In this startling new way to read the parables, Ford unlocks seven of the longer parables attributed to Jesus. He focuses on the two major characters in each parable, who are separated by social inequality, and he entirely bypasses the common approach that assumes that the superior character represents God and the subordinate character the Christian believer.Drawing on his own therapeutic training, Ford offers unique insight into the psychodynamics at work in the parables. He proposes that the two characters are equally balanced in their multiple misperceptions of each other and shows how Jesus' stories invite listeners to advert to issues of conflict and power and to struggle toward reconciliation.