I would be the last person to tell you that the Bible is an easy book to read. How many dear, devout souls have resolved to read the Bible straight through, from Genesis to Revelation, only to fall away after a couple of chapters? It's not only that the Bible is an ancient book, written in ancient tongues. One of the most distressing aspects of biblical religion is the way it shuttles back and forth between the earthly and the eternal, the fleshly and the spiritual.

Oh, there are parts of the Bible which are noble and inspiring to be sure. But have you noticed how often this or that detail of Near Eastern folklore or geography keeps intruding upon the otherwise universal quality of the Bible's message?

Here you go, reading along in the Old Testament, moved by some passage of unusual sensitiv…