Quick-Start Beginner's Guide to the Bible

J. Stephen Lang

Description

From the author of the bestselling Complete Book of Bible Trivia (over 700,000 copies sold) comes this instant reference guide to God's Word. This is the perfect foundational book for anyone who wants to learn about the Bible, its books, and the wonderful treasures within. Not everyone knows what the Bible is, why it was written, how chapter and verse numbers work, and why we even read it today. In this helpful guide, author Stephen J. Lang answers many key questions, including... What are the books in the Bible named for? Why are there two testaments? Why are there so many versions? What do the chapter and verse numbers mean? Is the Bible the only "holy" book? This is an ideal resource for anyone who has never used the Bible before, as well as for new believers. It will give them a running start on getting to know the God who loves them, and understanding the written Word He has given them.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Reference

Informations

• Publié par: Harvest House Publishers, Inc.
• Date de parution: 01 mars 2007
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780736954334
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Unless oterwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from te HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTER- NATIONAL VERSION . NIV . Copyrigt © 1973, 1978, 1984 by te International Bible Society. ® ® Used by permission of Zondervan. All rigts reserved.

Verses marked  are taken from te King James Version of te Bible.

Verses marked  () are taken from te Good News Translation—Second Edition © 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by permission.

Publised in association wit te literary agency of Mark Sweeney & Associates, 28540 Altessa Way, Suite 201, Bonita Springs, FL 34135

Cover by Dugan Design Group, Bloomington, Minnesota

Cover poto © Jill Fromer / iStockpoto

THE QUICK-START BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO THE BIBLE Copyrigt © 2007 by J. Stepen Lang Publised by Harvest House Publisers Eugene, Oregon 97402 www.arvestousepublisers.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data  Lang, J. Stepen.  he quick-start beginner’s guide to te Bible / J. Stepen Lang  p. cm.  ISBN 978-0-7369-1938-8 (pbk.)  1. Bible—Introductions I. Title.  BS475.3.L36 2007  220.6'1—dc22

2006031308

All rigts reserved.No part of tis publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mecanical, digital, potocopy, recording, or any oter—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, witout te prior permission of te publiser.

Printed in te United States of America

CONTENTS

Making the Bible Userfriendly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

 1. Beyond the Words. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9  Wat Is te Bible All About?

 2. Papyrus, Scrolls, and All That . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37  How We Got te Bible

 3. The Authority Problem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71  Inspiration, Inerrancy, and Infallibility

 4. Meaning What?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91  Interpreting te Bible

 5. Life of the Heart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111  Devotional Reading of te Bible

 6. Yes? No? Maybe?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137  Decision Making and te Bible

 7. Conversing with God. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163  Learning to Pray wit te Bible

 8. In a Nutshell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179  All te Books of te Bible

 9. Help at Your Elbow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231  Basic Tools for te Bible Reader

MAKING THE BIBLE USER FRIE - NDLY

H ere in te twenty-first century, can an ancient book be user- friendly? Can te life of King David, wo lived around 1000 .., be accessible, or interesting, or relevant to contemporary individuals? Granted, te Bible isn’t as accessible as te Internet or MTV. It isn’t supposed to be. It’s te Word of God to uman beings, not a multi-image promo for trowaway pop culture. he Bible is serious. It’s concerned wit morality, wit etics, wit values. It’s concerned wit were we came from, ow we sould live, wat our destiny is beyond tis present life. In oter words, it answers te basic uman questions about te meaning of life. But itisaccessible. And it is interesting. If sex and violence elp sell books and videos, ten te Bible sould sell well, for sex and violence are tere. (Mark Twain snickered at libraries tat banned is books but kept te Bible on teir selves.) he Bible presents te uman tale, warts and all—and adds te divine element, making te picture complete. It’s even more interesting tan pop culture because it as everyting te secular world as,plusa loving, for- giving, saving God. he Almigty God is, according to te Bible, approacable—friendly, if you will. User-friendlymeans tat an average, normal uman being can approac witout feeling treatened. Bible andbooks flood te market—and many seem to assume tat te reader already knows te Bible fairly well and enjoys reading it. he book you are now

5

6

The Quick-Start Beginner ’s Guide to the Bible

olding assumes no suc ting. It assumes you are at leastinterested in te Bible—maybe sligtly familiar wit it, but maybe puzzled, curious, peraps even ostile. It doesn’t assume you know te order of te Bible’s books, its main caracters, its key teacings, its is- tory, or its place in everyday life. It does assume tat knowledge of tese tings is important—as important as knowing ow to drive a car, program a video recorder, operate a microwave oven, fill out a tax return, or sop for nutritious food. In fact, tis book assumes tat knowing te Bible ismoreimportant tan all tese tings. Yet it does not assume you must be a scolar or a college grad to know te Bible. his book is written for several types of people:

• he new Cristian wo wants to become familiar wit te Book of books, wic is te foundation of Cristian belief and living. he new believer can profit from studying tis andbook alone, but I encourage group study wen pos- sible. Curc and ome classes or groups sould find tis book eminently user-friendly.

•he person wo wants to get “reacquainted”—tat is, te person wo realizes e as neglected te Bible for too long and would like to become more familiar wit it. Surveys consistently sow tat longtime curcgoers are often ignorant of basic Bible teacings. I ope tis book will elp to remedy tat problem.

•he Cristian wo is familiar wit te Bible but would like a refreser course, a kind of review of Bible 101, if you will. Pastors and professors often fall into tis category.

• he non-Cristian wo is curious—curious as a seeker after trut, or maybe as one wo opposes Cristianity but wonders if te failings of Cristianity are traceable to te Bible itself. For te seeker, I ope tis book leads to furter inquiry and commitment. For te ostile person, I ope at least to clarify. Certainly I include noting ere

Making the Bible User-friendly

tat sould make a non-Cristianless respectful of te Bible and Cristianity.

7

Several years ago I publisedhe Complete Book of Bible Trivia.It as sold extremely well, wic made me realize tat a lot of people are interested in te “tidbits” of te Bible, its many interesting snip- pets of events, people, and places. Having looked at te Bible as trivia,I now move on tosignifica—te Bible as someting tat is, or can be, very significant in uman life. My trivia book answered te question, Can te Bible entertain me? he book you are now olding answers te question, he Bible—wat’s in it for me?