Having grown up with a Bible, I don't experience the "intimidation factor" that some people have when they pick it up for the first time. Many paraphrases of the Bible are available that help with some of the archaic language, and there is even a chronological version available. And of course, there are children's versions which are usually illustrated and leave out the seedier stories and violence.
Dr. William Marty put this book together so that someone could just pick up the Bible the way they would pick up a novel and read it from cover to cover. It's not meant to replace a Bible but to give a reader a hunger to know more. I was anxious to review it because I thought my teenage sons might be more likely to read a Bible in this format.
I was disappointed. Have you ever seen a movie after just finishing the epic novel that the movie was based on? That's the feeling I got. If I had never picked up a Bible before, I might have been satisfied. I would be interested to know what someone who had never read the Bible before thinks upon reading this book.
The author also interjects opinion into the text. For instance, in the flood account the author explains that some think this flood was universal and others believe it was localized. While I didn't find a lot to disagree with, I generally think it's better to separate theological opinions from the text of Scripture.
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