Abstract
“Criminals of the Bible,” by Mark Jones, is a novel that isolates twenty-five incidents of the Bible that may otherwise be misunderstood by the average reader. The Bible is an intense reader, offering little context and even less organization. Jones sees this and not only offers organization, but context when writing about the events he has chosen, including but not limited to, the death of the murder of Able, and Amnon becoming a rapist. Many other difficult crimes are made understandable legally, socially, and politically in the context of their time, as well as todays, as Jones takes the time to explain the characters in the stories, as well as the meaning and lesson behind each one.
Mark Jones’ novel, “Criminals of the Bible,” is a graphic and shocking account of less savory scripture stories and characters . With enough material to keep any reader busy for weeks, analyzing the many intriguing interactions and lessons. Jones’ new book understands the intricacies of the Bible itself, and the wealth of graphic information in it. It aims to tackle twenty-five tales of the Bible, assessing them and breaking them down in a way that allows the reader to understand them without assessing them, or even obsessing over them for weeks on end. The formats used by Jones are simple, engaging, and organized, unlike the Bible itself.
Each chapter that assesses a situation or crime begins with the scriptural reference based on the crime itself. This is crucial, as it proves the crime is mentioned in the Bible. Biographies of the main characters mentioned in the piece follow the scriptural reference. Philosophical discussion, including social, legal, and political context based on the era of the crime, as well as the crime itself are provided to ease the reader’s understanding of the situation . For comparative purposes, the same crime is offered through today’s lens, and examined by modern social, legal, and political perspectives. Finally, Jones remarks on what an individual is supposed to learn from the Bible’s story.
In sum, Jones does a fine job analyzing the stories he has chosen, and giving the layman an understanding of not only the crime mentioned, but the scripture, characters, and lesson intended. Jones also offers philosophical discussion both in the context of the era of the crime, as well as present day. It is important to put the actions mentioned in the Bible into context in order to allow for any understanding at all, and Jones understands that. He has gone beyond what most biblical teachers do, which is simply to re-read the Bible, and explain its happenings, and has expanded on crime and punishment in an organized way that anyone could understand.
References
Jones, M. (2006). Criminals of the Bible. Boston: Faithwalk Publishing.
