Saturday, November 14, 2015

Notes On The Preface: Fulton Oursler's The Greatest Book Ever Written

The cover got me.

There's an angry Moses in the top left corner, and the title of the book is pretty largely written on a commandment tablet that he's gripping with both hands.

Then there are the debauched crowd antics below.  If you ever want to catch my eye, show me something reminiscent of those Sunday School illustrations- women with veils and scandalous dancing caught in mid-step.  Apparently there were bikinis in ancient times.  Just look at Jeannie.



I'm not familiar with Fulton Oursler, but I look forward to reading another version of a story I've become familiar with.  

The preface states
The Holy Bible is still the best-selling book of all time and in all countries, yet surprisingly few of the new generation seem to be familiar with its contents.

I'm reminded of something I say in Internet classes, attempting to explain the new world we're in to people my age and older.  I say, adding that I'm speaking facetiously, that the best way to hide something today is just to put it on the Internet.  It's just so overwhelming; the amount of information out there for everyone to see.  And this has happened before in our culture.  Think of Bibles in every home but sitting there, dusty and unread.


A few months ago, when I was reading about Gutenberg, I was surprised that his goal was the Bible, not that the Bible was what he happened to print.  His wasn't a mercenary mission.  He wanted to get the Word out, and he did.  The word Bible obscures the obvious.  To many, this was the book; as in the only one.  Now it's a paperback, thrown away in a bin, sold by the pound.

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