Earl Spencer’s memoir about his late sister, Princess Diana, has become a best-seller. It has also caused controversy, and the author has publicly apologized to the journalist Piers Morgan for a statement about him that was based on an incorrect ‘assumption’. King Charles has largely remained silent about the many unflattering comments about him.
A few years ago, Prince Harry also had a best-selling book that contained derogatory comments about the British royal family.
There is another best-seller that also has unsavoury accounts of kings: the Bible. Thousands of years old, it contains severely critical details about most of its kings and heroes. It was written largely by Jews about Jews, and it is relatively unusual for such official accounts to paint such a negative picture. Indeed, the ancient records of empires such as Egypt and Assyria omit key accounts of their dramatic failures and problems. Even today it is not unknown for states to censor their historic records. And all too often, the objectives of the writers are political rather than an attempt to record factual information.
The Bible is highly critical of its native people. Indeed many people, myself included, consider this characteristic to be evidence of its divine origin. I and friends who share my faith try to read a portion of it every day and then do what it says. It has stood the test of time over hundreds of years: something that is unlikely to be true for the books by the Earl and Prince.
The Bible not only describes unpleasant human behaviour, it also explains why we are the way we are. And it offers an amazing hope for the future.
Here are some of its claims, to:
- be the words of God Himself (2 Peter 1:20-21);
- offer hope of eternal life (2 Timothy 3:15-17);
- present its history so that we can learn from the mistakes of others(1 Corinthians 10:6-11).
The Bible has been a best-seller for a long time, but nowadays it does not seem to be read or revered as much as in the past.
But surely, this is a book worth reading!
Anna Hart
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