are welcome via comments or tips. For more New Jew Canon recommendations, visit Jewcy's New Jew Canon Listmania.