In some ways it echoes the themes of Ishmael in questioning the myth of progress. But he specifically looks at the role of the promise of the Promised Land in underpinning the dominant progress myths (manifest destiny, technology, etc). He names it as a myth of a rootless people in exile. He contrasts this with the Epic of Gilgamesh and the book of Ecclesiastes, both of which he sees as saying you should stay home and enjoy what you have and don’t try to be immortal. He contrasts this traditional cultures and with the emerging global justice movement:

“The new outlook, rooted once again the particulars of place, recalls more ancient stores of wisdom from which the myth of the promised land took leave, and it does so in order to restore some balance to belief, for the sake of human and planetary survival.”

Another author along these lines is Fredy Perlman an Anarcho-primitivist from Detroit. In his book “Against His-story, Against Leviathan” (1985) he goes through the last 10,000 years of history and tracks the rise of the Leviathan of civilization in its various guises. Its really hard to believe that Daniel Quinn never cites him in any of his books.

He draws on Genesis and the biblical story from a mostly critical perspective and Ancient Near Eastern history. Its a strikingly poetic account that takes on the traditional Marxist myth of the march of progress as well. You can read an excerpt here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantinian_shift

And I do like the photo.