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The stories and characters of Genesis have already shaped you more than you realize. They are embedded in the foundation of our culture. They are part of us all and belong to us all, the religious and nonreligious alike.
In this vivid, original interpretation of Genesis, former Episcopal
priest John R. Coats takes readers on a journey through the ancient
text, inviting them to see its characters in a new light, not as
religious icons, but as people whose day-to-day concerns, triumphs, and
failures are like our own.
In Coats's telling, the relationships of Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau,
Rachel and Leah, and Joseph and his brothers take on stunning
contemporary relevance as these characters find themselves confronted
with extraordinary situations and circumstances that they'd neither
asked for nor had anything to say about. Using stories from his life as
well as the lives of people he's known, Coats creates a rubric you can
use to examine your own life and to discover aspects of yourself in the
characters whose lives unfold in these primordial stories. How has
Eve's story shaped yours? Is your life reflected in Jacob's evolution
to wisdom? In Joseph's youthful arrogance? Coats explores the strengths
and weaknesses of the men and women in Genesis, pulling back the
wrappings that have hidden their humanity to reveal the vibrant drama
of these foundational narratives. "Different clothing, yes, and
language, and customs, yet at the human level," he writes, "they were
just as greedy and generous as we are, as gullible and crafty, as
moronic and brilliant, as cowardly and brave. They are us, their
stories, our stories, mirrors in which to see our best and worst
selves."
pub date: 2010-10-19 | Paperback | 9781439102107 |
