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Wide as the waters: the story of the English Bible and the revolution..

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Benson Bobrick's Wide as the Waters: The Story of the English Bible and the Revolution It Inspired is a brisk and gripping work of history, religion, and literary criticism. Translation of the King James Bible took centuries to complete, and Bobrick provides colorful descriptions of the distinctive contributions of various translators who took part in the project, particularly John Wyclif in the 15th century and William Tyndale in the 16th century. (Tyndale, he points out, is the second most widely quoted writer, after Shakespeare, in the English language ["eat, drink, and be merry," is Tyndale's phrase; so is "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak"].) Wide as the Waters interprets each translator's work according to its contemporary political context in England. The book's most dramatic passages are found in its account of Henry VIII's showdown with Rome, which resulted in (among other things) Tyndale's execution. Although Bobrick may overstate the singularity of the Bible's influence on the English Revolution (he asserts that the concepts of liberty and free will that guided revolutionaries who overthrew Charles I were primarily derived from the King James Bible), his argument is, at the very least, an effective and engaging reminder of Scripture's liberating power.

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Availability

161008557

220.52 BOB w

Z. HANDIMAN

Available

Detail Information

Series Title

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Call Number

220.52 BOB w

Publisher

New York : Simon & Schuster., 2001

Collation

379p.; 24 cm.

Language

English

ISBN/ISSN

0-684-84747-7

Classification

220.52

Content Type

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Media Type

-

Carrier Type

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Edition

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Subject(s)

BIBLE - TERMINOLOGY

Specific Detail Info

Ew

Statement of Responsibility

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