The primary purpose of this book is to help parents and teachers who want to discuss the Bible with children, but who are not comfortable with traditional religious views on this subject. It is also intended for interested readers from about 6th grade to adult who would like to obtain some basic information about the Bible from a modern, scientific, critical perspective without having to study scholarly works in this field. The Introduction on the general subjects of religion and the Bible is written on an elementary level so that it can be read to or by children. Following the Introduction are the stories in the first six books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Joshua), co from Creation to the Israelite conquest of Canaan. After each story is a discussion designed to provide information that will be useful in exploring the story. The discussion may focus on such subjects as ethical lessons that can be derived from the story, reasons why the story may have been written and by whom, how the story may explain some natural phenomenon that is today explained scientifically, how the story has been interpreted by religious leaders through the centuries, and what some difficult words or concepts in the story may mean.
