The Year of Living Biblically is a chronological journal that
depicts A.J. Jacobs through, just as the title states, a full year of living
biblically. For Jacobs, living
biblically was following the traditional Old Testament laws set out mainly by
Leviticus, but also by any other law that is found in the Old Testament. The list of laws came to be over 100! For anyone, especially me, remembering 100
new laws every day for an entire year is a feat; therefore, Jacobs chooses to
take the laws by priority. He began by observing the easiest law to follow,
resolving not to shave for an entire year. He neglects most of the animal sacrifices
because in the city of New York many of the killings would be illegal, but laws
average people avoid, such as stoning adulterers, he completes. The tenacity with which he completes the
year, and his experiences and revelations from it, have taught me to be more
self-conscious about what I believe in as a Christian.
Jacobs grew up agnostic, so to take on this challenge was to
take on a new perspective of life. For Christians today, living biblically
might mean adding a few rituals or changing their diet, but for Jacobs, that
meant creating an entirely new lifestyle.
He had never prayed before nor had he observed any religious customs. As a writer for Esquire magazine, he was used to focusing on the secular side of
life, not having to take into consideration how his actions or stories were
affecting his life. One reason Jacobs
took on this challenge was because of his son Jasper and hopeful children of
the future. He did not want his children
ending up as his bi-polar family did, having strict conservative aunts to
agnostic parents to crazy hippie uncles.
Throughout the book, he contemplates situations that arise in order to
give Jasper a broader outlook on life, to provide him with religious stability
if Jasper ever wanted to pursue that way of life.
I really enjoyed reading about Jacob’s journey through the
year because many of his situations dealt with chapters I had just covered in
my Old Testament Survey class. Dr.
Pigott, of course, rocks my mind about everything, but Jacobs puts the stories
and laws into a new perspective when he actually lives them out on the streets
of New York City. When I read the Old
Testament, my mind is hundreds of years away.
I do not imagine the people in the Bible stories living in the modern
world we do now, but Jacobs has put that image into my mind, while also demonstrating
the possibility for that event to occur. I laughed every time he tried to recreate what the people of the Old Testament had to carry out: stoning, killing chickens, no lust. He has created a second conscious within my mind. If I were to react biblically, what would
that look like? What in my life is
impure? In Old Testament, we just
completed the “week” of living biblically.
I failed the first day, and was not half involved as Jacobs was.
Throughout the journey, Jacobs met men that were content with
their traditional lives. Amish, Jews,
and atheists each had the same level of passion for their beliefs as all the
rest. They were not living biblically
for a year – that is their life! Jacobs
was constantly aware of what others were thinking, from their glances at his
beard and the pranks his coworkers played on him, testing his determination. However, he persevered, knowing it would all
be over in a year. That got me thinking
about the Christian way of life and what Jesus lived through being here on
earth, and how much courage it takes to stand up for your beliefs. It challenged me to want to live out my faith
more, to be confident in what I believe.
The end of the book is bittersweet because Jacobs shaves his
beard. After a year of no shaving and no
trimming, the whole thing is gone. He
states that he is returning to his old self, the biblical “Jacob” is no
more. He finally ends with a scene of
him breaking law after law trying to ease his way back into his pre-biblical
life. This was the only part I disagreed
with. The entire time, he is trying to
incorporate the Bible into his everyday life, but when the day is done nothing
about him is changed. The guilty
feelings no longer have an effect on his actions.
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