Books

Click above for the official website

.
The Human Faces of God: What Scripture Reveals When It Gets God Wrong (and Why Inerrancy Tries To Hide It). Foreword by John J. Collins. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2010. 268 pages.

Download Promotional Flyer

“The Human Faces of God is one of the most challenging and well-argued cases against the doctrine of biblical inerrancy I have ever read. . . . All who hold the Bible in high regard will benefit from Stark’s brutally honest, insightful, and well-researched investigations into the text.” — Greg Boyd, author of The Myth of a Cristian Nation [read full blurb]

“Here is a book that answered a lot of questions that I had about what really transpires historically as it pertains to the revelation of God in Scripture. I learned so much from this book that I can strongly encourage anyone who is seeking to move from simplistic proof-texting to a comprehensive understanding of the Bible to read this book carefully.” — Tony Campolo, Eastern University

“If the truth should trump all, then this book should persuade those it argues against. It is informed, heart-felt, and utterly reasonable. Christians can ignore the facts that Stark brings into the light of day only if they want to be wrong.” — Dale C. Allison, Jr., Pittsburgh Theological Seminary

“This is a courageous book, that challenges us to take the modern criticism of the Bible to its logical conclusion. It deserves a wide readership.” — John J. Collins, Yale Divinity

Click here to purchase your copy of The Human Faces of God.
 
 
FORTHCOMING BOOKS:
 
Behold the Man: What the Bible Doesn’t Say about the Divinity of Jesus. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock Publishers, forthcoming.
This monograph will look at New Testament christological statements traditionally interpreted as claims to the divinity of Jesus. With careful and detailed attention to similar language and motifs in Second Temple Jewish literature, it will become apparent that Jesus is not in fact presented as divine by the majority of New Testament authors. The monograph will cover the motif of preexistence, the practice of worshiping agent figures in ancient and Second Temple Judaisms, the widespread use of the word “god” for figures that are not conceived of as fully divine, and much more. One chapter will also be devoted to comparing the early Christian views of Jesus with the ideas about Jesus found in Islamic literature.
 
Peace and Security: Two Rival Gospels in Romans 13 (A History of Interpretation and Critical Appropriation). Eugene, Oregon: Pickwick Publications, forthcoming.
This book will summarize the vast majority of the many approaches to the interpretation of Romans 13:1-7 throughout church history and in modern scholarship, and will argue ultimately for an apocalyptic reading of the text, with reference to anthropologist James C. Scott’s categories of the hidden and public transcripts. Paul’s overly-positive language about the Roman government must be read in light of his expectations of an imminent messianic deliverance and in light of the dynamics of discourse common to all situations in which asymmetrical power relations obtain. A concluding chapter will evaluate the problems and prospects of Paul’s apocalyptic response to oppression.

 
 
FUTURE BOOK PROJECTS:
 
The Myth of Biblical Pacifism: Redemptive Violence in the Christian Scriptures. With Christopher J. Frisina. Publisher pending.
This book will explore the way that Christian pacifists have used the scriptures in support of an ideological nonviolence (thus the way that the scriptures function as a “myth”—in the anthropological sense—for a worldview) and will argue that, contrary to much of the Christian pacifist literature, both Jesus and Paul believed in redemptive violence. After the text has been dealt with, a critical appraisal of the biblical perspectives on violence and nonviolence will be offered.
 
Behind the Veil: 25 Things Every Christian Should Know about Islam. Publisher pending.
The title speaks for itself.
 
Sex and Violence for Christians: A How To (on Moral Reasoning for Former-Fundamentalists, Post-Liberals, and Anybody Else for That Matter). Publisher pending.
This book will serve as a sequel to The Human Faces of God. Each of seven chapters (in addition to an introduction and conclusion) will discuss various moral issues pertaining to sex and violence, including patriarchy, homosexuality, monogamy and polyamory, abortion, capital punishment, war and peace, and economic violence.
 
Doctrines of Men: Essays on the Evolution of a Religion. Publisher pending.
This book will consist of a number of essays tracing the development of Jewish and Christian doctrines throughout biblical and ecclesiastical history, with special attention to the historical and literary influences on Jewish and Christian doctrines as they emerged. Topics covered will include creation, the fall, original sin, Satan, the afterlife, the final judgment, monotheism, atonement, the divinity of Jesus, the Trinity, the virgin birth, the Messiah, free-will theism, predestination, salvation, principalities and powers, and much more.
 
Agnostic Christianity: A Faith Beyond Belief. Publisher pending.
A treatise arguing that one must be an agnostic in order to have faith.
 
Theologies of Liberation in World Religions: A Primer. Publisher pending.
A college-level introductory textbook on various iterations of liberation theology throughout world religions.