On the history and philosophy of religion, I enjoyed Mircea Eliade’s The Sacred and the Profane, John Hick’s Philosophy of Religion, Harold Kushner’s Who Needs God, Rudolf Otto’s The Idea of the Holy, and Huston Smith’s Why Religion Matters.
I would especially like to recommend three sensational books that speak to the larger themes of our time: The Battle for God by Karen Armstrong, which explores the rise of fundamentalism in the three Abrahamic faiths; Islam Under Seige by my friend Akbar Ahmed, which illuminates the challenges facing Islam today; and The Dignity of Difference by Jonathan Sacks, the best book I know that lays out a realistic vision of interfaith harmony.
Finally, after Walking the Bible was published, I set up a website, www.brucefeiler.com, and encouraged readers to share their thoughts. I have been overwhelmed and deeply moved by the outpouring of honest, intimate, heartfelt letters. I am hard-pressed to convey how life affirming—and life changing—these exchanges have been. From the beginning I have tried to answer every letter I receive (even the occasional grumbling ones), and have added more features in response to requests. I invite you to visit the site, where you’ll find photographs of some places along my journey, resources for interfaith activities, and discussion questions for reading groups. The best way to uphold the values in the Bible, I believe, is to find a way to keep talking about them today.
INDEX
Aaron (biblical figure)
Abbasids
Abraham (biblical figure)
Mesopotamian origins of
Abrishami Synagogue
Achaemenid dynasty
see also Persia; specific Achaemenid kings
Afghanistan, Buddhist statues defaced in
afterlife
Agnew, Spiro
agriculture
Ahasuerus (biblical figure)
Ahuramazda
Ai, Israelite attack on
Air Force, U.S.
Akiva ben Joseph
Akkadian language
Al Aqsa mosque
Alexander III, Czar of Russia
Alexander III (the Great), King of Macedon
Al-Rashid hotel
al-Ubaidy, Mohammad Saleh
Alwash, Azzam
Amar, Shlomo
Amos (biblical figure)
Antiochus IV, King of Syria
Antipater of Sidon
anti-Semitism
Apadana staircase
Applebaum, David
Applebaum, Nava
Arabic language
Arafat, Yasser
Aramaic language
Aristotle
Ark of the Covenant
Armenian Christians
Armstrong, Karen
Army, U.S.
Arouet, François-Marie (Voltaire)
Artaxerxes I, King of Persia
Ashurnasirpal II, King of Assyria
Assyria
brutal conquests of
winged bull motif of
Assyrians, Christian
astrology
Augustine, Saint
Augustus
Avesta
Axial Age
Baath Socialist Party
Babylon:
Assyrian conflicts with
in Christian apocalypse prophecy
cultural achievements of
gods of
Greek conquest of
hanging gardens of
initial golden age of
Islam in
Muslim nationalist pride in
Persian conquest of
as planned city
in present-day Iraq
Sumer vs.
Babylonian Exile
biblical geographical arc based on
elite Judaeans deported to
as fruitful existence
initiation of
Persian release from
redemptive potential of
retaliatory response sparked by
spiritual Judaism developed in
voluntary continuation of
Baghdad
bomb damage in
design of
Green Zone in
history of
interfaith discussion in
Jewish population of
postwar looting in
in U.S. occupation
Balata Refugee Camp
Barkay, Gabi
Bathsheba (biblical figure)
Bat Mitzvahs
Begin, Menachem
Bell, Gertrude
Ben-Gurion, David
Ben-Yehuda, Eliezer
Bethlehem
Bialik, Hayim
Bible, see Hebrew Bible; New Testament; specific books of Bible
Bijar (Iraqi driver)
Bikur Holim Hospital
bin Laden, Osama
Binyomin (Iranian Jew)
“Bird, The” (Bialik)
blood money
Boaz (Israeli pilot)
body armor
Boleyn, Anne
Bremer, Francine
Bremer, L. Paul
Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama)
Buddhism
Buruma, Adrian
Bush, George H. W.
Bush, George W.
Byzantine Christians
Cahill, Thomas
Caleb (biblical figure)
Camp Doha
Canaan
Carter, Jimmy
Cates, Gwendolen
Catholicism
Ceausescu, Nicolae
chadors
Chaldean Catholics
Chaldeans
chaos, order vs.
Christianity:
Assyrian
baptism in
Catholicism
David as forefather of
fundamentalist sects of
Greek Bible adopted by
Hebrew biblical prophesy of
imperial power vs.
interfaith military chaplaincy and
in Iraq
Islamic hostility toward
Islamic second coming vs.
Jewish biblical warriors embraced by
on Jonah story
liturgical selections of
Muslims persecuted in name of
of Palestinians
spread of
Zoroastrianism vs.
Christie, Agatha
Christmas
church, state separation from
Churchill, Winston
Church of Latter Day Saints
Church of the Holy Sepulcher
Church of the Nativity
circumcision
cities, planned
clay tablets
Clemens, Kristi
Clement of Alexandria, Saint
Clinton, William J.
Code of Hammurabi
Cohen, Tzippy
Confucianism
Constantine I (the Great), Emperor of Rome
Creation stories
creativity
Crusades
cuneiform
Cyrus II (the Great), King of Persia:
background of
biblical references to
burial tomb of
empire united by
gardens of
magnanimity shown by
modern celebration of
religious tolerance of
dag gadol
dakhmas
Darius I, King of Persia
David (biblical figure)
ambitious ruthlessness of
Bethlehem origins of
God’s protection of descendants of
Goliath vanquished by
in Islam
Jerusalem conquered by
marriages of
monarchy united by
temple conceived by
tomb of
David’s Wells
Dayan, Moshe
Dead Sea Scrolls
death, moral judgment after
death rites
Declaration of Independ
ence
democracy:
Islamic theocracy vs.
stability of
Deuteronomistic History
Deuteronomy, Book of
dhimmi
diaspora
Dignity of Difference, The (Sacks)
divine, human yearning for
Doha, Camp
Dome of the Rock
Duecker, Duke
Dyer, Charles
Easter eggs
Eastern Orthodox Church
egalitarianism
Egypt:
ancient empire of
Israelites’ exodus from
Eitan, Rafi
Elah Valley
Elamites
Elijah (biblical figure)
Elisha (biblical figure)
Endeavor
Enuma Elish
Esfahan, Iran
Esther, Book of
Euphrates River
Europe, anti-Semitism in
evangelical Christians
evil
Exodus, Book of
Ezekiel (biblical figure)
Ezra (biblical figure)
Ezra, Book of
Faisal I, King of Iraq
Farkas, Alex
Fatima (Muslim holy figure)
Feiler, Bruce:
childhood of
Jewish background of
marriage of
religious development of
Fertile Crescent
Finkelstein, Israel
fire
Firebase Melody
Fischer, Chani
Fleming, Jim
Flowers Land Hotel
Forouzan, Fereydoon (pseudo.)
14th of Famadan Mosque
frankincense
free will
Freud, Sigmund
fundamentalism
Garden of Eden
gardens
Gemara
genealogy
Genesis, Book of
Creation described in
Genghis Khan
geniza
George, Donny
Gerefteh, Mah
Gethsemane
Getz, Yehuda Meir
Gibson, McGuire
Gihon spring
Gilgamesh, epic of
global capitalism
God:
compassion of
moral conduct required by
omnipresence of
personal relationship with
Golden Gate
Goliath (biblical figure)
Goren, Asnat
Goren, Avner
author’s travels with
background of
on biblical events vs. archaeology
on biblical leaders
on composition of Bible
at family funeral
on Israeli national identity
on Israeli-Palestinian tensions
on Jerusalem as holy city
on Jesus in Jerusalem
on moral development
on secular Zionism
spiritual values of
on Sumerian tales vs. Bible
on temples
Goren, Smadar
Goren, Yair
Great Mosque of the Prophet Jonah (Masjod Jami Nebi Yunus)
Great Wall of China
Greek civilization
Greeks, Jewish uprising against
Gregory of Nyssa, Saint
Gropius, Walter
Haggai (biblical figure)
Halpern, Baruch
Hamadan, Iran
Haman (biblical figure)
Hammurabi, King of Babylon
Code of
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Hanukkah
happiness, personal
Haram al-Sharif, see Temple Mount
Hartman, David
Hasmoneans
Hatra
heaven
Hebrew Bible:
archaeological evidence on
authors of
chaos vs. order in
creation/destruction cycles of
damaged copies of
Deuteronomistic History section of
diaspora dissemination of
final narrative books of
flawed leaders portrayed in
geographical arc of
godliness vs. moral decay depicted in
interdependency portrayed in
interfaith peace derived from
Israeli cultural identity linked to
Jewish life rooted in laws of
kings vs. prophets in
land connection stressed in
latter half of
Mesopotamian influences in
moral relationship found in
mythic time vs. realistic time in
Pentateuch
political arguments based on
Prophets section of
redemption offered in
spiritual identity vs. political identity in
Sumerian religious stories vs.
Talmudic law vs.
versions of
violence in
writings section of
see also specific biblical books
Hebrew language
hell
Hellenism
Henry VIII, King of England
Herod (the Great), King of Judea
Herodotus
Herzberg, Max J.
Herzfeld, Ernst
heterogeneity
hexagrams
Hezekiah (biblical figure)
hijab
Hikmat (Iraqi guide)
security efforts of
Hinduism
historical events, as theological allegory
Hitler, Adolf
Hittites
Holy of Holies
hope
Hosea, Book of
Hulagu Khan
human rights
Hussein, Qusay
Hussein, Saddam
Babylon restorations of
marshlands drained by
Mesopotamian history invoked by
ouster of
public images of
residence of
sons of
Hussein, Uday
Hussein I, King of Jordan
Hyde, Thomas
Ibn Taymiyya
IDF (Israeli Defense Forces)
Iliad (Homer)
imperial authority, biblical arguments against
improvised explosive devices (IEDs)
India, Zoroastrianism in
individualism
Indo-Europeans
Institute for Interreligious Dialogue
interdependency
Intifada
Iran, Islamic Republic of:
anti-Americanism in
archaeological work in
geography of
history of see also Persia
interfaith relations in
Iraqi conflicts with
Jewish population of
1979 revolution in
parliament of
population growth of
public behavior regulations in
reform movement in
size of
theocratic government of
travel to
U.S. hostages held in
Zoroastrian population of
Iran National Museum
Iraq:
archaeological work in
Assyrian Christians in
democracy vs. theocracy in
heterogeneity of
history of see also Assyria; Babylon; Mesopotamia; Sumer
Iranian conflicts with
Israeli bombing of nuclear plant in
secularism vs. Islamic militantism in
southern marshlands of
Sunnis vs. Shia Muslims of
Iraq
travel difficulties in
U.S. invasion/occupation in
Iraq National
Bank
Iraq National Museum
irrigation systems
Isaiah (biblical figure)
Isaiah, Book of
Ishtar
Ishtar Gate
Islam
Abrahamic roots of
Friday Sabbath of
history of
in interfaith dialogue
Jonah story in
Persian adoption of
on political life vs. religion
rise of militancy in
varieties of
Zoroastrianism vs.
Israel:
border security procedures in
central mountain summits of
diaspora Jews resented due to
emigration to
establishment of
flag of
founding generation of
Iranian enmity toward
lost tribes of
national identity of
size of
suicide bombers in
see also Jerusalem
Israeli Defense Forces (IDF)
Israelites:
Assyrian attack on
outsider status of
Persian liberation of
social development of
spiritual identity vs. political identity of
Jacob (biblical figure)
Jaspers, Karl
Jeremiah (biblical figure)
Jeremiah, Book of
on Babylonian Exile
Jericho, capture of
Jerome, Saint
Jerusalem
Babylonian conquest of
bombings in
Christian evangelical praise of
decline of
Eden linked with
as holy city
Israeli-Palestinian sovereignty issues in
Jesus in
underground tunnels of
see also Temple Mount
Jesus:
ascension of
Bethlehem birth of
biblical prophecy of arrival of
David’s connections with
at Jerusalem sites
Jonah vs.
as messiah
as prophet
second coming of
Jewish Geography
jihad
Jiroft, Iran, excavations in
Joel (biblical figure)
John Chrysostom, Saint
John Paul II, Pope
Jonah (Yunus) (biblical figure)
Jordan River
Josephus, Flavius
Joshua (biblical figure)
Joshua, Book of
Josiah (biblical figure)
Judaism:
assimilation of
in Baghdad history
biblical development of
in diaspora
hexagram as symbol of
land linked with
liturgical selections used in
modern values of
Reform and Conservative
religious tolerance and
repentance in
text as core of faith in
Zionism vs.
Zoroastrianism vs.
Judges, Book of
Jung, Carl
Kamran (Iranian driver)
Kant, Immanuel
Kaplinksi, Smadar
Karlan, Ismail