30 Days To Understanding The Bible (The "30 Days" Series)

Rating:
Summary: Only useful to those with no Bible knowledge whatsoever
Review: Frankly, I was disappointed by this book. Having been raised as a Southern Baptist, I found myself thinking more about the people and matters the author left out of the book than the material he included. Naturally, it is quite difficult to cover the entire Bible in one normal-sized book, but I found this work to be overly simplistic and lacking in its overall presentation of the true meaning of the Bible and Christianity. The author devotes the first two-thirds or so of the book to a presentation of the geography and history of Biblical times, coupled with a quick summation of the poetical, prophetic, and instructional books. Having completed that task, he ends by summing up eight basic principles of the Bible. I had expected to find the real meat of the book in this last section, but I found it sorely wanting in terms of its exposition of Christian doctrine and guidelines. The real meaning of Jesus' life never really emerged from the pages, and the importance of faith, while addressed, was not stressed or explained as much as I would have liked or expected it to be.

Certainly, the author's motives are noble, but his desire to make this book accessible to anyone and everyone results in a dry presentation that is not very compelling. This book would be most useful to persons without any kind of religious background, but I fear that it will not bring real understanding to most of its readers, nor do I think it will convince many sinners to seek God. Anyone brought up as a church-goer in a Christian denomination will learn nothing he/she didn't already learn in Sunday School as a child.

Rating:
Summary: WONDERFUL! Could have been perfect...
Review: I've read this twice now and think it's such a gem. The study guides at the end of each chapter r a bit chopy but other than this a standard. The book could also use a little makeover I feel in the visual dept.

Rating:
Summary: one to pass on!
Review: this book is straight-forward and easy to grasp even for the beginner of Bible knowledge. Charts and tests help you to digest the material and commit many basics to memory. Just follow it, you are sure to know your Bible at the end of 30 days! Not just a title - very practical!