The Bible can be a difficult book to read because of an obscuring fog that overhangs much of the biblical text. Many would-be readers have begun with Genesis, but have soon given up the effort. They were confused, frustrated by their inability to follow and understand the narrative. This book is intended to help such readers as well as those thinking of undertaking the task for the first time.
The author is a recognized anthropologist, an ex-Jesuit with a background in theological and biblical studies. He has spent considerable time living with non-literate populations. These experiences made him realize how much of the Bible is a product of non-literate cultures. These insights have been confirmed and expanded by archeological, historical, anthropological, and literary research. Seen from this perspective, most of the Bible consists of theological stories that were later committed to writing rather than a written document of narrative history directly dictated by God. In large part the biblical story is a Jewish Epic with its stages of blessing, tragedy and redemption. It highlights the role of the covenants and the prophets in providing the underlying theological structure of the entire Bible. A brief Introduction in Genesis and the Pauline letters extend the moral lesson of the Epic to all of humanity. The relationship between the literary and theological structures can be diagrammed on a chart that lays out a synthetic view of the entire Bible as well as an outline of this book. Open the front or back covers to view the chart.