Research Paper on:
Sermons and The Good Book by Reverend Professor Peter J. Gomes

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
(HBSP, 2001). A member of Harvards Faculty of Divinity, Professor Gomes has degrees from Bates College and Harvard Divinity School and holds thirteen honorary degrees (HBSP, 2001). Nevertheless, despite this  thoroughly distinguished background, Professor Gomes text on the Bible, The Good Book (1996) has generated both considerable praise and controversy. On the negative side, reviews such as Jackson (2001)  state that the design of this book is to "neutralize the Scriptures of their doctrinally demanding thrust, thus accommodating the ancient volume to the inclination of modern society." On the  other hand, the review that appeared in the New Yorker in 1996 describes Gomes book as a "Biblical primer...intended for the vast group of secular Americans who have only a  passing acquaintance with the Scriptures and want to know more" (ALA, 2001). How could one book elicit such divergent responses? The following discussion will answer this question by exploring the  major themes of Gomes The Good Book, and will also examine another Gomes text, Sermons. The first section of The Good Book discusses what the Bible is and  how it came to be in its present form. This section provides a overall perspective on biblical interpretation and literacy, as well as recounting the evolving role of the Bible  in American politics and culture. In this section, Gomes introduces the reader who wishes to learn more about the Bible to various facts of history, such as delineating the differences  between the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. This section will undoubtedly surprise many readers who are not familiar with the historical context behind the creation of the Christian  Bible. For example, the epistles of Saint Paul are actually older then any of the gospels (Gomes 16). Another example is where Gomes explains exactly what is meant by