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prologue

 

 

Prologue: POLITICAL PARABLES

This, my first cartoon book on the Bible, resulted from a concerted but vain attempt to understand the Gospels by dressing them up in revolutionary, socialist clothing. But this in not what I now think. In this bookt I imagined Jesus as operating not in first century Palestine but rather in twentieth century Glasgow, in which I was living at that time. I learned a great deal from this exercise and I still believe it is worth reading; however, it forced me to conclude that though Jesus was certainly a revolutionary he was no socialist.

This book was first printed and published by me in 1982 in Castlemilk, Glasgow.

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volume1

 

 

Volume 1 - THINKING ABOUT THE BIBLE: Part 1 - Ancient Man

Most people simply assume the Bible is a religious work, which means they either mis-read it or, alternatively, never-read it. The ancient texts that most resemble those found in the Bible are ideological not religious and this volume attempts to find out how these texts worked, as a first step in correctly understanding the Bible itself.

This book was published by me in September 2012, using Blurb Books where it can be purchased in hard copy.

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2607103

However, it can also be accessed on this website.

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volume2part1

 

 

Volume 1 - THINKING ABOUT THE BIBLE: Part 2 - The Mesopotamian Myths

In Part 1 we verified that we could make sense of a couple of Mesopotamian myths simply be seeing them as the ancient writers' way of talking about their ideological view of the world. Now in Part 2 we attempt to use this technique in understanding the other great Mesopotamian myths on which the myths in the book of Genesis were clearly based.

This book was published by me in November 2012, using Blurb Books where it can be purchased in hard copy.

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/3731932

However, it can also be accessed on this website.

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volume2part1

 

 

Volume 2 - GOD OF THE MARGINALS: Part 1 - The Myth Cycle

Even reading the Bible as a religious work it is impossible to avoid attributing to it an ideological perspective of some description. The usual thing to do is to dress the Bible in conservative or liberal clothing, though recently some have begun to interpret it in an alternative socialist or liberationist manner. Unfortunately, for rather obvious reasons, none of these approaches really work. In this volume John and I examine the myth cycle of stories in Genesis and discover that the only way to make any real sense is to see them as the product of an ideological struggle between Hebrew marginal revolutionaries on the one hand and conservative revisionists priests on the other.

This book was published by me in September 2011, using Blurb Books where it can be purchased in hard copy.

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2503347

However, it can also be accessed on this website.

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volume2part2

 

 

Volume 2 - GOD OF THE MARGINALS: Part 2 - The Patriarchal Cycle and Exodus Stories

Moving on from our examination of the Genesis myths, John and I look at the stories in the patriarchal cycle that follows. We discover that if you try to read these in the ‘normal’ conservative manner - as religious works that advocate blind obedience - they turn out to be not just mindlessly stupid but also fundamentally contradictory. Unwilling to write them off as third rate conservative religious trash John and I then go on to try and understand the stories as the product of an ideological struggle between Hebrew revolutionaries and revisionist priests. To our astonishment, we find them now making the most profound and excellent sense.

This book was published by me in September 2011, using Blurb Books where it can be purchased in hard copy.

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2503622

However, it can also be accessed on this website.

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volume3part1

 

Volume 3 - Politics Before and After the Exile: Part 1 - Kingship

This volume deals with the history of the ongoing ideological struggle between the Hebrew marginal revolutionaries and the conservative revisionists in the community called Israel, as this is documented in the Jewish Bible (The Old Testament).

This book shows, once again, that if you read the biblical texts in a religious manner - as of course most of us do whether we are religious ourselves or not - they not only contradict themselves but they also talk a lot of magical nonsense about bogus spiritual interferences in the world. However, if you read these texts politically, as they were meant to be read, interpreting the mythological language symbolically, they make great sense even if we tend to find the truth they speak about - the world as only the marginals can see it - hard to stomach.

This book was published by me in September 2016, using Blurb Books where it can be purchased in hard copy.

http://www.blurb.co.uk/bookstore/detail/7539791

However, it can also be accessed on this website.

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volume3part2

 

 

Volume 3 - Politics Before and After the Exile: Part 2 - Revolutionary Prophets and Revisionist Priests

This volume deals with the history of the ongoing ideological struggle between the Hebrew marginal revolutionaries and the conservative revisionists in the community called Israel, as this is documented in the Jewish Bible.

In concluding the Old Testament this book attempts to set out the criteria by which the so called New Testament itself seeks to be judged as the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. Building on the work covered by all the previous volumes the book attempts to summarise everything you must know if you want to correctly understand what Jesus and his followers were trying to do.

This book was published by me in December 2017, using Blurb Books where it can be purchased in hard copy.

http://www.blurb.co.uk/bookstore/detail/8444113

However, it can also be accessed on this website.

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volume4

 

 

 

Volume 4 - The Gospels as Political Good News: Part 1 - Overcoming Common Misunderstandings

Here John and I deal with some of the major problems which cause people nowadays to misunderstand the Synoptic Gospels by reading them religiously rather than politically.

This book was published by me in August 2019, using Blurb Books where it can be purchased in hard copy.

http://www.blurb.co.uk/bookstore/detail/9617989

However it can also be accessed on this website.

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volume4

 

 

 

Volume 4 - The Gospels as Political Good News: Part 2 - The Historical Jesus

Here John and I attempt to understand Jesus' historical struggle to bring to fruition the Mosaic Covenant as this was recorded by his followers.

This book was published by me in 2020, using Blurb Books where it can be purchased in hard copy.

https://www.blurb.co.uk/bookstore/detail/10276117

However, it can also be accessed on this website.

Click here to Download this Book