Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Part I Serpents of Desire: Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden
Introduction: Beyond the Lullaby Effect: Reading the Bible with Open Eyes 3
Chapter 1 Adam, Eve, and the Elephant in the Room 6
Chapter 2 A Tale of Two Trees 12
Chapter 3 The Dark Side of Paradise 18
Chapter 4 The Naked Truth 24
Chapter 5 What's in It for the Snake 29
Chapter 6 Beauty and the Beast 35
Chapter 7 A World of Broccoli and Pizza 41
Chapter 8 A Dark and Rainy Night in Manhattan 49
Chapter 9 The I of the Beholder 54
Chapter 10 Friedrich Nietzsche and the Disc Jockey 62
Chapter 11 History's First Question: Where Are You? 70
Part II The World's First Murder: A Closer Look at Cain and Abel
Introduction: From Eden to Murder 79
Chapter 1 "So Whose Picture Do You Like Better: Mine or Debbie's?" 81
Chapter 2 The Enigmatic Genius of Cain 86
Chapter 3 Echoes of Eden 92
Chapter 4 Blood on the Ground 98
Chapter 5 Living the Dream of Eve 105
Chapter 6 What Kind of "With"? 112
Chapter 7 Thomas Edison and the Glassblower 119
Chapter 8 The Keys to the Heavenly Cookie Jar 126
Chapter 9 Cain and the Kitten 132
Chapter 10 Can Desire Be Divorced 139
Chapter 11 The Case of the Laughing Rabbi 145
Chapter 12 Cain, Creativity, and the Spice of Life 152
Chapter 13 Of Roses and Triangles 160
Chapter 14 There's No Place Like Home 166
Chapter 15 The Death of Cain 173