What would it be like to take every commandment in the Bible literally?
Almost 10 years ago, A.J. Jacobs, an author and editor of Esquire magazine, did just that, which he chronicled in his book The Year of Living Biblically.
Jacobs also explained what happened during that year in a Ted Talk in 2007, which NPR recently featured on its TED Radio Hour Episode this week.
Jacob admitted that after spending the year according to the Bible which required him to live out every commandment he went from being agnostic to having more respect for the faithful.
He said that after living by the most compassionate parts of the Bible, he noticed a change in his thoughts and feelings.
"I had always thought, you know, you change your mind, then you change behavior, but its often the other way around," Jacobs said in his talk. "You change your behavior, then you change your mind. So, you know, if you want to beome more compassionate, you visit sick people in the hospital and you will become more compassionate. You donate money to a cause and you become emotionally involved in that cause."
Watch this video to learn more about Jacobs' experiment.
Almost 10 years ago, A.J. Jacobs, an author and editor of Esquire magazine, did just that, which he chronicled in his book The Year of Living Biblically.
Jacobs also explained what happened during that year in a Ted Talk in 2007, which NPR recently featured on its TED Radio Hour Episode this week.
Jacob admitted that after spending the year according to the Bible which required him to live out every commandment he went from being agnostic to having more respect for the faithful.
He said that after living by the most compassionate parts of the Bible, he noticed a change in his thoughts and feelings.
"I had always thought, you know, you change your mind, then you change behavior, but its often the other way around," Jacobs said in his talk. "You change your behavior, then you change your mind. So, you know, if you want to beome more compassionate, you visit sick people in the hospital and you will become more compassionate. You donate money to a cause and you become emotionally involved in that cause."
Watch this video to learn more about Jacobs' experiment.