When the newest Visual Theology book arrived in the mail, my daughters had the same initial reaction: Whoa, this is cool! It’s easy to see why they were excited.
A mixture of text and eye-grabbing graphics, this book is a great introduction to the Bible. It is a manual and reference book that will serve the church for many years, and I’m glad that Tim Challies and Josh Byers have created it.
Part 1: Trusting the Bible
Making no assumptions that readers of this book were raised in church, A Visual Theology Guide to the Bible begins with an introduction to the Bible. The first part of the book then explains why we can trust the Bible.
The questions that are addressed in part 1 are some of the most common and most important of our time: How was the Bible written? What makes the Bible unique? Can we trust the Bible? I found the section on the formation of the New Testament canon (pages 40–49) fascinating.
The infographics, charts, and illustrations throughout the book are visually stunning and stuffed with helpful information. The bold colors and striking shapes complement a creative use of pictures and graphs. In part 1, the timeline for the authorship of Old Testament books (pages 38–39) is a highlight.
Part 2: Studying the Bible
The second part of the book concerns studying the Bible, and chapter six provides seven reasons to do just that.
- Know God
- Know God’s will
- Become godly
- Bear fruit
- Defend yourself
- Fuel your prayers
- Fuel your joy
After explaining each of these reasons briefly, chapter seven addresses the important matter of how to study the Bible. Readers of this blog will find themselves in familiar territory (with familiar terminology) here, as the book offers an excellent primer on the Observe-Interpret-Apply Bible study method. There are some nice pointers about Bible memorization in this chapter as well.
Part 3: Seeing the Bible
The third and longest part of this book offers an overview of different sections of the Bible. In chapter 8, the authors lay out the main thrust of God’s Word.
We, too, miss the main point of the Bible if we fail to see and discover Jesus in all the Scriptures. Yes, the Bible is a book about God. But even more specifically, the Bible is a story about God’s plan of salvation for us in Jesus Christ. As we read God’s Word from Genesis to Revelation, we discover the Son of God, who came to save us from our sins. (A Visual Theology Guide to the Bible, page 105)
It’s hard to miss the focus on Jesus in this portion of the book. Every chapter title connects a section of the Bible to an aspect of God’s plan to send Jesus. I appreciate the way these chapters set the information and narratives of these groups of biblical books within the larger context of redemptive history.
It’s hard to pick one favorite infographic from part 3. Here are three at the top of my list.
- The timeline of the kings and prophets of Israel and Judah (page 143) is excellent. I have trouble remembering these historical sequences, so I’m sure I’ll use this as a reference.
- On page 148, the Psalms are grouped and categorized by book, author, type (lament, thanksgiving, etc.), whether the psalm is an acrostic, and whether the psalm is messianic. I’ve never seen a chart quite like this.
- A breakdown of the last week of Jesus’s life is on page 177. The events of this week are organized chronologically (by day) and by location (Bethany, Mount of Olives, etc.), with relevant locations in each Gospel listed.
A Great Resource
As I paged through this book, I couldn’t help but think about how timely it is. Biblical literacy is low, so the church needs an accessible introduction to our holy book. And the combination of succinct, punchy text and beautiful graphics meets modern readers where they are.
This book is part a larger visual theology project by Challies and Byers, about which you can learn more here. This endeavor seems to have a sound vision driving it. Challies and Byers use words where description and explanation are needed, and they use pictures and illustrations to highlight space, proportion, sequence, similarity, or time.
I highly recommend this book. It will appeal to children (starting, I’d guess, at age 8 or 9). But it is a great reference for Bible readers and students of all ages.
You can purchase this book at Amazon and the Westminster Bookstore, among other retailers. (At the time of this writing, the prices at Amazon and WTS were virtually identical.)
Disclaimer: The links to Amazon and Westminster Bookstore in this post are affiliate links.
Leave a Reply