Bibles Bible Studies Books

I like Swindoll, but he rates 3 stars compared to Tozer. If you want to read a great book on God I suggest about anything by A.W. Tozer. The Attributes of God (2 books) are very good and IMHO much more enlightening.

As a new believer, I have found Swindoll's book very down-to-earth and straightforward which I appreciate. The idea that there are many mysteries in God's Word that are beyond our human understanding is reassuring, since I have puzzled frequently over passages that I could not fathom and had concluded that it must be some lack in
me. Swindoll encourages us to trust in our Father's goodness toward his children and to surrender to His perfect will for our lives. I highly recommend this excellent "guide to understanding" especially to those who are new to the Christian pilgrimage. It has become a very welcome companion to my evolution as a believer.

This has a good exposition to doing god's will and how to seek that will

I used to think that I was about the only one who really struggled with knowing God's will in my life. It seemed like everyone else knew exactly what God's will was for their lives. This book has taught me that just about everyone struggles with knowing God's will for their life. And more than that, Chuck gives many "what to do" examples of how to better discern God's will for your life. One of the best parts of the book is that he is unafraid to use real life examples of people who struggled mightily with knowing what God would have for them to do.

I always was puzzled why God would allow someone who is doing the work of God in this life would be allowed to die, sometimes tragically. It made no sense to me. With the aid of this book, I'm beginning to understand more about God and the fact that His ways are often a mystery to me. Chuck explains that God's righteousness is something that is very difficult for a mere mortal to understand and comprehend. God has chosen to do things His way, and that often contradicts what we think He should do, based on our human logic and emotion.

I have read the book once, and it is very much like an excellent movie, in that multiple visits are necessary to uncover all the gems that are to be found there. I plan to read it several times, in addition to my normal Bible study (and not a substitute for it!), because there is so much there it takes several trips to begin to understand something so vast and mysterious as God's will for our lives.

I have several friends and family members who are stuggling with knowing what God would have them do. I plan to get and give them a copy of this book which may help to explain why things in their lives are not working out as they think they should. God's will is still a mystery to me, but at least thanks to this book I know a lot more about how to find it, understand it, and most of all, not sweat it when nothing seems to make sense.

Every Christian I know wants to know and do God's will -- to follow the path that God has set for each of us. Chuck cannot of course provide that, but he does provide some roadside markers so that each of us can learn God's will for our life by prayer, seeking God in our silent moments, and by using some of Chuck's practical suggestions how to travel that road that God has set before us.

Sometimes you know something deep in your heart, but it takes someone else to point them out and make them clear for you. In my case, I had been struggling with God's plans for me, and it took this book to remind me of what I already knew in my heart-"The Lord's mercies never cease. The Lord's compassions never fail. The Lord's faithfulness never diminshes." This book clearly outlines how we can find and use God's will. I particularly enjoyed the extensive use of Biblical scripture, including passages from the little read Lamentations and Job. Swindoll had a way of presenting this complicated and mysterious topic in a way that made me say "duh!" I needed this book, and will recommend to many friends.

Wills has written three books of interest: What Paul Meant, What Jesus Meant, and What the Gospels Meant. In What Paul Meant Wills puts forth the notion that Paul's writings (not the pseudo Paul) provide a clearer picture of Jesus than the Gospels because he was closer to the time of Jesus, knew and talked with many people who knew Jesus and had a much better sense of Jesus than the Gospels which were written much later. He makes a good point of this notion. It serves to underscore the emphasis on Pauline theology in some Christian traditions. He carries this theme through the other two books he's written in the "meant" series. Anyone who's interested in the development of Christianity will find all three useful. Start with What Paul Meant and go for it.

Gary Wills does an excellent job of analyzing Paul's writings and his place in the early Church. he debunks a number of myths and clarifies Paul's role in evangelizing the gentiles. I truly appreciated his line by line discussion of Paul's writings and those attributed to him but probably written by someone else. Great read!

Wills' earlier book, "What Jesus Meant", was truly inspired -- engaging from start to finish, it challenged many of the assumptions of modern Christianity about what it means to be a follower of Jesus. I was expecting more-or-less the same from "What Paul Meant". I was slightly disappointed; because this book doesn't quite measure up to the extremely high bar set by its predecessor. Nonetheless, it is a very good book; and I'm glad I took the time to read it (though, since it is a short book, it didn't really take much time at all). The goal of the book is to defend Paul against the unfair criticism that he has received over the centuries from those who claim that he distorted the teachings of Jesus, and also to rescue Paul from those Christians who have twisted his writings to support doctrines that that are contrary to the true gospel of Jesus. Wills argues that Paul's basic message was the same as that of Jesus. The book aims to explain why Paul is so misunderstood, and what he was really trying to accomplish. However, the bulk of the book is actually an attempt to use the available textual and historical evidence to sort out the details of Paul's life and mission -- where he went, what his goals were, what problems he had to deal with, what his relationship was with the leaders of the Jerusalem church and various other missionaries, etc. If you're interested in the life of Paul and the early history of the church (as I am) you will find this a worthwhile read. But, given the title of the book and the precedent set by his earlier book, I was expecting more of an analysis of what Paul wrote, and less of an analysis of his life, his mission, and his relationships with other followers of Jesus. Nonetheless, my disappointment with the book is only slight; and I would certainly recommend it. (Of particular value is the appendix that deals with issues surrounding the proper translation of various words found throughout Paul's writings.)

The author, Garry Wills, offers a fresh approach to New Testament books usually attributed to Paul, attempting to put specific words into context of the first century. He carefully chooses to deal with the books that almost certainly were written by Paul, giving reasons for believing that some others probably were not written by him. Dr. Wills says that he is not a theologian but writes from the perspective of a Historian and a Greek scholar, although he did study for the priesthood. He separates fact from myth in an interesting and readable writing style.

As a younger man, I attended a conservative Christian college, where I majored in biblical studies. I still recall how adamant the professors were that the Bible was not only infallible but inerrant as well. It is almost amusing to watch the hoops such people will jump through to maintain this untenable position.

Fast forward a few years, to when I took my first serious look at the other end of the spectrum, the ominous "liberals." There I found an approach to the Scriptures in which any possible contradiction or inconsistency in the text is trumpeted loudly as an error, with no attempt whatsoever to harmonize the seeming disparities. Whereas my old mentors were obsessive in defending the Bible's perfection, the other side seems almost gleeful in its attempts to fictionalize as much of it as possible.

Wills obviously belongs to this latter camp, and it shows in the condescending approach he takes to the New Testament. A prime example is on pages 32-36, where he examines Acts 9:1-19, the account of Paul's Damascus Road experience.

On page 33 he writes: "We know from Paul that he was 'unknown by my features to the Judean gatherings in Messiah (Galatians 1:21)......how could a man who had gone house to house arresting the brothers be unknown by them?"

Wills fails to read the surrounding verses in the Galatians passage. They answer his question easily:

"Then I went into the regions of Syria and Silicia, and I was still unknown by sight to the churches in Judea that are in Christ. They only heard it said, 'the one who was formerly persecuting us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy." And they glorified God because of me." Galatians 1:21-24.

What Paul is actually saying is not that the Judeans saw him and didn't recognize his face. Rather he is saying that during this particular journey he did not make personal contact with those believers, though they did hear he was in their area. A simple examination of the text makes Willis' objection fall to pieces.

Other points he makes suffer from similar problems. On page 33 he writes "if Paul had been a pupil of the famous Gamaliel, he would have surely said so when he boasted of his Pharisaical training."

Really? How does Wills know this? Is it possible that Paul had a valid reason not to mention this training? Perhaps upon becoming a Christian his former mentor disowned him, in effect saying "do not disgrace me by speaking of our past associations," and Paul honored this request. Perhaps Paul simply didn't see it necessary to mention.

Perhaps Gamaliel was especially hated or feared by the Christians, and Paul's mention of his name would only have made them unduly suspicious of him as well.

Wills considers none of this. Upon sniffing out what may be a problem in the biblical account he loudly proclaims that the New Testament is in error.

The solution he proposes is predictable: "Luke's fiction has replaced far more interesting fact. Here as elsewhere we must look intently at Paul's own words to see what he actually meant. Luke will prove a continuing obstacle to this effort." page 36.

So, once again, it's the biblical writers who screwed everything up, and it's up to modern scholars, looking back two millennia, to correct their lies and find the real truth they failed to report. This isn't scholarship, it is arrogance, and a particularly pompous type of arrogance as well.

Yet it is this very attitude that guides Wills throughout the rest of the book, which is a mixed bag in my view. He defends Paul against claims of inciting hate (a good example is on page 56), demeaning women, etc. and at many times employs sound hermeneutical principles. On the other hand, he seems passionate to remold the Apostle into a politically correct advocate of diversity and multi-culturalism.

In conclusion, I give this book an overall positive recommendation, but with reservations. It is useful both for its insights into modern approaches to the Bible as well as its analysis of Paul's writings.
Let the reader be aware, though, that it is faulted by biases that should be critically - and fairly - examined. Of course, this is good advice when reading any book, even the Bible.

Dr. Chuck Missler is indeed a blessing from God =) I just finished reading this excellent book... It was one of the greatest things that happened in my life. I felt closer to God =)Reading this book made my faith stronger... The more I realized how God loves us... I've researched a lot about the Holy Bible and Eschatology, but still I learned a lot from this book. Many of my questions were answered. Every page was filled with excellent analysis... This book is simply amazing!! What an effort by Dr. Chuck... I'll buy more as gifts for my loved ones... If you need a life changing book, let this be it!! Even an atheist would become a loving Christian if he reads this book.. That's how EXCELLENT this book is!! Thank you Dr. Chuck... You are one of my REAL heroes in life. Keep up the good work!! God Bless =)

I was first introduced to Dr. Missler by his 100 page book, 'Hidden Treasures". From there I've been captivated by his perspective of
the Bible.
With This book "Learn the Bible in 24 hours", He gives an overview of the individual books in the Bible by looking into the time in which each book was written and the point of view of their author, (Inspired by God).
This book has GREATLY inhanced by understading of the Bible as the inspired word of God.
I've read parts of the Old Testament and the the New Testament a few times. I find that if I read Dr. Misslers' book first, then read threw each corresponding book in the Bible, I've connected with the writer and the truth of which it is written.
I completly recommend this to new and semi-new belivers to aid in the insight of each book in the Bible, Old and New Testament.

If you are looking to further your knowledge of the Word of God, if you are desiring to become a more diligent Christian, and if you are looking for a teacher who gives all the Glory to God, then look no further!

This book goes through each book of the Bible and covers all the major points in each book. It was skillfully and beautifully done, and that's an understatement!

"It is evident that Jesus Christ appears throughout every page, every word, and every line of Scripture." - Chuck Missler.

I agree wholeheartedly with what this reviewer had to say as I too have studied the Bible for years:
"I have intently and daily studied The Bible for more than a decade. The margins of my Bible pages contain copious notes representing Holy Spirit-inspired insight, idiomatic notations, and cross-referencing. And still, new truths were revealed to me through Mr. Missler's publication. "

Chuck's motive in all his work, including this book, is to help other Christians deepen their studies in the Word of God and His truth.
He also advises that every one reading or listening to his work to test it, search it out for ourselves- the exact phrase, "to be Bereans- Acts 17:11".

Like LaHaye had said, "Chuck does his homework and helps us to do ours."

As for the person who suggested reading "The Complete Idiots Guide to the Bible"- I wholeheartedly disagree with you, as I have read that book and this one as well.
This book pays close attention to every detail of Scripture, while giving Biblical truths, not guesses.

I really wish I could give this book 4.5 stars. It isn't anything to write home about, but I don't think it tries to be. It's goal is to give a general understanding of the entire Bible (no small feat) by hitting on the general stories of the Old Testament and basic theology (though, of course, this is more open to interpretation) of the New. In this respect, it succeeds, as good as any "general" book can.

What I am less convinced by, though I find highly interesting, is the connection of Old Testament stories to the life of Christ. While I agree it is fun and creative to point out parallels to the prophets and Christ, I do not find it particularly helpful in a book designed to be a summation. Also, the vast amount of subjective inferences concerning prophecy are hard to swallow without more developed study and argument. But that is only my opinion, and other readers may get a different vibe, so I don't hold it against the author.

Overall, this is a solid study. Some ideas are strange and, in my opinion, irrelevant or open to question, but for the most part, next to reading the Bible in it's entirety, this is the best way to learn the Old and New Testaments.

This book is a 329-page review of the books of the Bible, illustrated with verses of the King James Version (KJV) and supplemented with a detailed pretribulational millennial commentary. The material is very well written and can be easily read in 24 hours or less. At the end of the book, it is suggested that the reader conduct an independent investigation and form his/her own opinion. With the Internet as my main source of information, that is exactly what I did.

Already in the Introduction there are some major inaccuracies. The following quote attributed to George Washington is printed on page x: "It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible." An Internet search quickly reveals that Washington supposedly made this statement during his September 17, 1796 Farewell Address to the people of the United States. The document does not contain the word "Bible".

The following quote on page xi is attributed to Abraham Lincoln: "I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this book." Every verifiable quote attributed to President Lincoln by others, can be found in the searchable database at The Abraham Lincoln Association website. A search of the database for the word "Bible" returned 181 matches in 23 records. The quote in the book could not be found.

The inaccuracies in the Introduction do not give the reader much confidence in the validity of what is written in the rest of the book. I could go through the text from cover to cover and identify questionable statements and sections on nearly every page. Of course that would result in a much more lengthy review than can be accommodated here.

The main objective of the book is about the author's unsubstantiated theory: "The Bible is an integrated message system (page 1), not in broad terms but down to the very letter (page 8). Each incident, each episode, fits into a deliberate, well-designed program from beginning to end (page 306). Every passage, every word, every letter is there by deliberate design, all part of a comprehensive fabric, and that fabric is largely predictive (page 159). Prophecy is the central theme of the Bible (page 305). [The Old Testament] Scriptures-in print and circulated well before the time of Christ-contain more than three hundred prophecies detailing the coming Messiah; and all of them were fulfilled in the first century A.D. For every prophecy of Jesus' first coming there are eight for His Second Coming, and the more we examine the circumstances necessary for that Second Coming the more we will recognize that they are nudged into place (page 161)".

Missler sells the theory by cherry picking from the Scriptures, by selectively presenting obscure data that fit the theory while disregarding large bodies of widely accepted data that contradict the theory, by giving subjective interpretations that are not supported by most reputable Biblical scholars and, in some cases, by providing information that is blatantly incorrect. We don't have the original documents of the Bible and its numerous errors and inconsistencies are well documented (see, for example, Bart Ehrman's "Misquoting Jesus: The Story behind Who Changed the Bible and Why". So, the KJV or any other version cannot be the inerrant word of God, but is without a doubt a collection of subjective writings by a diverse group of human scribes.

This is the first book in the series of small books from Mark Driscoll titled, "A book you'll actually read..." This book is for the purpose of a beginner trying to understand the Old Testament and to do it in roughly an hour of reading. This is obviously just a starter book to get a quick understanding of some important topics that discuss the background of the Old Testament.

The book is broken up in three parts and actually covers a lot of material, not exhaustively, but still provides a Reformed understanding of the Old Testament. The three parts are:

I. Answers to Nine Common Questions about the Old Testament

Who wrote the Old Testament?
What does the Old Testament say about the Old Testament?
What does the New Testament say about the Old Testament?
What does Jesus say about the Old Testament?
How were the Old Testament books chosen as Scripture?
What is the central message of the Old Testament?
How did we get the Old Testament in English?
Why are there different Bible translations?

II. How to Read the Old Testament

In this section Pastor Driscoll gives a quick, like two or three sentence quick, synopsis of every book in the Old Testament. He spends a little more time on discussing the Pentateuch overall and the overall understanding of Prophets and what they were used for. My only "gripe" would be that he leaned more on the "Inward testimony of the Holy Spirit" to discern false prophets. I think this can be very dangerous if this is the way that we test them. He did give other ways, but by ending as this being the way we can do this today, left me scratching my head how this would transfer to a new Christian.

III. Appendix 1: Building a Theological Library

This is a great resource. Driscoll gives a clear and distinct way to build a library for the student of Scripture. He gives the book, the title, and usually why it is an outstanding resource. This is actually worth getting the book alone.

Buy the book, read it, and then give it to a new Christian or someone looking into reading the Bible. Well worth it and they will, as the title suggests, actually read it. Highly Recommended.

I only read one chapter of this book -- and was so put off by the embarrassingly bad errors in it that I didn't care to read any more.

In the chapter that addresses the question "How were the Old Testament books chosen as Scripture?" author Mark Driscoll says that up until the Council of Trent in 1546, Christians and Jews largely agreed on the books that comprise the Old Testament -- and that at Trent, the Catholic Church added books to the canon to support its doctrines. Driscoll says quite matter-of-factly that prior to Trent, the "added" books were never considered canonical.

This is a common and persistent myth among Protestant Christians, but one would think that someone who's writing a book on the Old Testament would know better, or at least make an attempt to confirm the facts.

The simple fact is, those "added" books had been previously affirmed as canonical at the councils of Rome (382), Hippo (393), Carthage (397 and 419), II Nicea (787) and Florence (1442). So it is just dead wrong to say that the Council of Trent "added" the books to the canon: The Church had recognized and asserted the canonicity of these books for more than a millennium prior to Trent.

(If you'd like to confirm these facts on your own, there are plenty of online resources out there that discuss the debate about these books, which Protestants call "apocryphal" and which Catholics and Orthodox Christians call "deuterocanonical.")

As I said above, the errors Driscoll makes in this chapter are just so bad that I would strongly encourage someone interested in the Old Testament to seek out better researched works ... which is too bad, because I like how the book is packaged as sort of an anti-textbook, intended to appeal to people who think this type of material is usually too dry and boring.

The pace of modern life leaves many of us feeling that we don't have very much available time. When it comes to learning more about the Bible and in this case the Old Testament, many people have good intentions, but often feel intimidated by the subject matter or bound by their lack of available time. If this sounds like you, then I'd highly recommend this small book. At only 96 pages, you will be able to finish reading it (minus the appendixes) in little more than an hour.

Mark's focus in this book is to provide the reader with a succinct introduction to the entire Old Testament that will both encourage and inspire you to read it for yourself. Many readers will relate to the stories Mark recounts in the introduction about his early experiences with reading the Old Testament and how this book grew out of the many questions he has answered on the subject during his time in ministry. In chapter 1, following a brief introduction to the Bible as a whole, Mark focuses on 9 common questions he has been asked about the Old Testament. They are as follows:

1. Who wrote the Old Testament?
2. What does the Old Testament say about the Old Testament?
3. What does the New Testament say about the Old Testament?
4. What does Jesus say about the Old Testament?
5. How were the Old Testament books chosen as scripture?
6. What is the central message of the Old Testament?
7. How did we get the Old Testament in English?
8. Why are there different Bible translations?
9. How can I get the most out of the Old Testament?

Chapter 2 is concerned with how somebody might go about reading the Old Testament. In this chapter, Mark breaks down the various kinds of literature found in the Old Testament. He also gives a short overview of the theme and purpose of each Old Testament book.

The book closes with 2 appendixes. Appendix 1 talks about the importance of in-depth Bible study and makes many great resource suggestions for building your own theological library. Appendix 2 has a Bible reading checklist that the reader can use to keep track of their progress in reading through the Old Testament.

Let me conclude by saying that this great little book covers a lot of ground in less than 100 pages. Non-believers, new Christians, and even seasoned Christians will benefit from reading this book. Mark's writing style is engaging and clear, making this topic accessible for any reader of any experience level with the Old Testament. The price point also makes this a reasonable resource to share your friends and family.


Mark Driscoll is the founding pastor of Mars Hill church [www.marshillchurch.org] in Seattle. He is also co-founder and president of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network [www.acts29network.org]. Mark has penned an ever-growing list of books including: A book you'll actually read series, Vintage Jesus, Death by Love (Sept. 30, 2008), and others. Mark is married to his high school sweetheart Grace. They have been blessed with 5 children.

I got this to do with my friend of 20 years over the phone once a week. We live 1 hour and 30 mins apart and this has been a great way for us to connect and learn God's word and about the women of the Bible. We totally love it.

I've never read the original book, so my review is based on what I read solely from this Study Book.

This book has 52 discussions, each of which discusses one woman of the Bible. It gives out basic character of the woman, and some key scriptures. I like how it prints out some scriptures from the Bible that form a summary of the story, such that we don't have to spend too much time opening up the verses (you will still need to open up some verses on your own from the Bible during discussion).

I also like the "So-and-so's Life and Times" section that explains the culture of the society during which each woman in the story lived. This really helps us in understanding the decisions that they made that we, in today's world, would otherwise have considered absurd. And, this helps us to relate their struggles with ours today.

I used this book with some young women small group (teens to early twenties). All of them never read the Bible front to back. So, for me one of the strongest points of this book is that it thoroughly leads us to walk through pretty complete history of the Bible. Most other bible study books go by topics, and thus sometimes are not as thorough.

Despite the detailed history part, the discussion questions are not boring (as most history books are) but they are pretty interesting and help the members to open up with each other.

All in all, I was satisfied more that I expected with this book. Plus, it has 52 stories, so I won't have to worry anytime soon of having to find another bible study book.

We are using this in my young adult women's bible study, and it is fantastic. The questions are scriptural, interesting and relevant to our lives. I recommend picking which women to do as a group and allowing members to use the others for personal quiet time.

The book is excellent for our women bible study we all love it.

I have personally used this book for a small group study. We get to see some strengths of many women in the Bible as well as their weaknesses and learn from both. There are short scriptures and questions that you can break up and spread them over a week period if you choose. Again, this book is great for small group studies and by using it in a small group, this will allow some accountability in the group and a time for spiritual growth with the Lord and with the others.

This book has some good discussion questions, and the DVD that goes with the study is pretty good, but I would definitely suggest looking through the first lesson and deciding which parts to do. I am in a small group, and we decided that some of the sections should be done as homework beforehand so that the sessions don't run so long. The questions about related Bible verses are not so much discussion questions as they are short answer, and those seemed a little elementary. However, it was nice to see a group study that incorporated the Bible a little more than others. I do recommend getting this book, if you are willing to do a little planning before beginning it. I definitely recommend getting the leader's guide, and the DVD is required for the group study.

I am using this book and video in an adult Bible study with 17 participants. It is a good study which shows you how to live and love like Jesus did. John Ortberg uses humor and touching stories to get his point across. Another thing that I like is that you are referred to scripture to see how Jesus faced the same problems that we face in our daily lives.

Our small group just started this lesson. The DVD messages are only about 15 monutes long. THe bulk of your small group time is spent looking up verses to discuss. There is also homework to do between meetings which is nice. BTW- You MUST get these books if you are doing the DVD study- the DVD references the book, and you really cannot do the study without this book.

I initially wrote a review for this product thinking I was reveiwing the Hardback book. I truly think this participants guide is unnecessary. The book itself has discussion questions and stuff in it. This is really just a lot of duplication (I personally would not buy again.) Save your money here and just buy the book.

When our small group decided to study together John Ortberg's "The Life You've Always Wanted," we couldn't decide whether to read the book or watch the DVD with companion study guide. So, we decided to do both.

Though there was understandable repetition between these two resources from the same author about the same topics, that was actually a good thing for us, as the principles were more fully embedded each week. Ortberg is a great teacher, so his teaching segments on the DVD were solid. In addition, the accompanying study guide provided a host of solid questions to use in response to the teaching time.

My greatest critique of the participant's guide in conjunction with the DVD was that it left me wanting more each week. Especially because we were reading the book at the same time, I was aware of how much more Ortberg had to say than he was able to include in 13 minutes of video teaching. And it was very common for our discussion to center around the text in the book that we had read earlier in the week more than the video that we had just watched.

I found this participant's guide to be fully functional and ultimately worthwhile. However, if I were to recommend "The Life You've Always Wanted," I would suggest that you just read the book. It provides much more content and the questions in the back still allow for groups to study it together. In any case, Ortberg has provided the church with a great contemporary resource about spiritual disciplines, regardless of which format you choose.

For so long I naively believed in the theory of evolution. But then I discovered this book and realised I was completely mistaken - the world was actually created by God in six days! Quite remarkable. I won't make the mistake of putting blind faith in tatty old folk tales written by senile old loonies again.

Even from a non-religions point of view, Genesis is a valuable piece of literature. Being one of the first texts ever it has had a great influence on our society and is the basis for many of our customs. It isn't the most exciting read, there is a lot of who begot who, but its interesting to see what so many people have put so much faith into.
It is the type of book where you can always look for a deeper meaning, which the footnotes help greatly with, but simply reading it for what it is you're still able to get a lot out of it. Obviously you can's take everything seriously, there are many metaphors used. But many of the stories teach simple morals that still are prevalent today.
With out a doubt you could find a more appealing book to read than Genesis, but its still worth picking up. It been very influential to many people and appears countless times in other pieces of literature, also its short and uses relatively simple language.

Genesis is a difficult read in many ways. The writing style is over a thousand years old, this combined with the density of the material makes it a very time consuming read. The text requires a lot of analyzing and critical thinking while reading. While it is a hard and dense read, in the end it is a very rewarding one. You cannot claim to have an understanding of literature until you have read Genesis. Being one of the first true texts and the guide to life for many, many great novels have drawn connections both to and from it. Robert Alter's translation of one the greatest texts ever written is magnificent. He uses a great deal of footnotes to help in the translation and explain the old Hebrew. Genesis is truly a work of art.

I am currently taking a literary course on Genesis taught by a Jewish Rabbi. The translation is an excellent secularly attempts to give the non-Jewish individual the feel and cadence of the original Hebrew.

There are hosts of people for whom reading the Bible has been a life-changing experience. Reading this book was a life-changing experience for me as it changed the way I read the Bible.

Alter shows Genesis as a work of literature. This doesn't mean that it holds no timeless truths. Rather the reverse. The fact that Genesis was written with a spirit beyond that found in a mere journalistic account make it more valuable not less.

This is one of those books where in the footnotes are longer than the text. Through these, Alter passes on wisdom from commentators throughout the ages.

The stories of Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Jacob, and Joseph we all remember from Sunday school. Alter's work brings them to life in a way nothing I've seen ever has before. If you revere the Bible, you owe it to yourselve to buy this book.

I ordered three New Women's Devotional Bibles. One was shipped to another state and two were shipped to my home. The books were sent out immediately and were received sooner than had anticipated. I was impressed with the effiency and would order again. Very easy and convenient.

I purchased this for a woman I love who has lost her way. She has just begun her journey to Christ and the daily devotionals along with the related questions are changing her life for the better. I am purchasing more for friends and family. Great Book!

This is a very nice Bible. The leather cover is a beautiful color and has a soft feel. The font size is easy to read and the different fonts used make it feel more engaging then just regular text. The devotionals are short to read but offer other verses as references, questions to think about and a quote from a well-known woman. There are numerous reading plans to choose from. My one complaint would be the silver edged pages. I find little flecks on my fingers after thumbing through the pages. Not a big deal but something I wasn't expecting to have happen.

I have been looking for a good devotional Bible and I found it in this one. If you are thinking about making a purchase for yourself, or even for a gift, don't hesitate to buy this Bible. I also bought the companion Men's Devotional Bibles for my sons, and they are very pleased as well. 5 stars from me!

The bible is beautiful, and I have not started the daily devotion yet. I was hoping for more commentary. The KJV bible I had spoiled me, as it frequently had 1/5 page at the bottom of definitions, commentarty etc. I'm giving it 4 stars as it is exactly what it says a Devotional Bible, I was just expecting something different

The Bible's words in the realm of feminism are not one of strict antagonism; there are positive messages as well. "Lost Women of the Bible: The Women We Thought We Knew" is a look at the iconic women of the Bible and their message to the women of today. A book of solid encouragement for women who still hold their faith dear, "Lost Women of the Bible: The Women We Thought We Knew" is a top pick for both Christian and women's studies community library collections.

This excellent commentery on Mark's gospel gives new insights as it helps to place us at the scene of Christ's earthly ministry.

This book is being used as the basis for a men's bible study on the Gospel of Mark. All of the men in this group are very pleased with the way the author paraphrases the sections of the gospel to be covered as well as the way he provides some insight to the cultural and historical background of the various times and regions. Tom Wright provides a very thoughtful and original commentary on the Gospel of Mark without being so bold as to insinuate that his opinion is the only correct interpretation of the text. I am looking forward to reading other bible commentaries from this author.

This book was tailor-made for a bible study group. I used it in law school for an inter-denominational group that included Catholics, Baptists, LDS and various other protestants. We all got a lot out of it. The book is divided by short passages from Mark interspersed with longer commentary (usually 2-3 pages) from Tom Wright. I can sincerely say this helped me on my faith journey and deepened my knowledge of Jesus and the New Testament, particularly the Gospel of Mark. For beginner and intermediate-level bible students, I highly recommend it for group-study.

I found this devotional commentary to be a refreshing personal devotion resource as well as a comptetent commentary on the uniqueness of Mark's gospel. You will find it easy to read and a very helpful resource for prompting small group discussion if used in that setting. You need not be anywhere near a scholar to benefit.

This guide really does what it sets out to do: Make the gospel accessible to all. Wright's prose is easily read and his analogies move the Word into a modern context. At the same time, he correctly points out that Mark was recording what was occuring before a first century audience. As such, it is just as important to be aware of their perspective.

This book has proven to be a briliant study guide for our men's group and church community. I recommend you start here and move on to other works as your community sees fit.