"Publishers love the Bible," declared The New Yorker magazine last month in "The Good Book Business," an article on Bible publishing. Editions of the Bible for specialized audiences are created every year, and Bible study aids capitalize on the Bible's success. But did you ever imagine the possibility of studying the Bible with agent 007?
Dr. Benjamin Pratt, author of Ian Fleming's Seven Deadlier Sins & 007's Moral Compass: A Bible Study with James Bond, certainly did. David Crumm, editor of ReadTheSpirit magazine and Pratt's publisher, explains:
Fleming was drawn to spiritual themes. In the 1950s, he convinced the Times of London to produce a series of essays on the classic "Seven Deadly Sins," each essay written by a famous writer, including the poet W.H. Auden.
In 1962, Fleming wrote a preface to a book-length version of those essays, arguing that he was convinced these classic deadly sins, like the sin of lust, actually were celebrated in popular culture. Fleming argued that the world needed to beware a list of seven even-deadlier sins, like the temptation to feel powerless in the face of evil deeds.
Dr. Pratt's research shows that Fleming did just that in his Bond novels. Fleming explored a deadlier series of sins in the way he shaped his Bond villains and also in the way Fleming described Bond himself.
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