List of illustrations

About the author

Permissions

Acknowledgements

Prologue

Part One: The Old Testament

1. The structure of the Bible

2. The authority of the Bible

3. The historical context: the world in which the Old Testament took shape

4. The structure and purpose of the Old Testament: the mission statement for the Israelites

5. The Old Testament as history: what story does the Old Testament tell? And is it true?

6. The Old Testament as morality: what kind of god is God? What morality does the Old Testament teach? And is it 'right'?

7. Who wrote the Old Testament? First attempts at a scientific reading

8. So- who did write the Old Testament?

9. Conclusion: if there is no single message in the Old Testament, what are its messages?

Part Two: The New Testament

1. The historical context: the world Jesus was born into (587 BC - 1 AD)

2. The structure and purpose of the New Testament: the mission statement for Christians

3. The New Testament as history: is the story true?

4. The New Testament as morality: what morality (and what theology) does the New Testament teach?

5. The historical context (continued): the events 130 of the 1st century AD, the world in which Jesus lived (4 BC to the early 30s AD) and the New Testament was written

6. So- who wrote the New Testament?

7. Who did Jesus think he was?

8. The New Testament: conclusion

Part Three: A Vision of Freedom

1. Is there a different way to read the Bible?

2. Three Bible passages: a literary appreciation

3. The sum of the parts: reading the Bible as a unity

Appendix 1: Books of the Old Testament

Appendix 2: Books of the New Testament

Bibliography

Notes

Index