The Unholy in Holy Scripture: The Dark Side of the Bible

No other book has been translated in so many different languages as the Bible or has ained at so great an influence. Yet its content is largely unknown, and its use by billions of members of the Christian churches is highly selective. Nevertheless, the Bible is commonly regarded as the Word of God. But what about those parts, notably in the Old Testament, which contain God's command to exterminate whole peoples? What about those texts, notably in the New Testament, which demonize those of other faiths? This book tacles these questions and seeks to bring to light the dark side of the Bible. It does so by focussing first on the practice of Holy Wat and the ban which went with it, and the on the anti-Judaism of the New Testament writings. More positively, it then turns to the question how, given this ruinous other side of Holy Scripture, we can continue to be Christians, and points above all to the person of Jesus. Criticism is made of the churches today in the light of the evidence that has been laid out, and suggestions are made for dealing with the present crisis. The book ends with an appendix by John Bowden, which approaches the issues from a related but slightly different perspective. Gerd Luedemann is Professor of New Testament and Director of the Institute of Early Christian Studies at the University of Goettingen.