While the historical aspects of this book are interesting, the author expects you to know too much about the bible and religious philosphy and stresses signifigance without bothering to explain those aspects. It's almost as if the author is writing to impress his contemporaries and the vernacular is very onanistic. It's almost insulting. Imagine that you are in a very boring class, catching snippits of interesting info if can remain awake. Once again there are some interesting parts, but was ultimatly dissapointed after reading this book. This is not something to read if you are new or want to continue reading about this subject.