Living Biblically: My reflections

I just finished AJ Jacobs' The Year of Living Biblically.  To summarize, Jacobs embarks on one of his wierd quests (he read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica in a year for a book), in this case, living how the Bible asks you to...literally.  Jacobs is self-proclaimed agnostic Jew.  He is secular, and only kind of celebrates his Jewish heritage.  He is unfamiliar with the Bible when he starts off (in fact, the Bible he starts reading is his ex-girlfriends'; he doesn't even own one).

Here are my reflections/reactions to the book:

1)  It was an enjoyable read, and entertaining...not a waste of my time.

2)  It reinforced my opinion on sola scriptura that I made over at RottinApologist:

"Even more personally, however, infallibility is an affront to people's pride and their own arrogance.  The United States is inherently a Protestant nation.  The entire ethic of "rugged individualism" is based on the Protestant idea of individual interpretation of Scripture.  We relish that, we thrive off that, we LOVE that.  It gives us POWER, puts US in control." 

It is clear, at least to me, that while Jacobs followed the letter of the Bible, it was only because he had to.  Essentially, however, he rejected what tradition says about certain passages...because more "modern" interpretations fit his own percieved construct.  For example, despite the immense volume of what Jewish and Christian Tradition says about the passages in the Bible about homosexuality (namely that homosexuality is a grave offense against God), Jacobs rejects them in favor of a more modern interpretation.  He does the same thing with abortion (despite the fact that Jewish and Christian tradition clearly condemn abortion universally).  Such facts are uncomfortable.

3)  Jacobs never once mentioned talking to a Catholic or Orthodox cleric for his mission.  Instead, the catholics he referrenced were (Fr) Richard McBrien and ex-nun Karen Armstrong.  Calling them "heretical" would be an understatement. 

4)  Jacobs makes a very good point: religious belief frees us from the slavery of too many behavioral choices.  At first, Jacobs likes that freedom.  However, when it runs contrary to his secular beliefs, he is ready to backtrack on a dime.