Harvey Cox is the Hollis Research Professor of Divinity at Harvard University, where he has taught since 1965, both at Harvard Divinity School and in the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences. His classic book The Secular City is considered by many as one of the twentieth century's most influential books of Protestant theology. He is also author of The Future of Faith.

Many mainline Protestant congregations have been split apart by Biblical literalists who use their fundamentalist beliefs to shut down the ideas and ideals of progressive Christians. Harvey Cox can be counted on to help all believers read and study the Bible with an open heart and mind.

He suggests three primary ways of doing this:

• Narrative: delving into the dramatic stories of flawed human beings like ourselves as they struggle to make sense of our ways and our days on the earth.

• Historical: striving to practice Biblical literacy as we study the various books of Scripture with help from scholars and theologians.

• Spiritual/Activist: putting ourselves in the stories and learning spiritual meanings from the experiences described; we then try to put these insights into practice in our daily lives.

The adventuresome reader will glean much from Cox's clear and accessible interpretations of Jewish and Christian scriptures. Whether he is exploring serpents, floods, and the mystery of evil; following in the footsteps of Moses; listening to the voices of the voiceless; looking over the shoulders of the Gospel writers; or surviving a turbulent trip (The Book of Revelation); he proves to be a skillful interpreter of the Bible. How to Read the Bible shines and shimmers with all the wisdom Cox has accrued from many years of teaching.