Bruce Bickel - Knowing the Bible 101: A Guide to Gods Word in Plain Language

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Verses marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible , 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Verses marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. The NIV and New International Version trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society.

Cover design by Left Coast Design, Portland, Oregon

Harvest House Publishers, Inc. is the exclusive licensee of the trademark, CHRISTIANITY 101.

KNOWING THE BIBLE 101

Formerly titled Bruce & Stans Guide to the Bible

Copyright 1998 by Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz

Published by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97402

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bickel, Bruce, 1952

Knowing the Bible 101 / Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz.

p. cm. (Christianity 101)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-7369-1261-4 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-0-7369-6861-4 (eBook)

1. BibleIntroduction. I. Title: Knowing the Bible one hundred one. II. Title: Knowing the Bible one hundred and one. III. Jantz, Stan, 1952 IV. Title. V. Series.

BS475.3.B53 2003

220.6'1dc21

2003004368

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Contents

After we wrote a book entitled Bruce & Stans Guide to God , one reviewer said that we brought the subject of God down from the monastery to the mall. We took that as a compliment. After all, it was our purpose to show that you can learn about God without being fluent in ancient Hebrew dialects and without a seminary degree. God isnt trying to hide Himself from you. Just the opposite. He can be easily found if you know where to look. Dont be intimidated. If two ordinary guys like us can explain these things, you can understand them.

We feel the same way about the Bible. It is a treasure waiting to be discovered, but many people are afraid to look into it. A 1996 survey by the Barna Group found that the average American owns, respects, and swears allegiance to the Bible, but doesnt read it. Eighty percent of the respondents said they consider the Bible to be the most influential book in human history. More than 90 percent of households surveyed owned a Bible (and 75 percent owned more than one), but nearly half said they never or only rarely read it. Why? Well, one so-called expert explained this disparity by explaining that the Bible is difficult to study. We disagree.

We wholeheartedly believe that the Bible is Gods personal message to each and every one of us. God has preserved and protected His Word through the ages so that it is available and understandable to us. Not only is it in a language you can understand, but you can find it in the book racks at the grocery store, on the Internet, or in a recorded format.

With the able assistance of our editor, David Kopp, and with insights borrowed from Christian stalwarts (like Billy Graham, R. C. Sproul, Josh McDowell, Henrietta Mears, and others), we have written this book to show you that:

The Bible is easily understood once you see the big picture and get past all of the thees and thous and bizarre names.

The Bible contains eternal, universal truths which are relevant to you and the personal circumstances of your life.

You can connect with God by reading the Bible.

Our motivation in writing this book is to encourage your personal exploration of Gods message to you in the Bible. Our excitement for your spiritual journey is tempered with this one word of caution: Youll find a lot of great Christian books in the marketplace (including ours). These books can be a supplement to reading the Bible. But no book should be a substitute for reading the Bible.

We sincerely hope and pray that Knowing the Bible 101 gets you excited about reading Gods Word to see what He has to say to you.

W hat is your impression of the Bible? Maybe you think of it as:

An emotional antacid tabletyou read it only when your life has your stomach tied in knots.

A sleeping tabletyou pull it out from the nightstand as a sure cure for insomnia.

An eternal life insurance policyyou havent read the fine print, but you are hoping that mere ownership of it protects you in the event of death. (Come to think of it, maybe you are relying on it more like eternal fire insurance.)

A holy book reserved for monks and religious gurus.

A storybook filled with fables and fairy tales (or whatever category fits angels and demons).

Ancient wisdom literature pertinent to some bygone culture but irrelevant for today.

Gods holy words buried in a sacred text which can only be understood by a pastor or church leader.

A book you know you should read, but

Whatever your opinion of the Bible, we know that you are interested in finding out more about it (or else you would be reading some other book). We applaud your interest in the Bible, whether you approach the subject as a skeptic, a seeker, or a scholar. After all, the Bible is the bestselling book of all time (with about 6 billion copies printed, and thats not even counting those early editions in scrolls and stone tablets). You should know more about the Bible, which is why weve written this book: to help you know more.

What Youll Find Inside

Some of the books written about the Bible are more confusing than the Bible itself. Weve read quite a few of them, and the tiny print gives us a headache. Our approach is a little different. We wont get hung up on minuscule details like the name of the city where Samson killed 30 men, or the size of a homer, or the name of the guy who fell out a window when he went to sleep during a sermon (although we know this stuff: Ashkelon, about 90 gallons, and Eutychus). This isnt that kind of book. Instead, well focus on:

An Overview . Well show you how the whole Bible fits together. Although it consists of 66 books, written by about 40 different authors over 1500 years, all of the Bible stories and lessons fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. Well help you fit the puzzle pieces together so you can see the big picture.

The Basics . Well keep it simple. There will be no fancy theological terminology thrown in to impress you. Oh, sure, every once in a while well use some technical jargon, but we will always explain it with words that we can spell. Well give you the major themes, characters, stories, and lessons. But we stay away from the theological brainteasers.