New Wine In Old Wineskins a look at scripture in a ne light

The Judeo-Christian bible begins with a description/ of the universe God has created. In the center of that universe is a tree laden with the gifts man needs. Man is made from the very being by God and charged with protecting that tree - the tree of life, of good and evil. Man abuses that trust. God does not punish man. Man is forced to live with the consequences of that mistrust. Much of the rest of the Old Testament describes the result of that mistrust: wars, murder, struggles, misuse of the land. Even then God does not abandon man. From a thunder filled mountain God attempts to reestablish man's trust in God. Man again abuses that trust. God sends prophets to help restore that trust. Some are ignored, some killed. God does not quit. Again through a tree God attempts to breach man's mistrust. This book will not look at the consequences of man's mistrust. It will concentrate on the poetic images the Bible uses to describe God's attempt to help us be aware of that trust. This history is told in a series of poems. I hope many will have experienced these thoughts. Even if no one even reads these thoughts, writing this book has given me a greater appreciation of the Bible and how so many of the individual books are so interrelated. I hope you enjoy the book and it helps give you a greater appreciation of the unity of the Bible. I hope it helps all human beings recognize our common unity and helps restore a sense of God's trust in all of us. I hope it will spark a sense that each of us needs to in some way make the presence of God real. The final part of the book has a series of questions young persons might be asking about the messages of scripture. These are questions adults may have asked when they were children, questions that might be helpful if we asked them as adults