The Bible for Grown-Ups

List of illustrations

About the author

Acknowledgements

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 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