A Bible for Today

If you ever wished to read through the Bible but hit a snag along the way, this book is for you, for it presents an ideal opportunity to become intimately acquainted with the biblical message and storyline while providing momentum for even the most skeptical and hesitant reader. If you can commit fifteen to twenty minutes a day and are willing to stick to the schedule presented in this book, in less than a year, you can read through the Bible and know you have acquired a basic grasp of its individual and overall message. Aggressive readers can complete the task in half the time if they wish to double the time commitment or split their reading into two fifteen-minute blocks a day. Those who follow this method will find that the readings reduce the Old Testament by 44 percent and the New Testament by 32 percent, for a total reduction of 41 percent of the biblical text. To counter immature, skewed, or harmful attitudes regarding scripture, A Bible for Today offers an approach to biblical reading and study that is valid, inspiring, and practical. It does so by eliminating not only repetitive passages, but also blocks of material that modern readers wishing to build on a Christian foundation find ponderous, lengthy, and no longer applicable. In contrast to most abridgments and condensations of scripture, this volume provides a logical sequence of readings that students of scripture can follow in whatever version they select, acquainting themselves with essential biblical passages and teachings in less than a year's time. In addition, this book provides introductory overviews to each book of the Bible, succinct enough to be readable, yet literarily, historically, and theologically reliable and informative.