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Commentary
Writer shares spirituality, humor of living biblically
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Reading the Bible is one thing, living it out can be a completely different experience. At least that's what A.J. Jacobs discovered in his new book, "The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible" (Simon & Schuster, $25).
In the book, Jacobs, an editor at Esquire magazine and author of "The Know-It-All," enters a spiritual pilgrimage to discover what it's like to live out the Bible in the modern context of New York City.
Extras
How did he come up with this idea?
"I grew up with no religion at all, so as I say in the book, I'm Jewish the same way the Olive Garden is Italian, which is not very much. But I've become very interested in religion over the years, especially since becoming a father and wanting to know what to teach my sons about religion and about the Bible," he says.
During the year, Jacobs immersed himself in the Scriptures, seeking to obey even the most obscure laws in the Old Testament, like not wearing clothes with mixed fibers (Leviticus 19:19), blowing a Shofar and smashing idols. Jacobs also took spiritual pilgrimages, said daily prayers and subtly attempted to stone an adulterer in Central Park using pebbles.
Both playful and reverent, Jacobs' wry humor and likability converge to make his biblical year a truly enlightening experience.
By far the most outward manifestation of Jacobs' journey was growing the biblical beard — you shall not trim the corners of your beard (Leviticus 19:27). Jacobs says that he was frequently referred to as ZZ Top, Moses and even the Unabomber because of his unruly facial hair. "It was a constant reminder about the project. Every time I looked in the mirror I was reminded — oh yeah, this is what I'm supposed to be doing," Jacobs says.
For Jacobs' the best segment of the year was his time spent with people from differing faiths. "All of my stereotypes about various religious groups crumbled during the year. I spent time with evangelistic Christians, Hasidic Jews, the Amish, and I'm very proud because I think I might be the first person in all of history to out talk a Jehovah's Witness."
As for the results of Jacobs' year, he says it was life-changing. Not only did he live out the Bible, but his wife gave birth to twins. So, at the very least, he literally obeyed one law: to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28).
