In response to requests for suggestions on how this book might be used as a Lenten discussion program, the following pathway might be considered:
Week 1 - The Use and Abuse of the Bible (exploring the worst and the best of the Bible)
Week 2 - One Bible—Many Readings (mapping different ways of approaching Scripture)
Week 3 - Foundational Traditions (the big stories that shape how we think of God, life, faith, ourselves)
Week 4 - After Prophecy Ends (faith when the miracles stop and no prophets seem to be handy)
Week 5 - Prophet of God's Empire (Jesus revisited)
Week 6 - Apostle of Christ (Paul revisited)
There would be other ways of using the book for a lenten discussion series, including taking just one of the three major parts of the book, eg "Part One, The People of the Book" and "top-n-tailing: it with the Introduction and the final chapter:
Week 1 - Introduction
Week 2 - The Invention of the Bible (how did we get this book, and what is a sacred etxt in any case?)
Week 3 - The Use and Abuse of the Bible (exploring the worst and the best of the Bible)
Week 4 - One Bible—Many Readings (mapping different ways of approaching Scripture)
Week 5 - The Biblical World (it was different back then, and how he Bible tells it may not be historical)
Week 6 - Imagining a Future for the Bible (where to now with the Bible?)