Joel Baden

I saw this at work, and was hoping that it would be a comprehensive story about their illegal importation of religious tablets labeled as "tile samples" and their lies about the country of origin that I was interested in. However, it was written right as that was breaking, and only alluded to it. It still was a great story about their questionable practices of buying up religious artifacts and "religious artifacts" for The Museum of The Bible and authenticating them. I had to stop reading the book several times, as I was infuriated at how unethical and lax and destructive their processes were in their accumulation of exhibits for the museum. But it still is a great story that I would recommend as an eye opening read.… (más)

I found Baden's work both impressive and disturbing. Although I've always known that King David had to have been a ruthless person to achieve what he achieved, the very human cost of that and even whether it was worth it is now front and center for me. The fact, if true, that the biblical editors in fact deliberately revised history to clear his name is reprehensible. While I can understand the perceived need to do so, it is still not justified. Get the beauty and value of books like Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, The Book of Job, all remain. And even that text that we have to struggle with is valuable for the struggle as he says we would be immature if we did not find those actions reprehensible today.… (más)

I found Baden's work both impressive and disturbing. Although I've always known that King David had to have been a ruthless person to achieve what he achieved, the very human cost of that and even whether it was worth it is now front and center for me. The fact, if true, that the biblical editors in fact deliberately revised history to clear his name is reprehensible. While I can understand the perceived need to do so, it is still not justified. Get the beauty and value of books like Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, The Book of Job, all remain. And even that text that we have to struggle with is valuable for the struggle as he says we would be immature if we did not find those actions reprehensible today.… (más)

I started this book with disappointment as I feared that it might turn into one of these debating point by point affairs of biblical script. It did not though as I went on and finished it with a sense that I had learned about the man David and how the Bible tells a story to influence and spin their collective agenda.

Joel Baden does a good job of laying out things as they appear in the Bible that most people probably do not put a great deal of critical thought into. Over and over again I see evidence through this book and other interpretations that the Bible is a book of many cooks setting many agendas and purposes. The story of David is one such and Baden puts things into stark perspective that he was maybe not the great hero that many may think through what they have been told in the legend. David comes across as a very flawed individual who despite these flaws did create what would eventually evolve into the Israel of today.

The twist and turns, plots and murders read like a mafia intrigue. What really took place who is to say but Baden frames things in such a way that is more believable then what we are spoon fed from an early age and probably comes a lot closer to the truth of what was.… (más)