The Collected Works of Eugene Halliday: Volume 7

This hermeneutic approach to reading the Bible uses four levels of interpretation: literal, allegorical, homiletic (moral) and mystical. Halliday says "The Bible is a book in code", meaning it is not to be taken literally. His purpose in studying the Bible is "To clarify for ourselves our own significance and ultimate destiny within the universal plan which these scriptures outline for us." He begins at the beginning, by defining the meaning of 'beginning' and goes on to interpret the meaning of Bible stories; The Garden of Eden; The Fall; Cain and Abel; the stories of Noah and Abraham; the Parables and Life of Jesus. He defines and interprets terms such as 'love' and 'joy'; explains the relationship of time and eternity. His topics are still highly topical today: he relates scientific ideas to the understanding of the relationship between spirit, mind and matter; he draws on parallels in other religions. For example, he explains how Hindus, Muslims, Jews and Christians find a path, "To regain our lost unity of Will." Halliday ends with an explanation that "The books of the Bible have been written ...in order to show man, as in a mirror, what kind of being he is, and what kind of being he may become. ..Human beings are capable of all deeds of good and evil". He gives definitions of the meaning of the terms 'good' and 'evil' - "The good is that which leads us towards more wholeness. The evil is that which leads us to disintegration". He guides us to see our potential for choice.

About the Author :
Eugene Halliday (1911-1987) was an accomplished artist, writer and speaker. He was a teacher of philosophy and a proponent of both the idea and the fact that each and every individual is essentially responsible for the life in which they are centred; and that they owe it to themself to develop that life. He taught that self-conscious reflexion and integrated focusing of one's energies will allow the individual to become aware of an internal life force which is its own real and natural authority. Halliday's parents were in the theatre and he had an unusual upbringing which supported his interest in, and ability to understand, relate and interpret concepts of philosophy, psychology, the scriptures of major religions and the science of his day. From 1928 he studied at the Manchester School of Art and exhibited work at the Manchester Academy of Fine Arts. During WW2 he was a conscientious objector and became the catalyst for a community of creative people, some of whom had emigrated from Nazi Germany. He was the founder of two organisations, the International Hermeneutic Society (I.H.S.) and the Institute for the Study of Hierological Values (Ishval). He continued to write, lecture and teach until his death in 1987. He was a man wholly dedicated to the development of the potential of his fellow beings-which was his definition of Love.