From shunning mixed-fiber clothing to stoning adulterers, A.J. Jacobs '90 decided to do it all when he spent a year attempting to follow every law set out in the Bible and then write a book about his experiences. Released on Tuesday, "The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible" chronicles Jacobs' difficulties adhering to laws written in a very different era.
"I grew up in a very secular home, with no religion at all," Jacobs said. "But I was interested in religion and the huge role it plays in world affairs."
Jacobs said he wanted to "dive in headfirst" to understand the Bible and its relevance to his life. But his "journey of learning and adventure" also had a second objective.
"I wanted to show in an entertaining way that you can't take the Bible too literally, or you're doing a disservice to it," he said. "When you read the Bible, you have to pick and choose the parts that are good about compassion, and avoid the parts about hatred, like condemning homosexuality."
"There's a phrase - cafeteria religion - which is used as a disparaging phrase, meant to apply to people who pick and choose parts of the Bible they want to follow. I say there's nothing wrong with cafeterias - including the (Sharpe Refectory). Occasionally I would find good food at the Ratty. It's all about picking the right foods and not the ones about intolerance."
To show how outdated some Biblical laws are, Jacobs tried to follow every law in the Bible to the letter.
Drawing inspiration from verses like Ecclesiastes 9:8, "Always be clothed in white..." Jacobs wandered the streets of New York City in white clothes, sandals and a walking stick. He stopped shaving and grew a full beard.
Jacobs came upon some unexpected opportunities in following a few of the Bible's more outdated traditions. He found the modern-day equivalent of a "biblical slave" in Kevin Roose '09.5, who had contacted him in search of a job. Roose became Jacobs' personal intern for the summer of 2006.
"I would spend a lot of time at Kinko's, a lot of time fact-checking, a lot of time in the Jewish book section of the New York Public Library," Roose said.
Roose also assisted Jacobs in his new lifestyle. "I had to find out whether crickets were kosher, I had to bake Ezekiel bread, (which is) the only recipe in the Bible, so I baked it for A.J. and his family."
Roose said he accompanied Jacobs to Union Square Park to conduct a fruit sacrifice in compliance with Proverbs 3:9, "Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops."
"We set up a little altar of rocks in the middle of this busy park and offered (the fruit) up to God," Roose said.
Jacobs and Roose also ventured to Times Square to honor the biblical commitment to clothe the naked. "We found the Naked Cowboy and gave him a shirt to wear," Roose said.
Despite Jacobs' amusing anecdotes, Roose said he doesn't think the book will offend believers.
"I think it's got a respectful tone that I think is new to a lot of books about people of faith. I think it appeals to a broad range of people and a lot of different types of people on all sides of the spectrum are going to find A.J.'s story compelling."
Jacobs' mission didn't end with the laws of the Bible. He assembled a "spiritual advisory board" of priests and ministers to guide him on his spiritual journey. Jacobs recalled the words of one of his advisers in particular.
"He said that there are two ways you can view the world - as a series of rights and entitlements, or a series of responsibilities. In biblical times, they viewed it as the second," Jacobs said, and compared this perspective to the John F. Kennedy quote, "Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country."
Jacobs also set out to explore different religious traditions, visiting communities of Hasidic Jews, Amish and Jehovah's Witnesses.
To learn about other perspectives, Jacobs visited the Creation Museum - which takes a literal approach to Genesis - in Kentucky. "They have animatronic dinosaurs and animatronic cavemen because they believe they existed at the same time," he said.
The museum also housed a recreation of Noah's Ark. The model was detailed to the extent that it included vents "to get rid of fumes from manure while out at sea."
"From their perspective, we're all descended from these two people, Adam and Eve, over 6,000 years (ago)," Jacobs said. He said as he tried to grasp this point of view, he experienced a strong feeling of kinship with other humans.
"It was an insight into why they would be attracted to that point of view," he said.
Some of Jacobs' explorations into the Bible were more lighthearted. Realizing how frequently singing and dancing were mentioned in the Bible, Jacobs "did some biblical dancing" and played a 10-stringed harp.
"As a secular person I tended to focus on ... guilt and sin. But there is much joy in religion as well," he said.
Jacobs mentioned the Sabbath as a more serious biblical tradition that he found enjoyable. "I'm a workaholic, always checking my e-mail," he said. Calling the Sabbath a "wonderful tradition," he said he enjoyed having a day to relax with family and friends so much that he plans to continue to observe the holiday.
Jacobs described his year of biblical living as "paradoxically liberating."
"This was an experience where you had freedom from choice," he said. "It's interesting because I went to Brown because I loved ... the freedom of choice. I loved to explore, and people at Brown are so adventurous and full of curiosity."
Explorations in Providence constituted some of Jacobs' most memorable experiences at Brown, he said, such as walking on coal and attending a Wiccan festival. Jacobs applied his knowledge at the Brown TV station, where he was involved in a number of shows, including "Beyond Brown," a show about places, events and activities in Providence.
Jacobs graduated with a bachelor's degree in philosophy. "There were a lot of Fortune 500 companies hiring philosophers," Jacobs joked. "I found a little bit of trouble finding a job ... I could somewhat put a sentence together, so I began freelance writing."
After writing for a small newspaper in California, Jacobs eventually moved back to New York City, where he worked for the New York Observer. He moved on to write for Entertainment Weekly and then for Esquire magazine, where he is currently editor at large.
Jacobs started using experimental lifestyles as the basis for stories long before he wrote "The Year of Biblical Living." For an article in Esquire, Jacobs outsourced his life to a team in Bangladesh that took his phone calls, responded to his e-mails and even argued with his wife for him. For an earlier book, "The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World," he read the Encyclopedia Britannica from A-Ak to Zywiec.
"It keeps my life fascinating," Jacobs said.
At the end of a bizarre year, Jacobs reflected on how living biblically affected his lifestyle. "I was (thankful) for everything, like the fact that my socks don't have holes in them. I tried to focus on the 100 little things every day that go right instead of on the flip side that go wrong."
"As he stopped gossiping, as he gave to the needy and followed the compassionate parts of the Bible ... I saw his personality change, his thought-life change," Roose said. "I think A.J. would say that if you start to change your behavior, it tends to change your personality."
Jacobs said that at the end of the year, he "wasn't Gandhi or even Angelina Jolie." All the same, he discovered he could integrate some aspects of the Bible into his lifestyle. Some of the ancient book's laws, Jacobs said, were "wise" - even "wonderful."
