Laying Down the Sword: Why We Can't Ignore the Bible's Violent Verses

Philip Jenkins delivers a fearless examination of the darkand violent verses of the Bible and a call for us to read them anew in pursuitof a richer, more honest faith. From one of America s best scholars ofreligion (The Economist), this daring exploration of the Scripture smost difficult passages forces us to confront and accept the violence that wasas integral to the formulation of Christianity s message as it was for manyother of the world s religions, and shows us how a full understanding of theScripture will allow us to finally move towards a more peaceful, spiritualworld. Readers of Bart Ehrman s God s Problem,John Selby Spong s The Sins of Scripture, andJenkins s own The Jesus Wars, as well as every Christian eager to squarethe recurrent violence of the Scripture with Christianity s enduring message ofpeace, will find these difficult questions explored in full in Laying Downthe Sword.