The Apocalypse Code: Find Out What the Bible REALLY Says About the End Times . . . and Why It Matters Today

Book Description

"Most of what you've heard, read or been told about the End Times is wrong," says popular radio host and bestselling apologist, Hank Hanegraaff. "We have come to accept a wide range of beliefs and teachings about the future, about the ultimate battle between good and evil, about the last days, and about how our world will end. And most of these beliefs and teachings are based on fundamental misinterpretations of what the scriptures really say about the end times."

The Apocalypse Code helps readers understand what the Bible really says about End Times, and why what we believe matters so much in today's world.

Customer Reviews:

Dispensationalists Beware!!.......2007-10-07

Kudos to Hank Hanegraaff for yet another powerful book exposing questionable doctrines which have risen to popularity within the Christian Church. In "Apocalypse Code", Hank goes through the history and forces behind the dispensationalist movement which has gained strength in the last 10 years with the "Left Behind" series. As always, Hank approaches the reading of Revalations and other Bible prophesy from the perspective of LIGHTS - the acronym explaining proper principles of bible interpretation. In the book, Hank spends the first quarter of the book just reminding the reader how to read scriptures "for all it's worth".

The book spends most of its pages refuting the dispensationalist author Tim LaHaye. This is really the whole thrust of the book. When Hank mentioned he was starting this project on his radio program, I had high hopes that Hank would not just refute dispensationalism, but go into great detail about the whole spectrum of end time prophesy interpretations. By only focusing on refuting dispensationalism, he leaves woefully short the other interpretations (biblically correct or not) and instead challenges the reader to figure it out for himself. While clearly a partial pretarist, he only briefly talks about full pretarism and pretrib/postrib interpretations and all the rest. GIVE ME MORE MEAT HERE!

I suppose such a wish from me would have resulted in a book 3-4 times longer than this one, but it would have been more enlightening and easier to have in one resource. However, "Apocalypse Code" would be a great resource for anyone who got caught in the "Left Behind" hype and found some or all of the interpretations hard to buy into and need to seek help learning that their bologne indicators were probably right.

good, but could have been much better.......2007-09-08

I had high hopes for this book. After studying the Partial Preterist view for a few years with a very skeptical mind, I became convinced. Given Hanegraaff's reputation, the length of the book, and the table of contents I thought sure this would be the definitive book to explain the position, but alas. Here are a few points
1. I think the average reader won't know anything about this view. Hank should have explained the underlying suppositions more. Still, the basics are there for anyone to investigate further.
2. It is important to learn this veiw methodically since it is so radically different from any futurist view, and remarkably different from the Amillenialist view. Hank doesn't present it methodically, rather it is presented somewhat piecemeal. Still, it does present the most important points so it is very valuable.
3. Even for someone like me who has read extensively, this book is not written particularly well. He is a bit vague and doesn't present the material very clearly. This is a style issue, not content. Still, for the person who wants to know and reads the references, it is a good beginning.
All in all, I was dissatisfied but I am glad it is out there. If this view is correct (and I think it is) it will revolutionize the thinking of believers, from what's coming in the future to our understanding of the nature of God Himself.

Hank's magnum opus.......2007-09-06

Masterful review of bible principles. sound theology and delightful use of logic and vocabulary. slightly rough on his critiques but very accurate. Not to be read slightly, moderately deep. Perfect companion for his last book on resurrection.

Adds Nothing New to the Debate.......2007-08-31

Overall, I don't think this book will have the same impact on the "end-times" movement that Christianity in Crisis, and Counterfeit Revival had on the Word-Faith and Extreme Pentecostal movements. I do think that the appearance of books like Apocalypse Code and others which challenge the prevailing eschatological view are beneficial. While their effect is like touching an exposed nerve, the end result is they are exposing some major chinks in the armor of a view that has traditionally been left unchallenged. Even with its flaws, Apocalypse Code's can have a therapeutic effect by helping those who want an pop-genre introduction to the movement's eschatological theology, its extra-biblical nature and the motives behind the personalities who are driving it.

Ultimately, I find the publication of the book to be of greater impact than it content. I see it as an indicator that pre-millennial Dispensational eschatology is no longer untouchable. As such, it's an important step in opening the debate to a wider audience. However, as for it content, it really brings no new facts to the table that have not already been published in other books critical of Dispensationalism.
[..]

Finally someone makes since about end times.......2007-08-20

Having read the bible several times and after years of hearing nothing but the "Left Behind" theory for end times, I kept wondering where they were getting this theory. I would read the supposed text to back it up and not see anything remotely close to what they were saying. I kept wondering if there were something wrong with me. It is so refreshing to have someone making sound arguements on the topic. This book is an absolute must read for anyone wanting to understand the bible. It does not answer all your questions but it points in a reasonable direction instead of a blind alley.

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Average customer rating:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers
Pants on fire?
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
Very Interesting
History as Science Fiction

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 2913621058

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Zip Code Atlas: The United States Mail Business Bible (United States Zip Code Atlas)

Average customer rating:

Just What I Needed
Disappointed
Zip Code Atlas

Zip Code Atlas: The United States Mail Business Bible (United States Zip Code Atlas)

Manufacturer: American Map Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound
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ASIN: 0841617775

Book Description

The United States Zip Code Atlas is an indispensable resource for anyone involve in direct marketing, sales, media selection, or transportation. Individual state maps are the core of the atlas. Each state map shows 3-digit zip code areas clearly outlined in a second color. The indexes give 5-digit zip codes. The material is further enhanced by 22 pages of statistical and demographic data, organized by 3-digit zip code. As a special bonus, a full-size, full-color U.S. county-town zip code map is included (a $36.00 value).

Customer Reviews:

Just What I Needed.......2007-03-08

The Zip Code Atlas makes my territory assignments easy at the top level - 3 digit zip breakdowns. Does not go any lower than that but I knew that prior to buying. Great printing, also a very nice North American wall map - very large and nice.

Disappointed.......2001-05-11

I purchased this with the intent of using to help divide mailing lists by sales territory. However,I soon realized that it defines zip code areas by the first three digits only, i.e. 640, 641. This was helpful, but not nearly as much help as a five digit breakout would have been. If you need a five digit breakout, buy a wall map.

Zip Code Atlas.......2000-04-20

This book has been the best resource for me when I'm trying to determine sales territory alignments based on customer zip codes. Many times, the zip code is not provided to me and I can go to this book and get on track. This has saved me a great deal of frustration! I have an older edition and am now looking to order an updated one.

Breaking the Code: Understanding the Book of Revelation

Average customer rating:

Solid and readable
Very Helpful
Very worthwhile read.
Metzger Makes Sense!
Hoped more from this book

Breaking the Code: Understanding the Book of Revelation
Bruce M. Metzger
Manufacturer: Abingdon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0687492009

Book Description

The book of Revelation contains passages of great beauty and comfort, as well as passages that strike the casual reader as bizarre, bewildering, and sometimes frightening. How are readers today to discern God's message in this peculiar part of the Bible? In this book Metzger presents solid scholarship in a nonacademic style. The book includes a list of resources for further study, a study guide for 8-13 sessions and can be used in personal or group study.

Customer Reviews:

Solid and readable.......2007-08-03

The first thing one must admit in reviewing one of Metzger's work is that next to no one is qualified to review one of Metzger's works. One of the most noted biblical scholars of a century, it's unlikely that any casual reader can take aim at him.

That said, the book is written for the casual reader, and in that sense is very accessible and unintimidating. There are even points at which, for the scholar or preacher, one might wish he would go into more detail concerning the first century context. The details of the eruption of Vesuvius and the threat of the Parthians are eye-opening, but Metzger gives them each only a passing notice. Nontheless, for an introduction to the Book of Revelation from the perspective of one who is not anticipating a literal, science-fiction fulfillment of the book in the future, this is a perfect read.

What is strongest about the book is that Metzger unpacks some of the most significant images of the text: the beast, the prostitute, the dragon and the lamb. He shows the first-century implications for the Roman Empire and lets us into the heart of one of Jesus' disciples, comforting a persecuted congregation. He interprets the symbols the way apocalyptic literature should be interpreted, as cosmic projections of present-day events. And all of this is done within the realm of Christian orthodoxy. In the end, it's a solid, reliable, insightful, brief book by a humble and talented scholar.

Very Helpful.......2007-05-26

This book was very helpful to my understanding of the book of Revelations in the bible.

Very worthwhile read........2007-02-12

We are here in the heart of Dispensationalism,from "Dallas Seminary" and it was easy to relate to it.

Metzger Makes Sense!.......2007-02-07

Are you intimidated by the book of Revelation? Are you confused by the many views people hold about this amazing book? Looking for a book that will help you understand what John saw and what his readers would have understood in the late first-century? If you are, then this book is for you.

Metzger makes sense of this special book we call Revelation. From the beginning Metzger claims that this book has been mistreated by two extreme views: those who concentrate all of their study on this one book and those who are fearful to even attempt to read and interpret it. Many have carelessly ignored the literary genre in which it was written... that being apocalyptic literature.

This little book works much like a commentary. It is easy to read as it is primarily a guide to understanding the "Code" or symbols John uses in this type of literature. I highly recommend this book to those who are concerned with the historical-grammatical approach to studying and interpreting the Scriptures. It is a wonderful book to use in a small Bible study group. (You can also purchase a video and a leaders guide) I have used this in a small group. My class loved it!

It is no secret that Metzger's book is for the common man. Meaning: those who have not spent their entire lives at school, do not have knowledge of Greek, nor have had the opportunity to study theology in an educational institution. Metzger has the common man in mind. I have had the privilege to do these things... yet I find this book to be a great little resource when doing introductory study on the book of Revelation.

There are plenty of books on the market for those who want to further explore the first-century world of John to our modern day. This book is for those who want a historical approach to the book. It is plain and simple. And this is what Metzger wanted to accomplish. Get this book and learn of the great hope that Revelation presents to those who are called "the overcomers!"

Hoped more from this book.......2006-06-22

I bought this book and read it in less than a week, if you have studied even a little bit about the Book of Revelation this is not the book for you. Everything I read I had already learned by just going to Sunday school. It is very basic, and I don't agree with some of the statements the author makes. This book didn't break any code at least for me.

Average customer rating:

Disappointing, but what was I to expect
God Code
God Code reveals a Hidden Message
EVERYONE LISTEN UP!!!!!!!
Where is the evidence?

The God Code
Gregg Braden
Manufacturer: Hay House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1401903002

amazon.com

Author and computer systems designer Gregg Braden wrapped this entire book around the premise that God's name is literally encoded into every human body. According to Braden's logic, the basic elements of DNA--hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen and carbon--directly translate into specific letters of the Hebrew alphabets (YHVA), which then translate into the original name of God. Braden's hope is that knowing that God's signature is carried within each cell of the estimated six billion humans on earth will give humankind the evidence we need to overcome our differences and renew our faith:

Beyond Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Shinto, Native, Aboriginal, white, black, red, or yellow; man, woman, or child, the message reminds us that we are human. As humans, we share the same ancestors and exist as the children of the same Creator. In the moments that we doubt this one immutable truth, we need look no further than the cells of our body to be reminded. This is the power of the message within our cells.

One could argue that this melding of spirituality and science may be the next frontier in human evolution. Nonetheless, skeptics could also argue that this DNA=YHVA equation is an eerie coincidence, instead of a quantum breakthrough--like folding a $20 bill in a certain shape and seeing the twin towers in flames (Braden dispels such skepticism by asserting that the "odds that this relationship has occurred by chance are approximately 1 in 200,000"). This is neither a consistent or easy read. Some passages are filled with dense, analytical stretches of cross referencing ancient texts with modern science. Others are more prosaic as Braden explains his beautifully optimistic hope for peace on Earth. --Gail Hudson

Book Description

A coded message has been found within the molecules of life; deep within the DNA in each cell of our bodies. Through a remarkable discovery linking Biblical alphabets to our genetic code, the "language of life" may now be read as the ancient letters of a timeless message. Regardless of race, religion, heritage or lifestyle, the message is the same in each cell of every woman, child and man, past and present.

With nearly one third of the world's nations currently embroiled in armed conflict, such proof of a universal bond offers compelling evidence that we are greater than any beliefs that have separated us in the past. Through this newly found expression of unity we find a place to begin when our differences seem insurmountable.

In this all-new original research, Gregg Braden shares the life-changing discovery that led him from a successful career in aerospace and defense to an extensive 12-year study of the most sacred and honored traditions of humankind. Through his global search and controversial findings: • Discover the coded message of our cells from the day of our origins • Experience that message as a universal principle of unity that makes war based in our differences obsolete • See the recently revealed fragment of the Dead Sea Scrolls validating the text discovered in our cells • Discover tangible and unprecedented evidence that we are part of a greater existence • Learn how the message in your DNA becomes the foundation to resolve conflict; and offers a method, and a reason to believe that peace is possible within families and between nations

Customer Reviews:

Disappointing, but what was I to expect.......2007-09-19

I came upon this book by accident and given some of the great reviews and the claim by the author to have worked for many years as an engineer, I expected this would be a logically sound book. I was very disappointed to learn that not only was the book mostly(about 95%) a compilation of works from other authors and just common knowledge, but to make the leap from what the author wants to believe and what he presents to be so undeniable is just absurd. There is no proof, nor did I expect any, but I did expect a logical progression to making logically sound points, which were missing. Assumptions were made left and right to come to a conclusion that the author wanted to believe in more than anything. Very disappointed with this book, would not suggest this book to anyone, and unfortunately I've bought two books by this author before being acquainted with his work, so I'll just have read The Divine Matrix and provide my review independent of The God Code.

God Code.......2007-07-23

Thought provoking. Makes you wonder about all that we don't know about our history and about our prehistory.

God Code reveals a Hidden Message.......2007-07-15

Like so many books that delve into the more esoteric aspects of reality, the God Code explores the hidden, unseen aspects of codes. Hidden in our DNA, and applying gematria (Hebrew letters which are assigned number values), we get a very important message that God is eternal and within our bodies.

For some people, a few of Braden's conclusions will be a stretch and seem far-fetched. However, I totally relate to all the numerological relationships Braden puts forth, so I really enjoyed the God Code. The book actually helped me understand several important connections about YHVH (Hebrew name of God) and the four DNA bases that make up all life. Because this was important to me, I referenced his observations in the book I was writing at the time.

EVERYONE LISTEN UP!!!!!!!.......2007-04-04

YOU HAVE TO GET THIS BOOK. THE WHOLE WORLD NEEDS THIS MESSAGE. I HAVE BEEN TRAVELING DOWN A SIMILAR PATH AND CAME TO THE SAME BASIC CONCLUSIONS. THE TIME FOR AWAKENING IS HERE AND WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME. GREGG BRADEN HAS PUT HIS MONEY WHERE HIS MOUTH IS. HE IS BRILLIANT AND TIMELY...GREAT READ....

Where is the evidence?.......2007-02-13

The Cod Code presents an interesting theory but then proceeds to insist that it is the TRUTH with no supporting evidence. I was disappointed. I wanted to see some justification for Mr Braden's theory. I wish the book had left me with more than the knowledge of Mr Branden's belief.

Average customer rating:

If you have nothing else to read on a long flight.
Interesting, but Eli Rips himself disagrees with Drosnin's extrapolations
Ridiculous and absurd bibliolatry
Riveting but Magnificent Book!
The Winnie the Pooh code

The Bible Code
Michael Drosnin
Manufacturer: Touchstone
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0684849739

Amazon.com

As God dictated the first five books of the Old Testament, He enclosed prophecies in a skip code--that is, every fifth letter in a sentence forms a word. The trouble is, the Code is so divinely complex, you need a computer to find it. Now that we have those, and author Michael Drosnin, you too can read God's secret messages in The Bible Code. Drosnin was a reporter for the Wall Street Journal who turned into the Jeanne Dixon of the Middle East after "predicting" Rabin's assassination a year before it happened. Since then, with the help of mathematicians, he's been finding the bleak Future all over the Torah: an earthquake in L.A. (2010), a meteor hitting the Earth (2006, 2010, 2012, or all of these), and, of course, nuclear Armageddon (2000 or 2006). But don't write 2006 off yet, because the book says that the Code doesn't predict the Future, it merely reveals one possible future. Hmm. The Bible Code is this generation's The Late, Great Planet Earth. For those in the market, it delivers.

Book Description

0n September 1, 1994, I flew to Israel and met in Jerusalem with a close friend

of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, the poet Chaim Guri. I gave him a letter

which he immediately gave to the Prime Minister.

"An Israeli mathematician has discovered a hidden code in the Bible that

appears to reveal the details of events that took place thousands of years after

the Bible was written," my letter to Rabin stated.

"The reason I'm telling you about this is that the only time your full name

Yitzhak Rabin is encoded in the Bible, the words 'assassin that will assassinate'

cross your name."

On November 4, 1995, came the awful confirmation, a shot in the back from a

man who believed he was on a mission from God, the murder that was encoded

in the Bible three thousand years ago.

Customer Reviews:

If you have nothing else to read on a long flight........2007-08-28

This book reads like a sensationalist novel or something out of the tabloids. It's good on a long flight, but as far as the facts are concerned, you'd do better to switch off your brain when reading this book.

Interesting, but Eli Rips himself disagrees with Drosnin's extrapolations.......2007-07-01

"The Bible Code" is an extremely interesting book explaining the highly controversial code that is claimed to be inherent in the `Torah', the first five books of the Bible.
Michael Drosnin explains the phenomena of the Bible code in layman terms, which was discovered in its extant form by the Israeli mathematician Eli Rips. Though Rips was the first person to apply a computer program to the Bible in order to find the code, he was by not the first to search for a hidden code in the Bible. A Rabbi in Czechoslovakia 50 years ago searched for a code that he believed was in the Bible. He found that if he noted the first letter in the book of Genesis, then continually skipped 50 letters, noting the letter for every skip, he found that the word `torah' appeared. And this occurred in Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy as well. Even Sir Isaac Newton spent a considerable amount of time searching for a code.
Drosnin shows the great many prophetic `messages' that can be found in the Bible. He also documents his travels in the Middle East, trying, in most cases in vain, to warn the relevant people what was in the code, and their fate that is predicted in it.
It must be noted though, that despite the fact that Drosnin documents his great deal of correspondence with the founder of the code, Eli Rips, Rips and others authorities on the Bible code vehemently appose certain extrapolations that Drosnins draws from the code itself. So readers beware, some of Drosnins views are not held by the experts themselves, and should be `taken with a pinch of salt'.

Overall this is a remarkable book which documents a remarkable phenomenon. "The Bible Code" makes for a quite enjoyable read.

Ridiculous and absurd bibliolatry.......2007-02-07

I'll be sincere.I didn't read all this trash-book.Someone lent this trash-book to me, some years ago, here in Brazil.This book is so bad, that I didn't finished it.In fact, I read less than 10% of this biblical-garbage.
This was a best-seller some years ago, in many parts of the world, including Brazil and USA.
Today the best seller is Da Vinci Code.A trash-book so absurd, as this trash-book.
Every time has its own trash-best-seller.
About a century ago eugenics was fashion.Later came communism, fascism, nazism, ufologism, etc.
This bibliolatry is a good book only for morons or atheists.If you are an atheist, this trash-book is a good way to debunk the bible.

Riveting but Magnificent Book!.......2006-11-16

I have studied 7 Bilble prophets and Revelation. And at first I did not think that God would reveal himself in cryptic mathematical codes hidden in the Old Testament of the Bible; but when Pat Robertson said to stay away from this book because it predicts nuclear war-I went out and got my copy!The Israeli Mathematician who had uncovered the codes had his findings published in a secular Mathematics Statistics Journal-so this very spiritual book has great appeal to athiests who might not respect the church!
This is a very spooky book. The Old Tesatamnt's first five books of the Bible were written around 1500 BC. And yet the coded messages contain details predicting modern history! Oswald killing Kennedy. McVeigh blowing the Murrah Federal Building. World War. Atomic Holocaust, etc.
TBN has other scholars with Bible Code Books and they just show things like the name of Jesus hidden in Old Teatament Codes. But Drosnin's book deals with serious events in modern history. And this is what gives it so much appeal to me. Just like THE LATE GREAT PLANET EARTH applied Bible Prophecy to current events as well.
The oddity of this is that Drosnin is an atheist who believes that the Bible was written with encoded messages in it by an extraterrestrial intelligence with a computer. To me, God is also extraterrestrial-He is up there in Heaven. He is the greatest Genius of the Universe! And maybe God does use computers up in Heaven. This proves that God is in control of the future and has seen or shaped current events well in advance. See, why I don't waste my time in church?
I also tend to think that this type of unusual cryptic messages seriously proves how near we are to the end of the world. After all, the Bible just says in the New Testament, we are in the Last Days. These codes say we are in the END OF DAYS! Right on the edge!

The Winnie the Pooh code.......2006-10-12

Utter nonsense. How else does one describe this?

A few erudite critics have already pointed out that with which I concur and on which will elaborate slightly: The "math" that's used is set up to find the answer the author desires. The elaboration: You could also find a similar "code" in anything, including, say, the US Constitution, or--hence my title--"Winnie."

This is a classic example of we humans trying desperately to find a pattern where none exist. Don't waste your time with this foolishness.

The Parthenon Code: Mankind's History in Marble

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pressing issues
Pandora deified...
Quick, fascinating, plausible and memorable value.
Amazing!
A Genuine Ancient Artists' Code Deciphered

The Parthenon Code: Mankind's History in Marble
Jr., Robert Bowie Johnson
Manufacturer: Solving Light Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0970543832

Book Description

The Parthenon Code reveals, for the first time in 2,000 years, the meaning of the seven sculptural themes on Athena's temple. A simple, but hidden artists' code expressed on vase-paintings and the Parthenon sculptures, leads to the astonishing truth that Greek myth/art chronicles in great detail the reestablishment of the way of Kain (Cain) after the Flood.

Customer Reviews:

pressing issues.......2007-02-28

When I hear my university colleagues condemn vanity presses, I often object, and I do so because of books like The Parthenon Code. Surely hobbyists such as Mr Johnson deserve an avenue for presenting their work to the public. The rigorous review to which juried publications are subjected demands, perhaps, an unnecessarily burdensome familiarity with scholarship in the appropriate fields of study, to say nothing of a career's worth of work in the academy and environs. My only regret for this book is that Mr Johnson has not yet quite mastered the conventions of scholarly discourse, where -- in the words of the great Dorothy L Sayers -- "a bland and deadly courtesy is more devastating" than rudely deriding the works of scholars who have devoted their lives to the formal study, teaching, and illumination of, in this case, the classics and the Bible.

Pandora deified..........2006-12-19

There are over 600 flood legends...almost every culture/civilization on the globe has passed down an oral and/or written history about a global flood. Indeed, the only way to fossilize anything is rapid burial underneath sediment and water (how else can one explain millions of fossils around the world) and what of seashells on tops of mountains...etc.

A Christian should not sneer at the idea of others in his faith who accept the authenticity of the very first book of the Bible. Scientific evidence points towards a young earth, as opposed to an old earth, and basic mathematics limits man's existence to a few thousand years, not millions. Indeed, even secular scientists affirm that all of manking descends from ONE woman (mitochondrial DNA). Could that woman be Eve? I think so, but others are welcome to draw their own conclusions.

As for the Book itself, it is a very interesting read. Like the author, however, I wish there were more primary sources fully delineating the meaning and the origins of the Parthenon. I think that Mr. Johnson has made a huge contribution to the study of the ancient world, in that he has posited a unique thesis regarding ancient Greece's greatest monument. While I am disposed to embrace his interpretations--due to my own literal interpretation of Genesis, I fear that the lack of primary sources (from ancient Athenians) may limit his book's influence.

Nevertheless, my imagination was very much excited by this writing, and plan to visit Nashville's Parthenon in March 2007.

Quick, fascinating, plausible and memorable value........2006-04-11

I finished reading this book this week, liked the way the material was presented and particularly appreciated the use of many original sources. I found Johnson's thesis generated many connections for me. For instance, his original reference to Cain as the lame god Hephaistos, cast down from Olympus made me think how, in a very real sense, Cain was crippled by the mark placed upon him by God, concerning which he was surely downcast. Further, it particularly made me appreciate the correlative work of Christ in making the lame to walk.
I thought this work plausible and obvious in that forehead slapping way and regretted that classical mythology has no place in evangelical academia.
In the end, one is left wondering why, if the Hesperides' Garden/Eden was the idyllic original habitat of man, but the actions of Hera/Eve resulted in its forfeiture and estrangement from Deity, how then, was the Enlightening a boon to man?
It interests me that all of mankind, by hook or by Shepherd's crook, seeks a return to Paradise, but must content itself with knowledge, since the natural man is very far from Eden indeed. As Robert Johnson rightly said, on the journey home one must pass through a bloody field east of Eden.
This is a wonderful and provocative book and I would be very interested to read anything else he writes.

Amazing!.......2005-11-04

The Greeks traced their ancestry back to a first couple in an ancient paradise they called the Garden of the Hesperides, always depicted on vases with a serpent-entwined apple tree. Sound familiar? This first couple, Zeus and Hera, were brother and sister, and husband and wife, just like Adam and Eve. They also had two sons who had offspring, just like Adam and Eve. Their sons, Hephaistos and Ares, correspond to Kain (the author uses the Greek spelling for reasons he makes clear) and Abel. It's so amazing and so simple once you see it. Greek artists tell the same story as Genesis except from the opposite standpoint that the serpent enlightened the first couple, rather than deluding them, in paradise.

Nereus of Greek "myth" (whose name means the "Wet One") is Noah. There's no doubt about it. You can check the author's overwhelming evidence for yourself. Herakles is Nimrod transplanted to Greek soil. Hermes is Cush. Chiron is Ham.

I commend the author for shining light on truth that's been there in the dark all along. THE PARTHENON CODE is a very well-written book with great depth, and many ancient illustrations confirming the author's thesis. He has cracked a genuine ancient artists' code. The big question in my mind is, Why have the academics for so long been so blind to the obvious?

Kari Joys, Author of "Choosing Light-Heartedness"

A Genuine Ancient Artists' Code Deciphered.......2005-04-15

The Greeks summarized who they were, where they came from, and what they believed on the east pediment of the Parthenon. In the last hundred pages of the book, Mr. Johnson takes the reader through the computer reconstruction of the figures there based on the physical evidence, one extant sculpture at a time. Holmes Bryant's computer reconstructions are magnificent (Click on "Search Inside" "Back Cover" to see his reconstruction of the Three Fates from the left side of the pediment, and click on "Front Cover" to see the Hesperides from the right side).
Reading those hundred pages gave me the same feeling as putting together a jigsaw puzzle. The author supplies all the pieces of the puzzle so you can evaluate his reconstruction for yourself. When you have finished THE PARTHENON CODE, you will understand what the Greeks were telling us in their myth/art, and on the sculptures of Athena's magnificent temple. Mr. Johnson has deciphered a genuine ancient artists' code.

Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code: A Historian Reveals What We Really Know about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Constantine

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Affable, well-informed and devastating
Needs balance
Debunking Da Vinci
Expert demolition
After all, it is a novel!

Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code: A Historian Reveals What We Really Know about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Constantine
Bart D. Ehrman
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Moleskine Pocket Ruled Notebook

ASIN: 0195181409

Book Description

A staggeringly popular work of fiction, Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code has stood atop The New York Times Bestseller List for well over a year, with millions of copies in print. But this fast-paced mystery is unusual in that the author states up front that the historical information in the book is all factually accurate. But is this claim true? As historian Bart D. Ehrman shows in this informative and witty book, The Da Vinci Code is filled with numerous historical mistakes. Did the ancient church engage in a cover-up to make the man Jesus into a divine figure? Did Emperor Constantine select for the New Testament--from some 80 contending Gospels--the only four Gospels that stressed that Jesus was divine? Was Jesus Christ married to Mary Magdalene? Did the Church suppress Gospels that told the secret of their marriage? Bart Ehrman thoroughly debunks all of these claims. But the book is not merely a laundry list of Brown's misreading of history. Throughout, Ehrman offers a wealth of fascinating background information--all historically accurate--on early Christianity. He describes, for instance, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls (which are not Christian in content, contrary to The Da Vinci Code); outlines in simple terms how scholars of early Christianity determine which sources are most reliable; and explores the many other Gospels that have been found in the last half century. Ehrman separates fact from fiction, the historical realities from the flights of literary fancy. Readers of The Da Vinci Code who would like to know the truth about the beginnings of Christianity and the life of Jesus will find this book riveting.

Customer Reviews:

Affable, well-informed and devastating.......2007-09-10

Almost as amazing as the explosive phenomenon that was "The Da Vinci Code," is the explosion of books attacking its premises and conclusions. Bart Ehrman's book, "Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code" is an able addition to the list.

Ehrman is a historian, a Protestant, with a mainstream viewpoint. His book examines 6 "codes" that appear in TDVC. These touch on the persons of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, the process of defining the canon or list of accepted books, the role of women in the early church and other topics germane to the discussion. Ehrman's examination and conclusions are logical, based on the evidence and (I thought) quite convincing. For instance, he discusses the supposed "fact" that since all rabbis had to be married, then Jesus (often called "Rabbi" by his disciples) must have been married as well. Ehrman demolishes this notion with easily-accessible facts. The apostle Paul himself was unmarried, as evidenced by his own letters. And the 1st-century Jewish historian Josephus speaks glowingly of the Essenes, noting that they do not marry. The term "rabbi" means "teacher," and can be applied to those who have undergone and official process as well as those (like Jesus) for whom the term is used as an honorific. And, unconvincingly to skeptics, the Gospels do not mention a married Jesus. Having made the case, Ehrman states that he has broken the code (that a married Jesus was probable) and moves on.

By far, Ehrman spends the most time with the so-called gnostic gospels, upon which the hopes of so many who attack the Church are based. These works of the early centuries of the current era were known mostly through the attacks upon them made by early Church Fathers like Irenaeus. Since the 1940s, with the discover of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi library, historians have had a field day studying the primary texts of the first, second and third centuries. Ehrman examines the texts themselves as well as the cosmology and theology they espouse. This section is long, confusing and hard to follow, not least because the texts themselves are contradictory and plain weird. Ehrman pays special attention to details that moderns have given special importance. There is, for instance the section in the Gospel of Phillip in which Jesus is said to have kissed Mary Magdalene often on the mouth. Ehrman shows how this text is a reconstruction, with key words missing, and that it is embedded in sections that have purely spiritual and symbolic significance. Those who see it as an example of a flesh-and-blood relationship often neglect these key aspects of the work. Not to mention that the text post-dates the canonical gospels by many decades.

"Truth and Fiction" is a careful and dispassionate critique of the fuzzy thinking of TDVC partisans. It is also an good-natured attack on best-selling authors like Elaine Pagels ("The Gnostic Gospels") who have gained prominence by championing the vision of the gnostics. But the book's ultimate attack is on the "code behind the codes" -- the attempt to make the doctrine of the gnostics equivalent to the orthodox view taught in the gospels. Ehrman's great contribution is in making clear that two gospels -- one that preaches a suffering, crucified and risen Lord, and another that preaches a Lord who did not suffer and die -- can not merely be considered alternatives of one another. They preach different realities and have different consequences for believers. One is a gospel for all, the other a gospel for the elite. One opposes the world, the other revels in it. One was passed down by those close the Jesus, the other was invented decades or centuries after his life.

Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" was more than a work of fiction. It was an attack on the truth and on the hard-won and hard-kept beliefs of Christians over the last 2000 years. Ehrman's book is an educated, entertaining and accessible rebuttal that is well worth the read.

Needs balance.......2007-02-04

This is a good book with a lot of historical information and quotes, but it is the usual kind of scholarly approach that one finds to Christianity (like few other subjects): An investigation for which the author already knows the answer. I would rather see something a bit more open-minded than the sort of "writing the facts to fit the opinion" that usually comes to religion. For instance the entire concept of Jesus's "Kingdom of God" has only one possible meaning to the author; suffice it to say this is not so for a great many scholars, theologists and spiritualists. Rather disappointing for something that came through the Oxford University Press.

Debunking Da Vinci.......2007-01-08

It can't really be said that a scholar of Dr. Ehrman's magnitude was needed to demolish the historical claims of Dan Brown's piece-of-garbage novel. Any 12 year old Sunday school student could have blown down half the arguments of the Da Vinci Code while any intelligent person with a history book could have knocked over the other half. The value that Ehrman provides is that he delves deeper into Brown's claims and, rather than merely pointing out Brown's whoppers, gives us a very detailed education on Early Christianity, Biblical exegesis, the Gnostics, Mary Magdalene, Constantine, and all the other issues touching on the Da Vinci Code. It is a real pleasure for anyone interested in the Early Church and historical truth. However, Christians should be warned- although the vast majority of the book is unobjectionable, the born-again apostate Ehrman does indulge his agnosticism and judges the relative historical truth of the Gospels. If you can disregard that, the rest of the book contains some very valuable information.

Expert demolition.......2006-12-14

Bart Ehrman is a well-known historian of Christianity and chairman of the Religious Studies Department at UNC-Chapel Hill. This short book (it can be read in one long sitting) debunks Brown's plot and purported evidence from top to bottom. Better yet, it contains a lot of interesting material about early Christianity, the development of the NT scriptural canon, historical Jesus, what Constantine was and wasn't trying to do at Nicea, etc. I've read some of Ehrman's other books, which is why this one caught my eye. This one was clearly done in a hurry by pulling together parts of those other books, and a it's a bit padded with repetition. But Ehrman knows his stuff, and this is a nice, boiled down rapid-fire overview of that whole area of scholarship, how it proceeds (in a word, skeptically), and what kinds of conclusions it tends toward. Well worth the investment of time, even beyond the specifics about 'Da Vinci Code.'

The bottom line on Brown's book is that it's a page turner, but largely a mess in terms of historical accuracy, and a book that unfortunately promotes some really fundamental distortions and errors. Probably the two foundational inaccuracies are (1) Constantine did not decide the NT canon, and (2) the books that were left out of the NT were not books that over-emphasized Jesus' humanity, quite the contrary. There is much more wrong with 'Code,' (for example, it badly misrepresents both the Dead Sea Scrolls and the content of the books found at Nag Hammadi), but those two falsehoods pretty much destroy all its plot premises. 'Da Vinci Code' is an entertaining book that should not be taken seriously.

After all, it is a novel!.......2006-11-03

While I appreciate Bart's scholarship and have devoured other books he has written, I was disappointed in the tone of this book. As much as I champion feminine spirituality, the novel in question is, after all, a novel, for goodness sake! Enough already!

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tkd review
Bible Codes... Something to Think About
Another Bird Singing...
just what we wanted
Nonsense "codes" presented as proof

Bible Code Bombshell
R. Edwin Sherman
Manufacturer: New Leaf Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0892216239
Release Date: 2005-06-01

Product Description

Are there hidden words and messages within the Hebrew text of the Bible? Who hid them there? What is their purpose? Author and mathematician R. Edwin Sherman presents startling, never-before-seen evidence of these codes and their significance for the world today. In this informative and entertaining new book, the astonishing contents of over 200 lengthy codes are translated by Dr. Nathan Jacobi, one of the worlds leading experts on Bible codes. Unlike other books on this topic, most of the codes presented in this book are so lengthy that they could not be coincidental. For example, while it may be possible to find Messiah as a code in an ordinary book, the chances of finding the longer code, you will cry out for the blood of the Messiah, are extremely small. A mathematician with 30 years of experience in probability and statistical analysis, Mr. Sherman explains clearly how codes show that the Bible is indeed inspired by God.

Customer Reviews:

tkd review.......2007-02-12

Very good reading but don't take too literally the answers given, there are reasonable alternatives

Bible Codes... Something to Think About.......2007-02-01

Bible Codes, a subect for the open minded, have fast become a subject of controversy to some and hope to others. Since my introduction to the codes I have bought programs, books, and haunted the net for more info and opinions plus learning some basic Hebrew, all because I am truly fascinated! Much is said about skeptics becoming believers including the authors of Bible Code Bombshell. This book puts forth over 300 codes referencing the life of Jesus and would have you believe that God did indeed write the Hebrew Bible. Even if you remain skeptical about that, the book could go a long way in convincing you that "something" extraterrestrial or otherwise, knew a lot about our history that had yet to happen. If you are a person who needs statistics for assurance, you will find them here. Any way you look at it, it is a fascinating subject and the book gives you a lot to consider regardless of your religious or philosophical bent. I suggest you read it with an open mind.

Another Bird Singing..........2007-01-26

This book is a God send. The original author of the Bible code did nothing to address Jesus, which obviously this author did. I have also.

I didn't use the Hebrew version, but the English version that was available online from Researchsystems I did a search using YAHWEH, with JESUS, and got a matrix that had the word YAHWEH twice in the form of a cross. With JESUS under the cross. I think that this is more than a coincidence.

This was written, fabulously.

Author of
Birdsong, Catherine Mary Sabala.

just what we wanted.......2007-01-09

could not find in several book stores in my area. got it in two days from amazon. great service Much better then bible code I

Nonsense "codes" presented as proof .......2006-11-10

This book makes the claim of being a "bombshell", presenting proof of Jesus being the promised Messiah. However, Mr. Sherman supports his claims by "codes" that make no sense with respect to meaning (semantic structure). It is obvious that the Hebrew Old Testament (Tanakh) is encoded. This has been proven beyond reasonable doubt by the thorough statistical research of Eliyahu Rips, Doron Witztum, Harold Gans and others. These eminent scientists have also warned researchers of the Bible Code not to stretch the evidence to "prove" their religious convictions. Now, this is exactly what Edwin Sherman does.

How, then, is the Bible Code misused in this book? To begin with, I need to say that a few of the codes Sherman presents are both intelligible (expressing comprehensible meaning) and statistically significant (extremely unlikely to be a product of chance). The problem is that he doesn't stay there. Instead, he seeks to "read more into the codes" by extracting longer ELS strings of letters, interpreting and translating them to fit his point of view (traditional Christian Messianism). These "sensational whole-sentence codes" have a tendency of not making any sense. And why would God encode messages in the Bible if they read as gibberish? Wouldn't they be there to actually CLARIFY our confusion regarding relevant matters? Of course! Codes have to make sense to be considered as divine messages. And that is only an initial, foundational requirement. As has been proven by statistical standards far beyond most research today, there are codes in the books of the Bible. My own codes research, however, indicates that these codes go beyond traditional religion; beyond the claims of orthodoxy - Christian or Jewish, or of any other brand. Truth is not confined by dogma!

I get the impression that Sherman is out on a religious mission, garbed in the "respectable" language of science. In this pursuit, he is willing to sacrifice the credibility of his claims. What does it MEAN that the "mighty name" of Jesus is "gushing from above"? (This is a major "code" in the book). The answer is obvious: nothing or everything - depending on your agenda.

The Bible Code can be seen as a Rorsach test. People tend to see whatever they want to see in the ink stains! And what they see says something about themselves, and little - or nothing - about the Truth. This is the kind of "research" we ought to shun. As Scripture says: "And the truth shall make you free".

Sherman extracts long "codes" that make no sense, and then "prove" their authenticity by using the principles of statistics. By doing this, he actually harms his own cause - to prove the Godhood of Jesus. Statistics can only be applies to coded messages, or words, that make sense grammatically and semantically. It is easy to take almost any long string of letters in skip sequence and "prove" that it is coded. Commercially available software easily calculates "statistics" of this kind. The problem is that those statistics are produced without any consideration given to the meaning of the letter string. Thus it is the easiest thing in the world to construct "long codes" and freely project meaning onto them by "translation" of "words" in the string by applying word breaks at the desired places. If "snooping" (as it is called in statistics) is to be applied in Bible Code research, this has to be done with UTMOST care and consideration. Sherman's "bombshell" is basesd on the utter abuse of this research method. Bible Code Bombshell is just one of many "Bible Codes" books by Christian authors, seeking to prove their point by pseudoscience. Look for another book to read! There are excellent books written about the Bible Code, but this is definitely not one of them.

The Great Code: The Bible and Literature

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An Interesting Swerve
The Gap Between the Scholars and the Pew
classic work
This book opens many doors - unless you prefer them closed
Ignorant

The Great Code: The Bible and Literature
Northrop Frye
Manufacturer: Harvest/HBJ Book
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0156027801

Book Description

An examination of the influence of the Bible on Western art and literature and on the Western creative imagination in general. Frye persuasively presents the Bible as a unique text distinct from all other epics and sacred writings. “No one has set forth so clearly, so subtly, or with such cogent energy as Frye the literary aspect of our biblical heritage” (New York Times Book Review). Indices.

Customer Reviews:

An Interesting Swerve.......2007-07-20

Professor Harold Bloom (Western Canon, Book of J, numerous anthologies) developed an interesting theory of poetry (Anxiety of Influence, A Map of Misreading) that claims creative writers must misprison their precursors in a way that clears imaginative space for their own effort. Bloom details these various misreadings, drawing strongly upon Freudian theory, then applies them to several poets and poems.

It is useful to use this line of thinking when reading the "Great Code" by Northrup Frye. As one often observes of secular writers observing sacred writings, they seem to swerve from theology in misreadings that open up creative vistas which they can decorate. I suspect that these misprisons will attract or repel a reader depending upon that reader's stance toward the secular and the sacred.

While I feel comfortable with both worlds, this book is somewhat off-putting for me in that I cannot accept many of Frye's swerves in his reading of scripture. For example, he notes a U-shaped curve that underlies the narrative action in the Bible (failure, punishment, redemption) and identifies this as a form of comedy. Also, he thinks that Shakespeare closely read the Bible account of King Saul and David and that this examination was a basis for Macbeth. And so on.

Thus, for me, Frye reads the same words that I have, yet comprehends different meanings that all serve to support the classic definition of humanism - man is the measure of all things, including God. Stated another way, Frye does not seem to be able to accept God on His terms and think about it in a literary way as if one has to choose between being either and only a critic or a believer.

Creative writers like John Milton in Paradise Lost or more recently, Cormac McCarthy in The Road have been able to take God seriously and on His terms and think creatively, humanistically, and literarily. Veering slightly, Aquinas could see God and Aristotle and do justice to both without offending either, I think.

It seems to be an important test of imagination: How do you think about God and man? Strong writers can move creatively with both and show no uneasiness. Weak writers lean too heavily on one and too heavily against the other.

And, yet, the final chapter in the Great Code, Language II, is a magnificent summarizing and synthesis of the preceding swerves. I would recommend you begin at the end with Language II then return to the start.

The Gap Between the Scholars and the Pew.......2006-10-13

"The result, then, of what is now called the historical-critical method was an understanding of the Bible as a collection of historically conditioned documents, reflecting the biases, backgrounds and idiosyncrasies of its authors." Michael Coogan

Coogan's Archaeological Inquiry:
Professor Coogan explains, "The first challenges to this traditional understanding of the Bible as unequivocally the word of God, consistent and free from error, came in the 17th century, when philosophers challenged traditional views about the Bible's authorship and authority, by appealing to common sense, logic and historical method. By the 19th century this approach had gained considerable momentum. During the same period thousands of ancient texts-in languages such as Assyrian, Babylonian, Aramaic and later Sumerian and Ugaritic-were excavated, deciphered and translated. Many of these texts had close or even verbatim correspondences with biblical passages, so that the view of the Bible as a unique document without parallel came under irrevocable challenge. Finally, there was an exponential growth of scientific knowledge: The Bible was simply not true or not simply true, in the sense in which it had for so long been considered. Its cosmology, anthropology and chronology were often just wrong. For the most part, scholars engaged in this new criticism were not only believers but ordained clergy, generally teachers in seminaries." Between the Scholars and the Pew

A feel for the context
Bible students are warned to be aware of the figurative devices in the Bible and the need to carefully read and study the Bible to become familiar with the ways that language is utilized. The evidence is clear that parts of the Bible are meant figuratively, and we are rejecting the Word of God if we refuse to consider the possibility of figures of speech. Origen went so far as to suggest that there were some passages of Scripture that had no literal meaning. We should not refuse to understand a method the Bible itself uses, but need to get a feel for the context, to see the types of literature contained in the Bible, the way it uses poetic language, the way it gives commands, relates history and predicts the future.

Frye on the Bible:
An ordained United Church minister as well as a critic and teacher, N. Frye wrote two major books on the Bible, The Great Code in 1982 and Words with Power in 1990. All his life he turned to the Bible for inspiration, refreshment and an understanding of the ideas behind Western civilization. As he said, his critical work, beginning with his famous study of William Blake in 1947, all revolved around the Bible.
At one point Robert Fulford, a Toronto author and journalist finds him reflecting that the Bible leaves us with "a very human feeling that if we were God, we would work harder to earn our keep; that if we were in charge of what happened, we wouldn't make such appalling bungles as God appears to be making." In 'Northrop Frye Unbuttoned,' we read a closely related notion in the book; "The worst thing we can say of God is that he knows all."

The Great Code:
In 1982 Frye published The Great Code, which has since been translated into 22 languages. In it, he treats the Bible as a totally unified book, disregarding the scholarly agreement that it actually was written by dozens of writers in three different languages over a period of a thousand years. Frye declares that the coherence of the Bible's narrative as a whole is created by what he calls a 'U-Shaped plot,' that begins with the Genesis creation of Adam and Eve, family and garden state is followed by a fall into a long alternation of historical disasters and triumphs. He concludes with a final ascent back to harmony in the eternal city of Jerusalem at the end of the book of Revelation. This U-shaped pattern is repeated in dozens of minor plots of fall and rise in the stories of Joseph, Moses, David, or Job, and of Peter and Paul, each of which functions as a 'type' or pre-figuration of what follows and of the encompassing whole. Frye discovers the same kind of unifying repetition or typology in the recurrence of specific images throughout the Old and New Testaments--e.g. the image of the tree, the ocean, the tower, the garden, the sheep and shepherd. Such repetitions of plot and image tie the many books of the Bible together, and also create a sense of deja vu and premonition, hinting that discreet events have some greater symbolic significance, that they are both themselves and not themselves, that time may be an illusion.

Myth, Metaphor in the Bible:
In 'Words With Power,' 1990, Frye re-examines the role of myth and metaphor in the Bible, reasserting that many of its central themes and images reverberate throughout Western literature. His conclusion is that "the organizing structures of the Bible and the corresponding structures of 'secular' literature reflect each other," that a finite number of species of myths, including those of creation, fall, exodus, destruction and redemption, provide the narrative sources of literature. Such ideas, have been suggested by Frye earlier, in his study of the Bible and literature, as 'The Great Code,' a summing up of his overall critical views. Some parts of the book, which deals with different idioms of linguistic expression and the social function of literature feels as if Frye was just rewriting earlier assertions, trying to answer questions and restatement raised by his critics.

A lineage of Mythographers:
Frye remains the eighth most frequently cited author in the arts and humanities, among a company that includes Aristotle, Shakespeare and Freud. Much of his thinking about structure came from his study of Sir James Frazer's anthropology and Oswald Spengler's gloomy critique of the West. Frye traced his ancestry to a lineage of mythographers who all share the thesis that literature evolves from mythology and that both embody a community's core values and beliefs, about the devine and about secular matters from birth to death. In Northrop Frye Unbuttoned, he tells us, in a typically rueful way, that Alfred North Whitehead's Science and the Modern World influenced him just as profoundly.

Frye in his own mind:
Northrop Frye started his career as a divinity student and a preacher in the United Church of Canada, but then took an M.A. in English literature at Oxford and wrote his Master's thesis on the romantic poet and painter William Blake, whose sources of vision Frye demonstrated could be found in a literary tradition that stemmed from the Bible. Frye never seemed to have been a Christian in any conventional sense, he was a far from unquestioning Christianity. He not only didn't believe in Christian dogma, he didn't believe in Pistis Sophia, faithful belief; "I don't trust anything that remains in the dark as an object of belief." He had the consolation of knowing he wasn't alone; he was always turning back on his themes and ideas to restate earlier positions and modify them.

classic work.......2006-06-19

Intellectual "tour de force" by the greatest critic of our time:take the time to read, study, and enjoy.
This great text is an all-time classic that will appeal to the scholar and the layperson alike.
Frye is an amazing syncretist. I have never read any author other than Frye who can slip in and out of various disciplines so easily,and all the while weaving a "seamless web" of an argument that is logically structured and beautifully written. I realize that some statements in the text may offend conservative readers, but overall, the book is neutral regarding any matter of systemic doctrine or denominationally specific exegetical concerns. If anything, Frye's text offers the highest praise for the Bible
by showing how the language and imagery of the KJV penetrates all aspects of western literary and intellectual culture.

This book opens many doors - unless you prefer them closed.......2004-03-24

One of the review writers is going to be more than startled and probably very shocked to know that it is a matter of scholarly opinion that the Bible itself evolved, as do all literary works, from previous sacred scriptures, such as the Epic of Ba'al.

Anyway, I read this book years ago and just recommended it to a friend. I came to this site just wondering how reviewers saw it.

It's simply one literary critic's look at the Bible. That's all. For me, it was wonderful and opened up the Bible to me in a new way. Indeed, from this book, I went on to take an Old Testament course in a seminary and then wound up getting a Master of Divinity. If you don't want to be fascinated by the imagination of human beings (made in God's image) and are afraid to question the literary restraint of the limited English translations we are all saddled with, and if you don't believe in the broad and wonderful imagination of God, this book is definitely not for you. For those of you who know what God is thinking all the time, you can spend your money elsewhere.

This is a grand book. It opens many doors. Unless you prefer them closed.

Ignorant.......2004-01-02

Please, if you are in any way serious about knowledge of the Bible and about TRUTH do NOT read this book. There are scattered bits of truth throughout the book, but that is all they are...scattered bits. Many of the things Frye presents as "obvious" or "fact" are, in fact, incorrect.

I am going to give a couple of examples of Frye's "obvious" truths, which are often ignorant, misjudged, or otherwise untrue. My hope is that if you do decide to read this book you will look critically at it and not just suppose what he says to be true. Read the Bible for yourself and question his "obvious" truths--do some research! However, if you want to know the truth Frye isn't for you.

a couple examples:

1) Frye: "The Genesis account permits itself a verse (3:22) in which God seems to be telling other gods that man is now 'one of us', in a position to threaten their power unless they do something about it at once, with a break in the syntax that suggests genuine terror." (pg 109) --Number one, the Genesis account is phenomenal in its indication of the oneness and the trinity of God. The phrases translated plurally, "one of us", "let