Serving God in the heart of our community since 1881

St Andrew's Church, Taunton

The 100 Minute Bible

The Bible in under two hours?

Sue Goodman of St. Andrew's Church reviews

How are you doing with your New Year resolutions?  If you resolved to do a bit more Bible study this year, you might like to consider "The 100-minute Bible" as a starter.  (Copies available in the Parish Library!)  It's in 50 short (one-page) chapters, and you probably could read it in a hundred minutes, though I haven't tried.  There are also some maps with both Biblical and modern place names, for geographical context.

While broadly following the outline of the original, this version of the Bible is expressly aimed at Christians and those who want an introduction to the central Christian story.  Over half of the 50 chapters are about Jesus' life and work, and the growth of the early Church; whereas the original is about three-quarters Old Testament.  Each chapter tells a story or explains a theme.  The Biblical references are given so that you can easily go back to the original when you want to.  Some chapters – such as "In the beginning", "Jonah", "The Sermon on the Mount" – come from one book of the Bible or even just a few chapters of one book.  Others – such as "David as King", "Jesus' early life", "The young Church: doctrine" – take material from several books in order to illuminate the narrative.  In such a drastic abridgement something has to go; the books of Leviticus, Ruth, Proverbs, and several of the minor epistles, are among those that don't appear at all.  But there are several direct Biblical quotations, including Psalms 23 and 150, the Magnificat (Luke 1: 46-55) and the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6: 9-13).

The language is clear and concise, and the arrangement helpful.  The complicated historical and political narratives of the Old Testament are presented in succinct outlines, with occasional footnotes and historical dates added.  In the Gospels a similar technique is used.  The calling of the Twelve Apostles, Jesus' teaching on prayer, his miracles of healing, his raising of the dead, and other subjects, are presented thematically so that you can compare similar events.

In short, this is a very useful introduction to, or reminder of, scripture.  It doesn’t set out to replace the Bible, but it's a very helpful and easily digestible guide to it.

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