Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Definitions
• Evolution of the Relationship between Religion and Science

• Part One - A Chronological Consideration

  • Historical Overview of Ancient Israel
  • Adam and Eve
  • Noah’s Ark
  • The Joseph Story
  • Canaan in the Late Bronze Age
  • Myth of the Exodus
  • Joshua's “Conquest” of Canaan
  • Human/Child Sacrifice in Ancient Israel
  • El, Baal, Asherah, and YHWH (Jehovah)
  • The Dubious Priestly Myth of David and Solomon
  • The Line of Saul
  • 1Chronicles – All About Dave
  • King David
  • Absolom, Adonijah, and Solomon
  • Solomon’s successor? The Zadokite Priesthood!
  • Kings of Judah (South) and Kings of Israel (North)
  • From Davidic to Divided Kingdom
  • Babylonian Rule
  • Evolution of Theodice: why do bad things happen to good people?
  • The Persian Era
  • Alexander and Hellenism
  • Synagogues and Rabbis
  • The Septuagint (LXX)
  • Emergence of Messianic Apocalyticism
  • The Machabees
  • The Essenes: (the Dead Sea Scroll sect?)
  • Roman Period
  • John and Jesus
  • Jesus’ Teachings
  • Reaction to the Crucifixion
  • Jesus and James vs. Paul and Augustine
  • James the Just
  • Paul of Tarsus
  • Suppression of the Jamesian Ebionites
  • Augustine of Hippo
  • The Gospel (not by Mark, but) according to Mark
  • Where is God? The First Jewish-Roman War
  • The Early Church Fathers
  • The Age of Heresy
  • The Real Story of Christmas
  • More Heresies!
  • Into the Middle Ages
  • Where's Waldo?
  • Inquisitions
  • Witches
  • Joan of Arc
  • Martin Luther
  • Council of Trent
  • Skepticism
  • Hegel
  • Kierkegaard
  • John Henry Newman and Marx
  • Liberal Protestantism and Nietzsche
  • Fundamentalism - Knees jerk, heads find the sand
  • What it’s all about?
  • The Religion of Politics or Politics of Religion
  • The End of Faith

• Part Two

  • The Historical vs. the Mythical Jesus – Authentication
  • Criteria for Distinguishing Fact from Fiction
  • Life of the Historical Jesus
  • Jesus’ Genealogy
  • The Virgin Birth
  • We Three Kings of Orient Are – Not!
  • To Nazareth
  • John the Baptist
  • Temptation
  • To Capernaum
  • First Disciples
  • Sermon on the Mount – Beatitudes
  • Turn the other cheek
  • Hypocrites: Prayer
  • Hypocrites: God and Mammon
  • The Golden Rule
  • Eating with Publicans
  • Jesus on Family Values
  • Parable of the Sheep and Goats
  • The Last Supper
  • Gethsemane
  • Arrest
  • Before the Council
  • Death of Judas
  • Questioning
  • Barabbas
  • Crucifixion
  • Burial
  • Resurrection
  • Final Commission

• Part Three - So then, why believe?

• Part Four - False Prophets

• List of Illustrations