George Anastaplo brings some common sense questions and insightful comparisons drawn from classic Greek philosophic and literary works to bear on the most venerable Jewish and Christian text. The result is a set of fruitful inquiries and keen observations that the thoughtful and patient reader will find deeply rewarding.
- Jules Gleicher, Rockford College,
Anastaplo sees things that other people just do not see. The detail that does not seem to fit becomes in his hands the key to understanding. Surely no other law professor could have written these explorations of the Bible. He has reflected deeply both on the text of the Bible and on the relation of philosophy to revelation. The reader will be challenged, charmed, reassured, and enlightened.
- Christopher Colmo, Dominican University,
The Bible: Respectful Readings makes readers aware of both the questions addressed and the relevant evidence that should be assessed within the Bible....'[Anastaplo] has reflected deeply both on the text of the Bible and on the relation of philosophy to revelation. The reader will be challeged, charmed, reassured and enlightened.'
The Greek Star, October 23, 2008
Anastaplo's The Bible: Respectful Readings is a calm, eminently reasonable, and ingenious exploration of biblical thought, and what the Hebrew and Greek Bibles have to tell us about ourselves here and now as well as in the past. Interesting comparisons with Shakespeare, classical poetry, Machiavelli, American thinkers, and others never fail to be illuminating. The emphasis is on the Bible's moral focus: for example, the story of Cain and Abel 'points up how critical one's standing before God can be for the human being'; but God's questions, first to Adam and Eve, and then to Cain, 'were designed . . . to make . . . [them] face up to what they had done and what they had become.'
- Laurence Berns, St. John's College,