People who are approaching the Bible for the first time may be surprised to discover that the Church offers us only three basic guidelines for reading it. These are: 1. Be especially attentive “to the content and unity of the whole Scripture”; 2.

A History of the Bible: The Story of the World’s Most Influential Book, by John Barton. Viking. 640 pages. $35. The Lost Art of Scripture: Rescuing the Sacred Texts, by Karen Armstrong. Knopf. 624 pages. $35. In his new history of “the world’s most ...