DESCRIPTION

An unfortunate outcome of the debate generated by the "New Atheists" is that people have been led to think that they must choose: either believe and obey everything the Bible says, or become unbelievers. But, as John Barton shows, this is a false choice, and one that the Bible itself nowhere requires us to make. There is another, less simplistic, way of reading the Bible - one that allows us to approach it with historical and critical awareness while remaining faithful to its inspiring role in Christian life and thought.

This third edition of People of the Book? has been updated throughout, and includes a new chapter examining, as a test case, the use of the Bible in current debates about the role of women in the ldeadership of the Church.