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In this ground-breaking work David Tacey shows in terms a general audience can follow, and without preconceived theories, how the truth of Christian myth and Gospel shift into metaphor, with its indirectness, and inter-connectedness and meaningfulness; even what might seem to be literal and propositional is basically metaphorical. The effect is to deepen faith consciousness and to call for such a deepening. . . . A must-read for every Christian and atheist. --Matthew Del Nevo, Catholic Institute of Sydney This book is a major achievement. David Tacey has set himself a significant challenge: to refute the obtuse literalism of many believers without at the same time appearing to be destructive of faith and negative towards scripture. To accomplish this he has combined the insights of depth psychology with the best of contemporary scripture scholarship. In reading the gospels as myth - which, as he argues, is how they were written, he has demonstrated the difference between faith and belief, and brilliantly repudiated both Christian and atheistic fundamentalism. In an age when the conventional expressions of the religious message appear increasingly absurd, this is exactly what we need. --Bernie Neville, Professor of Humanities, Swinburne University David Tacey challenges the reader to find a deepened personal and cultural meaning in narratives such as those of the virgin birth and the resurrection, not as historical truths which confound science and reason, but as myths to live by. Actively imagined in these terms Jesus comes vividly to life: not with the literalness of childish imagination but as myth linked to deep human experience: he acquires more not less power. I found this book compelling and life-affirming. It is a book that cannot be read piecemeal, for Tacey takes us on a spiritual journey, peeling layer from layer, the full meaning of which is only revealed in his exuberant and spine tingling conclusion. In a world riven with fundamentalist extremism born of literalism, this book has the potential to be profoundly consequential. Read it! --Anne Boyd, AM, Professor of Music and Dean, University of Sydney Religion as Metaphor is a sustained and provocative attack on religious literalism. Tacey spells out the consequences of reading scripture and its major themes, the figure of Christ, the virgin birth, resurrection, the demonic and the apocalypse, through a symbolic lens. The parameters of his effort are his rejection of two fundamentalisms, religion on one side and scientism on the other. He makes a compelling case that the restoration of symbolic awareness would enhance religion and the contribution it could make to our wider culture. The work is an attempt to save religion from itself. --John Dourley, Emeritus Professor of Religion, Carleton University, Ottawa

In an environment where a mindless biblical fundamentalism has been identified with Christianity and where, as a direct result, the culture has become both non-believing and thoroughly secular, David Tacey, a proponent of a modern understanding of Christianity does his work. Rejecting both the hysteria of the biblical literalists and the emptiness of modern secularism, this book dares to engage both a deeply held Christian faith and the thought forms of the 21st century. As a Christian I welcome his contribution to the debate of our generation. --John Shelby Spong VIII, Bishop of Newark and author of The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic In this ground-breaking work David Tacey shows in terms a general audience can follow, and without preconceived theories, how the truth of Christian myth and Gospel shift into metaphor, with its indirectness, and inter-connectedness and meaningfulness; even what might seem to be literal and propositional is basically metaphorical. The effect is to deepen faith consciousness and to call for such a deepening. . . . A must-read for every Christian and atheist. --Matthew Del Nevo, Catholic Institute of Sydney This book is a major achievement. David Tacey has set himself a significant challenge: to refute the obtuse literalism of many believers without at the same time appearing to be destructive of faith and negative towards scripture. To accomplish this he has combined the insights of depth psychology with the best of contemporary scripture scholarship. In reading the gospels as myth--which, as he argues, is how they were written, he has demonstrated the difference between faith and belief, and brilliantly repudiated both Christian and atheistic fundamentalism. In an age when the conventional expressions of the religious message appear increasingly absurd, this is exactly what we need. --Bernie Neville, Swinburne University David Tacey challenges the reader to find a deepened personal and cultural meaning in narratives such as those of the virgin birth and the resurrection, not as historical truths which confound science and reason, but as myths to live by. . . . I found this book compelling and life-affirming. . . . Tacey takes us on a spiritual journey, peeling layer from layer, the full meaning of which is only revealed in his exuberant and spine tingling conclusion. In a world riven with fundamentalist extremism born of literalism, this book has the potential to be profoundly consequential. Read it! --Anne Boyd, University of Sydney Religion as Metaphor is a sustained and provocative attack on religious literalism. Tacey spells out the consequences of reading scripture and its major themes, the figure of Christ, the virgin birth, the resurrection, the demonic and the apocalypse, through a symbolic lens. The parameters of his effort are his rejection of two fundamentalisms, religion on one side and scientism on the other. He makes a compelling case that the restoration of symbolic awareness would enhance religion and the contribution it could make to our wider culture. The work is an attempt to save religion from itself. --John Dourley, Carleton University, Ottawa

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David Tacey is Emeritus Professor of Literature at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia. He has written extensively on spirituality, religion, youth experience, and mental health. His most recent books are Gods and Diseases: Making Sense of Our Physical and Mental Wellbeing and The Darkening Spirit: Jung, Spirituality, Religion.

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