Seriously Dangerous Religion: What the Old Testament Really Says and Why It Matters

To many, traditional Christianity needs to be significantly rethought in light of the vast expansion of knowledge and globalization that has emerged in the 21st century. It will need to start, as they see it, with becoming real about how to read and understand the Bible. The Bible's claims to exclusive truth in light of other religions are passé, they believe. Others would emphasize that science, especially biology, has shown that the Bible is little more than a set of ancient fairy tales: western society needs to get over its trust in the Bible as foundational to reality and move on to a reality grounded in reason.This book demonstrates, like none other I have ever read, why it is the secular academy and liberal Christianity that needs to carefully reexamine its picture of the Bible. In profound and eminently readable style, Provan shows that a biblical faith grounded in Jesus Christ is not the vestige of humankind's earlier ignorance, but an enlightened vision pointing to a reality that is academically satisfying, theologically coherent, and philosophically profound. This book should be read by any person who is tempted to conclude that their Sunday School knowledge of Christianity can no longer stack up up against 21st century science. True, it may need to mature some, but Provan shows that the heart of biblical faith trumps Dawkins' "God Delusion" in profundity, and rapidly neutralizes the acidity of Dennett's view of "Darwin's Dangerous Idea." Similarly, any person who thinks Christianity is just one approach to truth among a whole set of near-equals, should carefully consider Provan's arguments before comfortably settling into a pluralistic melting pot of vacuous religious idealism.I cannot emphasize enough that the book is every bit as readable as it is intellectually profound. As such then, I come to my biggest concern about the book. Because of its length (512 pages) and, I assume, its publisher's (Baylor) view of its being primarily accessible and of interest to a scholarly audience, it is expensive. I wish the publishing entity of Baylor would come to see that it will do a lot better financially on the book if it will price it in a way that makes it accessible to the general reader. True, it is an outstanding piece of biblical scholarship, but it is also highly engaging for the non-specialist. It should be widely read by pastors--their sermons would benefit from it tremendously. Sunday School teachers and Bible study leaders all should read this book, but I'm concerned most won't when they see the price tag. It is the youth who are beginning to think Christianity irrelevant in this information age who would benefit the most though, and I am concerned that its price makes it inaccessible to most of them. This book could change their lives, but the cost far too often will seem so prohibitive that many will never find out.Be that as it may, the book is worth every penny for all of us, and I personally am deeply grateful to Iain Provan for investing the amount of time he did to put this beautiful piece of work together in such an accessible manner.

Few, to my knowledge, have attempted to use the Old Testament to summarize the story of Christianity as well as Iain has. Many Christians, including myself at various points, were embarrassed and confused about what they find in the old story. They may love Jesus but can't reconcile him with what they see in the old story, not to mention the modern stories in circulation. Others use the Old Testament to justify both odd criticisms against and even odder justifications for Christians' bad behavior. Iain engages this poor treatment of scripture and challenges the overall methodology.The story is good, according to Iain, and I believe it - but it isn't just good, it's better than any other story we have, including the NT ONLY story some Christians preach. It's not just better because it's more plausible, it's better because it incorporates the best of the other stories and takes them further than they could ever imagine going. It's whole, it's complete; albeit, it is still a great mystery.For those Christians who have lost a connection to the old story and for those detractors who really want to know and understand how anyone could believe the old story, this book is for you. And for those who are willing to challenge the modern stories, this book can help you think through why you believe what you believe.

This new work expands on the ideas contained in Dr. Iain Provan’s earlier and much shorter work, Convenient Myths: The Axial Age, Dark Green Religion and the World That Never Was, also published by Baylor Press last year.In this work, Iain reminds the reader that we are all caught up in some kind of story that shapes how we participate in life and from which we make sense of fundamental issues of being human and our place within the ongoing experience of life. His core contention is that the Biblical story, as maligned as it is currently, continues to offer a better answer to a core set of foundation questions when read carefully and when contrasted with alternative responses to these core questions. Ten questions form the outline of the chapters that follow including: What is the world? Who is God? Who are Man and Woman? Why do evil and suffering mark the world? What am I to about evil and suffering? How am I to relate to God? How am I to relate to my neighbour? How am I to relate to the rest of creation? Which society should I be helping to build? What am I to hope for?Iain uses the early chapters of Genesis to provide insightful and compelling answers to these questions in a way that may cause many to say, is that what it says? I need to read that again. He builds on these perspectives through the use of additional examples, primarily from the Old Testament, to buttress his case. For each question raised Iain then offers responses to these questions from a variety of world religions in which he points out differences and, in some cases similarities, to his reading of the Biblical account.The book is both profound and readable and profoundly readable. Any bright college student can follow the argument and examples. Philosophers and theologians will find enough in here to engage their mind for a very long time. For each chapter much more could have been written but the argument and examples provide just enough food for thought without overwhelming the reader. There is an additional lifetime of reading in the footnotes and suggestions for further reading on each of the questions raised.

"Seriously Dangerous Religion" is an exceptionally readable and extraordinarily engaging account of the fundamental themes of the Old Testament, and so of all of reflective Christian life. I'm midway through my second "slower read" of the book, and already looking forward to an even slower third pass spending a bit more time on references, etc. Professor Provan shows with clarity the coherence of the entire Old Testament, how convincingly and cogently it deals with the topics of the nature of God and of the world, man and woman, evil and suffering, our relationship to God, our neighbor, and society, discussing in the process how these have been misunderstood both by believers and non-believers, and how other major religious traditions do not generally come close to providing anywhere as near a coherent or appealing account of these matters.In an age in which false caricatures of the Old Testament God are seen to be useful for boosting TV ratings and political fortunes or just plain self-image, this is the style and level of book that all Christians should be reading with care (and enjoyment and satisfaction), to be better able to articulate in a God-honoring way the reason for our hope.This is the most expensive book I've purchased in many years, but it is worth the price. (I scraped the sixty some Canadian dollars together to buy the paperback edition, because I couldn't convince myself that it was good stewardship to spend fifty some dollars on the kindle edition, which I would be unable to easily markup and perhaps share with friends.) Don't let the price by itself be decisive, because books of this caliber will support many hours of fruitful and stimulating Bible Study. I understand that the economics of serious Christian book publishing are not always easy, or perhaps not ever easy, but one can still dream of a day when it is possible to read the type of quality writing exemplified by this book at a somewhat more affordable price.

Clears up so much common misconceptions concerning Christianity and the Old Testament. Edifies the mind, and speaks to the soul.

The book is good for a good understanding and grip on the Old Testament. It offers excellent comparative analysis between the biblical narrative and other popular narratives that try to explain our ontology. However, it lacks certain pieces of puzzle I believe are quite important in understanding the big picture offered by Christianity.

He argues cogently for a re-evaluation of the old story...of a return to a healthy Biblical approach to life. And he neatly dismisses so many of the shallow and unconsidered attacks on Christianity that are mounted these days.

I am still happily working my way through this book -- and finding it a wonderfully thought provoking look at parts of the Old Testament that are very familiar and which I am now looking at in new and exciting ways.