A Considered and Whimsical Illumination of the Really Good Parts of Holy Writ
by Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor
116 Pages of Enlightenment!

"In the Beginning was the Word. And the Word was...bandwagon. As in the expression, 'hop on the bandwagon'. The Bible is the most popular book in the world, for many reasons. It's an inspiration to millions of people around the world, the cornerstone of many of your most popular religions, and the Word of God transcribed by Man, for Man.

Most importantly, though, it's a great story, wonderfully told. And loaded with sex and violence.

For all these reasons, the Bible is the greatest non-Harry Potter related phenomenon in the history of publishing. Contrary to what you may discover, we are not fools. We want to leap on this bandwagon. Because the funny thing is, not many people have actually read the entire Bible. Let's face it, it's a tough read. It's filled with odd-sounding names, unbelievable miracles, and some really terrible weather. Plus - let's be honest - it gets a little preachy.

This is where we come in. We'll tell you about all the Good Stuff in the Bible. Not the stuff that's good for you - we mean the stuff you may have missed while reading the parts you had to read. The real reasons the Bible is the greatest story ever sold. We want to show you the Hidden Treasures of the Bible. We are Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor, authors and scholars who have been friends and collaborators for more than 20 years. Between the two of us, we have read almost the entire Bible. In the original English.

Austin is a pagan. Okay - that¹s putting it too harshly. He's a jerk. (That's pretty harsh, too, but while not inaccurate is beside the point.) At various times, Austin has been an Atheist (lapsed), a Pantheist (reformed), and is now a practicing Utilitarian. He believes in God when it's useful. Reed is a Presbyterian. This is a little like saying he's a chair: it sounds revealing but it¹s not actually enlightening. (He is, however, surprisingly comfortable to sit on.) He's a man wracked by guilt, which is odd because he's not Jewish and he hasn¹t done anything. Seriously, the man hasn't done anything. Go ahead, ask his mother. She'll tell you straight to your face, "Reed who?"

We both married Irish-Catholics, if that helps. If nothing else, it shows a willingness to obey and tolerate extremist points of view.

The book is very much a team effort. For further clarity, we divided the actual writing of the book in half. Reed wrote the odd chapters. Austin wrote the odder chapters.

Our book is in many ways a quest. A quest for the Hidden Treasures of the Bible; a quest for the meaning of The Greatest Story Ever Sold; a quest for an unmixed metaphor; a quest for personal discovery and social relevance; and finally, a quest for spiritual salvation, if you will.

And even if you won't.

Please buy our book. Let's get questing."

This excerpt edited from the Introduction to The Greatest Story Ever Sold: A Considered and Whimsical Illumination of the Really Good Parts of Holy Writ (c) 2001 Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor. Published by Westminster John Knox Press. All rights reserved.