The good book few, if any, thinkers and writers today would have the imagination, the breadth of knowledge, the literary skill, andyesthe audacity to conceive of a. The humanists liturgical year was entirely built round the book. The good book is a book of insight, inspiration, wisdom, solace and commentary on the human condition drawn from the great humanist traditions of thought and literature of the world. C download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. A humanist bible, a nonreligious bible that draws from the wealth of secular literature and philosophy in both western and eastern traditions. Published on the four hundredth anniversary of the king james bible, the good book is a work of extraordinary audacity from a remarkable thinkera secular humanist bible drawn from the wisdom and. January was the month for the recitation of genesis, february of wisdom, march. Stimulating, thoughtful, rational and rewarding, it is now published in a compact edition.
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 nonreligious seeker all the wisdom, insight, solace, inspiration, and perspective of secular humanist traditions that are older, far richer and. The good books organizational system is similar to that of the bible. Atheism, morality, and the kingdom of god, by david k. Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. It is truly written in the style of the bible grayling has taken the collected wisdom of hundreds of secular philosophers and melded it together in the flowery prose form typical of the bible. Mar 05, 20 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 judeochristian and islamic religions, the good book consciously takes its design and presentation from the bible. Jun 30, 2011 the good book consciously takes its design and presentation from the bible, in the beauty of its language and its arrangement into short chapters and verses, offering to the nonreligious seeker all the wisdom, insight, solace, inspiration, and perspective of various secular humanist traditions. Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer no kindle device required. In its beauty of language and its arrangement into short chapters and. The good book consciously takes its design and presentation from the bible, in the beauty of its language and its pdf arrangement into short chapters and verses, offering to the nonreligious seeker all the wisdom, insight, solace, inspiration, and perspective of various secular humanist traditions. The good book is an inspired work of insight, wisdom, solace, and commentary on the human condition drawn from the worlds great humanist traditions of thought and literature, western and easter alike.
A humanist bible reprint by grayling, reader in philosophy birkbeck college a c isbn. Cambridge scholars press, 2019, isbn 9781527519633. Despite the title, grayling didnt mean for his humanist bible to shove the bible bible aside. Apr 08, 2011 the good book aims to provide a rich resource of materials for thinking about these issues. Apr 04, 2011 the good book cant be bettered the philosopher ac grayling has created a secular bible, but its guidance for a good life fails to convince genevieve fox. I do think there is scope for a humanistsecular bible, but i dont think this book is up to the job. Version of the bible, david sexton attacks several books by atheist authors and. Grayling strives to provide a book of wisdom and inspiration. While there are chapters in the book that provided good guidancee. Designed to be read as narrative and also to be dipped into for inspiration, encouragement and consolation, the good book offers a thoughtful, nonreligious alternative to the many people who do not follow one of the worlds great religions. Grayling is being billed as if it is an inspirational collection of ethical tidbits.
A humanist bible, a nonreligious bible that draws from the wealth of secular literature and philosophy in both western and eastern. The good book aims to provide a rich resource of materials for thinking about these issues. The book was designed as a secular alternative to religious text, and to be read as a narrative drawing on nonreligious philosophy, including that from ancient greek, chinese, roman, indian and arab civilizations, as well as the european renaissance and the age of enlightenment. A humanist bible, a nonreligious bible that draws from the wealth of secular literature and philosophy in. I had read an article about it, as an atheist i liked the idea and wanted to support graylings work so i. After all the subtitle of the book is a humanist bible. Mar 05, 20 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 nonreligious seeker all the wisdom, insight, solace, inspiration, and perspective of secular humanist traditions that are older, far richer and. A humanist bible hardcover i bought this book with no expectations. But he could have left most of histories out, i would even pay for a small pocket version of the good book without this big chapter. The good book few, if any, thinkers and writers today would have the imagination, the breadth of knowledge, the literary skill, andyes the audacity to conceive of a powerful, secular alternative to the bible. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. It imitates the editorial style of the judeochristian bible and of the quran, but is entirely secular and makes no mention of god. Grayling has distilled the work of hundreds of authors and more than one thousand texts using the same techniques. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the good book.
You will not open it up and find passages from various works called out by author. I get a little twitchy around things that walk and talk like traditional christianity, but the excerpt i read was kind of beautiful once i got over the cognitive dissonance of reading about newton in biblical cadences. How can one live a humane, meaningful life without following a specific religion. A humanist bible, a nonreligious bible that draws from the wealth of secular. A humanist bible and millions of other books are available for instant access. I was expecting it to begin with the big bang, go on to summarise how the earth formed and evolution then the spread of humanity a bit like the bible but based on scientific understanding. Drawn from the wealth of secular literature and philosophy in both western and eastern traditions, using the same techniques of editing, redaction, and. I liked the book in general, even though the language was hard for me in the beginning, because i am not a native english speaker. Published on the four hundredth anniversary of the king james bible, a book of extraordinary audacity from a remarkable thinker a secular humanist bible drawn from the wisdom and inspiration in the worlds great literature. Jan 27, 2020 christian information and relationship. The basic idea of the good book is that it celebrates the format of scripture as a means to transmit wisdom and tradition. Note that grayling lays his book out like the bible with similar referencing.
A book of extraordinary audacity from a remarkable thinkera secular. I espeacially like the first book genesis and the last book the good. There is no reference list at the back to tell you where anything came from, he has taken the ideas and the texts and melted them together. The good book cant be bettered the philosopher ac grayling has created a secular bible, but its guidance for a good life fails to convince genevieve fox. Few, if any, thinkers and writers today would have the imagination, the breadth of knowledge.
Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the good book. You dont have to be a humanist or an atheist to thoroughly enjoy his work, as all one really needs is to have an appreciation for the wisdom and inspiration that is to be found in the worlds great literature. He wanted to create a secular contribution to the ageold conversation humanity has with itself about the good. The good book a secular or humanist alternative to the bible. In its beauty of language and its arrangement into short chapters and verses for. I had read an article about it, as an atheist i liked the idea and wanted to support graylings work so i bought it. The philosopher ac grayling has created a secular bible, but its guidance for a good life fails to convince genevieve fox. 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 judeochristian and islamic religions, the good book consciously takes its design and presentation from the bible. Antichristian polemic makes only a brief appearance, in the epistle that prefaces the good book, but such polemic is central to graylings identity as humanist, atheist and secularist, and to a. Graylings humanistic book presents the ideas most closely held by evolutionists in a flowery poetical way. In its beauty of language and its arrangement into short chapters and verses for ease of reading and quotability, it offers the nonreligious seeker all the wisdom, insight, solace. This work is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4. The book was designed as a secular alternative to religious text, and to be read as.
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