Navigate to Belief section

The Dude Abides

What happens when an agnostic follows all the rules in the Bible? A.J. Jacobs finds out.

by
October 15, 2007

A.J. Jacobs seems unusually attracted to projects requiring a level of compulsiveness that might scare off other writers. A few years ago, he spent a year reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica and wrote The Know-It-All, his account of the undertaking. Now, he’s at it again, with The Year of Living Biblically, which chronicles his effort to follow the laws of the Bible as literally as possible.

Over the course of 12 months, Jacobs grew his beard long, prayed often, and stoned adulterers. In the process, he came to appreciate certain wisdoms of the ancient texts. He speaks with Nextbook about his process and its results.

Sara Ivry is the host of Vox Tablet, Tablet Magazine’s weekly podcast. Follow her on Twitter @saraivry.