The Writer's Poke

I would like to re-invent the Bible. Actually, I would like to invite the best writers -- scientists, historians, philosophers, psychologists, politicians, novelists, etc. -- to take a stab at the themes in one "book" of their choice from the Bible. Imagine, for example, if Richard Dawkins wrote an essay chapter called "Genesis," or if Al Gore wrote an essay chapter called "Revelation"? I'm not suggesting that these authors just revise the books of the Bible they take on as their assignments. Instead, think about how a Positive Psychologist might explain the concept of optimism with the essay chapter called "Job." Think about how philosophers might handle the message expressed in the four gospels. The goal of this project is much bigger than another "modern translation." Instead, it is to make the Bible relevant again. I see it as a way to encourage new thought, because as it is now, people are more or less "locked in...

Who pays any attention to the original Ten Commandments? I submit that they've outlived their usefulness. Of the 10, eight are expressed as things not to do, such as "Thou shalt not walk on the grass" (Commandment #6). Only two are expressed positively, such as Commandment #2 ("Honor the Chicago Cubs and Boston Celtics.") But seriously, why all the negatively? Do people really need to be told what not to do? And didn't God take an undergraduate Psychology class? He should know that when He commands, "You shall not kill," that killing becomes exactly what I want to do. Although the thought of killing hadn't been on my mind, now that it's there, it's all I can think about. Now that I think about it, I don't know how I've managed to go without killing for the past 38 years... The time has come for new commandments. Let's write them in positive language. An example might be something like this: "Contribute to the w...