An Overview of the Bible
580087
I have read the Bible 3 times through.  I knew the stories in the Old Testament were trying to tell me something, but what?  This book answered my questions.  It was the "ah ha" that I needed to totally open the Bible to me.  I very highly recommend it.  Thanks Be To God.
4709575
This book is a good way for anybody who wants to learn about the bible.  His writing style is casual and he tries to be funny, which he sometimes accomplishes.  This is not a textbook or a heady in-depth analysis of the Bible.  He presents the bible in a way that I believe most readers will be able to understand easily.
4279553
If you want a great overview of the whole of scripture and how it all fits together as one story then get this book. It is awesome. What helps the most is at the end of each chapter you are challenged to prepare a Bible study on a certain texts and ideas conveyed in the chapter. Mark gives a big overview of all the groups of books - sometimes he doesnt go into each book in great detail but just how it fits into the overall story. (minor prophets etc) But this has forced me to read a lot more of the Bible to understand the conclusions he talks about. I thought I knew the bible well but this has helped me to understand things a lot better.

Its up there with the likes of Graeme Goldsworthy's "According to the plan" and Gordon Fee & Douglas Stuarts "How to read the Bible for all its worth."
4009913
I enjoyed reading this Bible. It includes sections of The Old Testament, Psalms, Proverbs, and the New Testament for each day. Within each section are explanations of certain scriptures and one longer one at the end of each day. This is not a devotional Bible, but an great tool for education about the Bible. I highly recommend committing yourself to reading through the Bible in a year and this is a great version of the Bible to use. The kindle version is very user friendly.
3163304
I must admit that Geisler has done a rather good job in distilling the New Testament simple enough for the average Bible reader. His highlight of themes gives a clear overview of the emphases of each book. I especially appreciate the compare/contrast format that Geisler uses to demarcate both differences as well as similarities of each book. His use of alliteration, memory keys and various pedagogical tools within the book gives a very useful framework for us to hang on to.

Having said that, there are some things I feel less than desirable.

1) Personally, I like his Christ-centered focus of the whole Bible. My question is, whether that truly reflects the intention of the original authors? While I am all for Christ being the entire focus, in inductive Bible study, we need to let the Bible speak for itself, to avoid putting words into the Bible.

2) His mnemonics chosen is too sleek for my personal liking. I feel he has overdone it.

3) Some of the themes he highlights, while memorable may appear to unfairly straitjacket the Bible. The Bible often has more than one theme.

In summary, I must say I enjoyed Geisler's book. It makes a good introductory book to help educate the ordinary Church member who does not know much about the New Testament apart from choice verses. It also makes a helpful reference texts when we deal with controversial verses in the Bible. However, for the serious student, it will be better that this book be only an accompanying supplement to other reference books and commentaries. My rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

conrade
686177
I would recommend it to anyone wanting to read a Bible because it answers questions, gives historical facts, gives additional comments for clarification, has maps.  I gave it as a gift to someone who had requested a Bible to help them study various religions.  When they opened the gift they were very pleased with the extras listed.  I'm not sure I remembered all of them in my first sentence.  It was recommended by my Pastor.  I am considering getting one for myself because it may be more enlightening and easier to understand than my King James version.
893469
I like this version of the bible. It seems to be understandable and seems to give a good interpretation of the text.
2731291
It is easy to read, and has a lot of historical detail in it.  It lists books in the Bible from a Greek Orthodox; a Roman Catholic and Protestant perspectives.  The Old Testament was reviewed and written by highly knowledgeable authorities.

I was curious about the different terminology and meanings across the numerous denominations.  The pages have explanations in footnotes that explain the meanings of words spoken at the time that the information was written.  It is interesting to see a different perspective from biblical times.

The English is easy to understand in this book.  It indicates it is a fairly accurate translation from conventional Hebrew and/or Greek into English terminology.  It reflects historical information about the division from Roman Catholic practices and the Greek Orthodox churches.

For me, it is nice to know some background behind a translation of information written in other languages and cultural behaviors.
326570
Nelson's illustrated Bible Dictionary is a substancial sized resource text for the Bible scholar and laymen alike.  There are over 7000 entries and over 500 beautiful and vibrant pictures on more than 1200 pages. The key words are based on the NKJV but it it is fully cross-referenced to several major translations of the Bible (KJV,NASB, REB, NIV and NRSV).  There are printed alphabetical thumb tabs on each page to make it easy to find the word you're researching.

I appreciate the visual survey of the Bible in the front of the text.  It outlines events and dates of Biblical significance that is very helpful to reference when studying the Bible.  This section has a timeline, graphs and maps that shows Bibilcal outline in relation to history.  For those that would rather have a quick reference, there is also a brightly colored 2 page overview time line at the end of this section. In addition, there is an overview and outine for each book of the Bible and several articles scattered throughout the text.  The text also includes several charts, tables and maps on various topics of interest.

I am drawn the the book, just to look at the pictures...which says a lot considering I'm a woman nearing the age of 50 and gave up "picture books" long ago  :) The pictures are beautiful and vibrant in color!  The text is in larger font and in easy to understand language, but does not compromise content.

I would highly recommend this text for use in personal Bible study, family devotions, and in class or sermon preparation.  Since this is a resource text and not mean to be read cover to cover, I explored many topics in the text for this review.  I am more of a layman, my husband more of a scholar, we both examined the text and found it useful, interesting and informative  The information is comprehensive and appears to be accurate (although, it is written by fallible men, so I suspect we will find minor inaccuracies that would not compromise doctrinal soundness of Scripture as we continue to use it).

As a mother of 4, ages 18-8, I appreciate the fact that  difficult subjects, such as Onan's sin are tastefully dealt with. Part of the entry says:  "He was a wicked man, and the Lord put him to death (Gen. 38:10)"  My older's will know the text or be able to look it up in Scripture, my youngers will get information, but not enough to ask questions that would be hard to explain to young ones.

This is a resource that I can see our family using often in the years to come.  I highly recommend it for people that are interested in expanding their knowledge base of Scripture.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 : Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
1414472
A very good summary for the scriptures as you read through the Bible.
699006
[Note: This book was provided free of charge by Kregel Publications in exchange for an honest review.]

As someone who likes to read and review Bibles and books about the Bible, I tend to be very interested in reading and trying out new translations of the Bible, as well as the repackaging of existing translations for particular people in particular contexts. While sometimes it appears this is done merely for the purposes of cashing in on market segments without offering anything of worth, at times this targeted approach offers a version of the Bible with considerable worth. Such is the case for this particular Bible, published by Kregel Press in collaboration with EvanTell (a company which focuses on a clear proclamation of the Gospel) using as its textual basis the New King James Version of the Bible. For those readers who have a focused interest in evangelism and prefer the NKJV to the NIV or other more Alexandrian-based texts (as is the case for me) will find this Bible a worthy addition to their library, and also the source of worthwhile Bible studies.

Let it be clearly understood that this book is focused and targeted on evangelism, not on textual studies of words or a historical analysis. Since salvation covers many areas, the footnotes and sidebars and commentary material included in this Bible cover a broad scope ranging from sin to humility to object lessons from the life of Moses and Daniel, along with a thoughtful and brief examination of how to reply to those who wonder why God allows so much evil taken from Habakkuk. It also should go without saying that this Bible takes a close look on evangelism techniques and approaches that come from the Gospels and the ministry of Jesus Christ, as well as the early apostles. More unusually, and impressively, is the way that the Evangelism Study Bible examines incidents from the historical prophets to point out how God works with humanity, rather than overlooking those parts of the Bible that are less immediately accessible to contemporary Cristian audiences. Not surprisingly, there are heavy notes in the Psalms, Proverbs, and Isaiah.

There appear to be a few interrelated aims for this particular Bible. One of them is to look at evangelism from a biblical perspective, from the Bible out, given the different meanings that are attached to the concept by different people. Another clear aim is to provide encouragement and resources for people in how to discuss and practice their faith in such a way that it will reach other people. It is not only the content of the Gospel message, but also the context and approach that this Bible pays attention to its its notes and other textual material, and this material, if properly practiced, would tend to lead to a higher view of the decency and character of believers, whether God has opened their hearts to draw them to Him (which is ultimately required for conversion) or not. Whether or not you share the view of evangelism of the authors, this is a worthwhile Bible to check out, and certainly will be one I will use for Bible Studies.
551969
A handy reference book that gives for each book of the Bible:
* an introduction
* an outline
* the main message
* applications
* key temes
Usually devotes 3 or 4 pages to each book of the Bible.  A handy quick reference!
3400393
I'd like to start off by saying I do not read the KJV for my own personal study. I however was gifted this Bible by the publisher for the sake of review, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to give the bible a thorough read. Let's dive right in!

  This Bible can be confusing upon opening it just because of the format of the Scriptures. I highly recommend for anyone who purchases this Bible to read through the opening statements and pages regarding the why's and how's of the particular format that this Bible is presented in. There are certain books out of the traditional canonical order because of the purpose of being in chronological order. This means that the Scriptures are ordered in the manner of the time in which the stories and events happened in regard to one another. So it's like reading the story in the right order. In my opinion, this is fascinating. It really gives you a bunch of new insight and a whole new foundation to the truth and wonder of the actual biblical accounts of God and Jesus Christ.

  Because of the chronological order that the Bible is presented in, I would not recommend this book to be your main book for study. As  I said before, the books are not in the canonical order, so it would not be useful or practical to get used to the format and order of this Bible when most people do not use this order. The study tips and guides are really helpful! The Bible is hardcover and seems like it can be scuffed easy because of the high polished finished on it. The pages seem to stick because of the thin cuts of the paper. But besides this, the Bible itself and the content fully deliver on what they aimed for; bringing glory to God!

  My final thought, I would read it again, and keep it in my personal library for new insights on the time and order of events in the Bible. The text of the NKJV isn't as Elizabethan as the original KJV is so it makes the reading a little easier to comprehend in terms of today's English language.
794701
I'm debating between a three-star and four-star review. I wouldn't want a three-star review to dissuade Christians from owning this book, because I really like this Bible. I really enjoy the translation, at least as much as I've read so far. And there is a large concordance and a kind of glossary in the back. There are many resources and notes packed into it and I really appreciate these. The reason I might be tempted to give it a three-star review is that some of the articles could have been written better. I was hoping for a little more sophistication and a lengthier discussion of the differing opinions on certain topics. This could have made the work even stronger. It's a good resource, but perhaps ought to be supplemented with other apologetics works.
4141503
The NIV Understanding the Faith Study Bible is a great tool for anyone wanting firm grounding on the essentials of the Christian faith.  With almost 1500 pages, the Bible contains helpful information such as:

1.  Introduction to each book of the Bible - brief summary and background info for better understanding of each book's purpose and content.
2.  Different views on various issues - women in ministry, dealing with desires, God's ominiscience, etc.
3.  Glossary of theological terms.
4.  Adequate concordance.
5.  Contributions of earlier Christians.

My only complaint is that I would have liked to have seen some maps - would be helpful for better understanding biblical geography and locations. Still, a good edition and will be a valuable Christmas present for our daughters to share.
2513670
Berry's book conveniently groups together scriptures that address common problems and issues.  If you are someone who has ever thought of the Bible as a collection of nice stories but wondered how they applied to daily living, this is the book for you.  These verses serve as excellent entry points to the Bible, and it is well worth the reader's time to explore the verses surrounding those contained herein, in order to gain a more complete sense of the text.  But even without this, Mr. Berry has been meticulous about not expanding the meaning of the verses beyond their context for his categorizations.
2892296
This book is one that has not always received the recognition it deserves. Maybe it would receive more notice if it was available on Kindle. It introduces the reader to a new way to view the ancient biblical world and forces the reader to consider that the way in which people have interpreted the Bible should be questioned. If you are interested in what the Bible really says, this book is a good place to begin.