Neil Richardson was Tutor in New Testament Studies and later Principal of Wesley College, Bristol, UK. He served as President of the British Methodist Conference in 2003-2004.

• ForewordIntroduction: Why This Book?i) That strange word ‘God’ii) ‘There is no God’?iii) God and godsiv) The God of the Bible ConclusionSeven Steps Towards Reading the BibleChapter One: Beginnings: God of Creationi) God of Beginnings ii) Human Beings and Godiii) The Question of God’s Patienceiv) Beginning Again: Abraham, Friend of GodSummaryChapter Two: Moses, Joshua and the Violence of God i) God the Terrorist?ii) ‘Divine’ Massacres, Ancient and Moderniii) Divine Cruelty to Dumb Animals?iv) A Choosy ‘Jealous’ GodSummaryInterlude (1): Is the Bible No Longer Trustworthy?Chapter Three: Through the Darkest Night i) Why did God Allow This to Happen?ii) Towards Belief in One Godiii) The ‘Judgements’ of God in History iv) Wrath: God’s Dark Side or Ours?SummaryChapter Four God: A ‘You’ Rather Than an ‘It’i) An Awesomely Consistent ‘You’ii) An Always and Everywhere ‘You’iii) An Elusive (and Cruel?) Youiv) ‘My God’, ‘Our GodSummary Interlude 2 Is the God of the Old Testament Different from the God of the New?Chapter Five: Jesus and the God of the Bible:i) Jesus and the Question of Godii) The Strange Things Jesus Said about Godiii) Not a God for Religious Peopleiv) The Meaning of the Virgin BirthSummaryChapter Six: Paul: the God Who Crossed Boundaries i) God on the Damascus Roadii) Jesus in Our Place and in God’s Placeiii) Some Contemporary Problems with Paul’s Godiv) ‘To the Church of God in Corinth’SummaryChapter Seven: ‘John’s’ Witness to God i) ‘John’ and Godii) Still a Violent God? The Book of Revelation iii) God in the Endiv) The Bible’s Climax: the First Letter of JohnSummary Summary of SummariesConclusion: Who on Earth is God? A Personal Postscript

Here is a book for new Christians and non-Christians. But also for Christians like me – long in the tooth and with years of reading and teaching the Bible under their belt. It is clear, brave, and honest. It will stir people to discussion and debate. It will surely accomplish what its author describes as his aim: “to offer a foundation for a far-reaching Jewish and Christian humanism.” It should be stuffed into brief cases, lunch boxes and pockets and read on buses, offices and in the pew.