Walking the Bible with Feiler

I came across this book just before I went to Egypt and Jordan this fall. I had hoped to finish it before my trip but only got about 1/3 of the way through it before I went. Finishing up the two thirds that was left after my trip proved to be better I think. The book and the author are very liberal but having just come from most of the places the author visits in this book made the book a very enjoyable read for me. I guess I was able to chew the meat while spitting out the bones more easily because I was still on a high from my trip. I enjoy reading travel literature- particularly from Israel and the middle east. This is the first book I have read on this subject from the perspective of a Jewish man and I found it very interesting in spite of the fact that he is so liberal when it comes to the veracity of the Bible (as are all the scholars and people he interviews along the way). I was excited for a while as his faith seems to be growing as you go through the book. However, by the end he is just as unbelieving as he was to begin with (though he doesn't see it this way) and so this was very disappointing. Another sad thing is the amount of people he talks to throughout his trip who seem to believe that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all worship the same God. This is in no way, shape, or form true in the least bit. Anyway, this being said there are some very insightful and interesting passages and experiences in the book. If you long to visit the lands of the Bible but cannot this is a good book to check out. If you are interested in what people in the middle east are like and how they view the bible this is a good book to check out. If you are interested in biblical archaeology and history you'll find a lot to chew on in this book- you'll just have to read it with discernment and with a healthy grain of salt!

Here is a passage from the book that I liked:

"... I returned to the essential triad at the heart of the Bible: the people, the land, and God. I had gone to the land, I had encountered a spirit, and in so doing I had become more human. That equation drew me back to one of the defining moments of the Pentateuch, Jacob's wrestling with the messenger of God in the valley of Jabbok, just north of Nebo. At first Jacob doesn't know who the messenger is. They wrestle, they struggle, one seems to be winning, then the other, until finally Jacob is scarred. The scar, significantly, does not end up on Jacob's hand, nor on his head, his heart, or his eyes. Humans experience God, the text seems to be saying, not by touching him, imagining him, feeling him, or seeing him. Jacob is scarred on his leg, for the essential way humans experience God, the text suggests, is by walking with him."