Can the teachings of the Bible be followed literally, every jot and tittle? A.J. Jacobs, a secular Jew and editor at large for Esquire magazine in New York City, spent an entire year trying to find out. The result was a book, The Year of Living Biblically (Simon & Schuster, 2007), as well as good doses of insight and personal growth. He dressed in white and let his beard grow. And it was life changing. "The year was the most fascinating year of my life, and completely changed my life and perspective. I learned from the Bible to be much more thankful. I think I became more community minded as opposed to individual minded, because the Bible is all about being a part of community."

Did you find what you learned from the Bible applicable to your everyday life?

A lot of it is so startlingly relevant to today. I had a very secular childhood, so I didn't know much about the Bible before starting. I thought, How can this 2,000- to 3,000-year-old book have any relevance to today? The parts on avoiding ...