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CURRENT PROJECTS
1. To detoxify the Bible.
This project is intimately connected with the rest of my work. This particular aspect highlights the aim to make the Bible accessible to
a great number of people who feel alienated from it.
For centuries the Bible has been cast in the role of bully. Women
have been taught that they are inferior 'on biblical grounds'. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people have been told that there is
no respectable place for them in the faith community. Again this message is delivered 'on biblical grounds'. As a result, millions of
spiritual seekers hesitateor refuseto pick up a Bible. They view
it as a source of discrimination and abuse.
I regard this situation as a major tragedy. In my experience the
Bible has been misrepresented. As far as the Hebrew Bible
(Old Testament) has been concerned, the creation story does not
present woman as inferior to man. They were created equal. The
first human being is a gender ambiguous 'earthling', who is both
male and female. To overcome loneliness it becomes divided into two. The so-called 'fall' illustrates the need for all human beings
to grow up into adulthood and take responsibility for our lives.
No text in the Hebrew Bible deals with the modern notion of 'homosexuality'. The story of Sodom and Gomorrah discusses
the plight of the poor and vulnerable, particularly immigrants.
Leviticus 18 provides a detailed catalogue of incestuous relations
that are prohibited. This includes sexual intimacy between male
next of kin (Lev. 18:22). Judges 1920 describes heterosexual
gang rape made possible through death threats to the victim's husband. The agenda underlying this story is fiercely
polemical (anti-Saul).
2. To take a leap of faith.
Undertaking my PhD has been a leap of faith. It has demanded
financial sacrifice but, at the same time, I have been enriched academically. Even more significantly, this long journey with the
Hebrew Bible has provided one of the greatest and happiest
surprises of my life: my low-grade chronic depression has lifted.
I am often reminded of the two parables in Matt. 13 which describe
the hidden treasure and the pearl of great value. I firmly believe
that thousands like me can find healing and empowerment in the
pages of the ancient gem called the Bible, when it is interpreted
in life-affirming ways.
This amazing work of art contains a wealth of treasures waiting to
be explored. It is true that understanding the Bible requires patience
and perseverance. But the reward is to be found at the end of the rainbow. The Bible addresses the concerns of all people, although
often in unexpected ways.
It is my desire to share the rich biblical insights into the human
condition that motivates this research ministry.
3. To publish a full-length book with a fresh, non-sexual
approach to Sodom & Gomorrah based on the
sources in the Hebrew Bible.
This book will be a thoroughly revised edition of my PhD thesis.
Learning to write a major academic dissertation has been a
challenge. Subsequently learning to produce a book for publication
is proving to be another challenge of sizeable proportions.
4. To share some key aspects of my research on
Sodom and Gomorrah.
I am planning to produce a series of articles in several
languages for various periodicals:
(a) academic journals;
(b) other publications catering to
a wider reading audience.
5. To offer lectures, workshops and seminars.
6. To continue my linguistic enquiries into crucial texts
of the Hebrew Bible.
Several important Bible texts are under-researched from a
linguistic point of view. This is true of the creation story in
Genesis 13; the obscure offence committed by Ham against
his father Noah (Gen. 9); Sodom and Gomorrah; the so-called
prohibition in Leviticus 18:22; the "consecrated ones" in
Deuteronomy 23, and the crime of Gibeah in Judges 1920.
A similar concern applies to the popular phrase "to know in the
biblical sense", which has no philological basis. Very little
attention has been paid so far to the technical role(s) of "know",
i.e. yada', in early Hebrew legal language. The same is true of
the ancient terminology involving betrothal, marriage,
consummation, and sex. | 
