INTRODUCTION:

· Introduces the fundamental concepts on which the book is based;

· Summarises the book’s contents by chapter.

1 MAKING A START:

· Challenges what the church claims to unchallengeable truths concerning the Holy Bible.

· Offers a reading guide as an aid to biblical understanding.

· Gives a brief, but concise, summary of the Bible.

2 THE OLD AND THE NEW:

Presents evidence that clearly shows:

· The concept of God contained in the Old Testament cannot be reconciled with the God of the New Testament.

· The alleged links between Old Testament prophecies and New Testament events in the life of Jesus are not supported by a plain reading of the relevant biblical passages.

· The religious Gordian knot created if the New Testament references to Jesus’ belief in key Old Testament events are true.

· The Bible, viewed as a coherent whole, cannot possibly have come from a divine source.

3 PERSONAL REFLECTIONS ON THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

· Describes the stark comparison between the moral attributes of God as displayed in Old Testament accounts of His words and deeds and the moral precepts contained in the Ten Commandments

· Offers one possible explanation for the truth behind the ill fitting account within the Exodus story of the handing down of this series of ‘God given’ commands.

· Gives the author’s personal reflections on the meaning of the Ten Commandments and their relevance for the issues and problems we all face in our daily lives.

4 THE APOSTLES’ CREED:

· Compares church dogma, as expressed in the Apostles’ Creed, with the self evident meaning of the Bible passages used by the church to support its dogma.

5 THE TEACHING OF JESUS:

· Provides a refreshing elucidation of the essential teaching of Jesus, based on an objective study of the Sermon on the Mount;

· Describes the demands, price and rewards for anyone who tries to live by the teaching of Jesus as recorded in the New Testament;

· Offers a model that can be used to identify the New Testament passages which are, or are in accord with, the actual teaching of Jesus.

6 THE GOSPEL OF SAINT PAUL:

· Details the likely factors that led to the conversion of Saul the Pharisee to Paul the apostle;

· Presents the author’s understanding of St. Paul’s theology;

· Addresses what Paul’s theology and personal experiences have to say regarding the fundamental problem that lies at the heart of all human problems;

· Spells out the all too clear implication of Paul’s theology on the Christian concept of life after death.

7 REFLECTIONS OF AN EX-CHURCHGOER:

· Reflects the author’s views on baptism, marriage, communion, funerals and petitionary prayers in light of his lost faith in church doctrine.

8 A TIME TO HEAL:

· Graphically spells out why the environmental threat to our present way of life is a moral, as well as a political and scientific, issue. It is in this chapter that the full import of the foregoing concepts is brought to bear on one of the most pressing problems that we face today.

EPILOGUE:

· A personal note that closes the loop opened in the preface.