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By Bobi Raymond
What is the world’s bestseller for several thousands of years, read aloud more than any other book, translated into many language more than any other book, and moved more people into a divine destiny more than any other book? The answer is simple: the Bible. But, have you ever paused to wonder what makes this collection of literature so amazing?
So what’s so different about this book that it’s caused so much sustained interest over the years?
To start, the Bible is not one book; instead the Bible is more like a library with a set of 66 books. The two main sections that organize this book are simply called “The Old Testament” and “The New Testament”. Inside The Old Testament are 39 books and inside The New Testament are 27. Over a span of 1500 years, more than 40 authors from different cultures contributed writings to this “library”. The last contribution, The Gospel of John, was completed more than 1900 years ago.
The Bible contains a wide variety of types of literature – narrative history, poetry, philosophy, prophecy, letters, and the Apocalypse. The Old Testament focuses on the history of the Nation of Israel, and God’s dealings with them, while the New Testament tells of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the development of the early Christian church.
Another reason that many people are drawn to the Bible is its expression of God’s revelations for everyone in mankind and words about hope and life to a declining humanity.
“In the beginning, God created… ” are the opening words, introducing us to an almighty being who just speaks, and awesome things happen. Mirroring this introduction, the Gospel writer, John, in the last Bible book to be written, starts “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God…” emphasizing that God is a person for whom communication and relationships are right at the core of his being.
The Bible contains two unique features not found in other books:
(1) Jesus Christ is presented as the resurrected Savior and alive today and
(2) Prophecies in the Bible about our world end with an optimistic outcome rather than negative messages provided by contemporary predictions.
For many people, the problem with actually reading the Bible is its shear volume! For others it may be complexity, or boredom – all these genealogies, and lists of ancient rules and regulations. However, there are different ways to approach reading the Bible, depending on your aims. You can just read the narrative sections – for example, Genesis, Exodus, Judges, in the Old Testament, and the Gospels in the New.
Approaching the Bible by topic or theme is another way to work your way through this intricate reading material. Some software programs can help you sort through the text to find themes that you find most interesting. Some common themes are the nature of God, mankind’s rebellion, forgiveness, sacrifice, grace and worship.
The greatest amazement about the Bible is without a doubt the word of God to humankind. The fact that he has spoken to us and wants us to hear what he has to say is a compelling enough reason to get to know him better by reading, listening to, and acting upon what he has generously said to us!
Without a doubt, the Bible speaks large volumes about God’s Word for mankind. The mere fact that God has spoken to us and wants us to hear his Word is enough reason to believe in the power of the Bible and to want to get to know God better by reading, listening and acting upon what God has given us in these writings.
About the Author: Copyright 2006 Bobi Raymond. All rights reserved. Bobi Raymond built Ray Bible, to help quickly find Bible resources. For more information, visit his article archive at:
raybible.com/articles/
Source:
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