Through the Bible

Eugene Halliday, artist, writer and psychotherapist, was a significant interpreter of the Bible. This book began as a monthly series of essays for the Parish Magazine of St Michael and All Angels, Manchester, in the 1980s. The title 'Through the Bible' can be understood in two ways. The book can be read through in the order it is printed, from beginning to end. Or, taking the word 'through' as 'by means of' - which is the sense in which Halliday uses it - important ideas given in the Bible can be followed through and interpreted in relation to problems with which we are presented, in our own lives. Thus the subjects Halliday covers, and the wisdom he imparts, range from the ancient stories of Adam and Eve, the Fall of Lucifer, Noah and his sons, to the significance of good and evil, psychological insights into human nature, the tensions between science and religion, nuclear war, ecology, computers, the mechanisation of human reactions and free will, and the nature of consciousness. Halliday's purpose, in his presentation of the lessons he draws from these ancient texts, is to enable us - in a continually accelerating world - to adjust and improve our relationships with ourselves internally, with our fellow humans, with other sentient beings and with our environment, in order to understand and fulfil our relationship with the source and ground of our being.