"In this powerful and timely book, one of the most admired and authoritative religious leaders of our time tackles the phenomenon of religious extremism and violence committed in the name of God,"--Amazon.com.

This is a comprehensive look at the stories that make up the Old Testament and the Jewish religion, including the folk tales, apocryphal texts, midrashes, and other little-known documents that the Old Testament and the Torah do not include. In this exhaustive study, Robert Graves provides a fascinating account of pre-Biblical texts that have been censored, suppressed, and hidden for centuries, and which now emerge to give us a clearer view of Hebrew...

In this vivid new interpretation of Genesis, former Episcopal priest John R. Coats looks at the ancient text and its characters in a new light, as stories about people whose day-to-day concerns, triumphs, and failures are not unlike our own. In fact, understanding the people and stories of Genesis can help you understand your own life, family, and colleagues. In the relationships of Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau, Rachel and Leah, you can see an all...

Genesis recounts the story of creation, step-by-step: 'Let there be light'; 'Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear'; 'Let the earth bring forth [vegetation]'; 'Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life'; 'God created the whales'; 'And God created ... every winged fowl.' For thousands of years, Judeo-Christian belief has accepted this progression as truth. And...

The rich lessons of the Bible can be your leadership guidebook. Successful leaders don't rely solely on natural charisma and organizational authority as their tickets to success. Successful leadership is a learned art form and a developed discipline. You can master the art of leadership by examining the pitfalls and achievements of past leaders and penetrating the stories of our cultural and religious heritage. The Bible is the ultimate resource for...

The author of To the Finland Station and Axel's Castle brilliantly examines the significance of the scrolls' discovery and their role in Jewish history with this insightful biblical study, Israel and the Dead Sea Scrolls "Reading him, it is not difficult to imagine the ardor with which Edmund Wilson pursued his complex subject; it was the kind of subject he had always liked best, involving as it did history, politics, ancient lore, and all his faculties...

Most people today think the Bible, the most influential book in world history, is not only outdated, but irrelevant, irrational, and even immoral. This explanation of the Book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, demonstrated clearly and powerfully that the opposite is true. The Bible remains profoundly relevant--both to the great issues of our day and to each individual life. It is the greatest moral guide and source of wisdom ever written. Do...

During its 2,500-year-life, the book of Genesis has been the keystone to almost every important claim about reality, humanity, and God in Judaism and Christianity. It continues to play a central role in debates about science, politics, and human rights. With clarity and skill, acclaimed biblical scholar Ronald Hendel provides a panoramic history of this iconic book, exploring its impact on Western religion, philosophy, science, politics, literature,...

Twenty four 30 minute lectures by Gary A. Rendsburg, of Rutgers University, on the first book of the Bible