It's been a dream of mine lately to review books for publishers. Learning that doing so can sometimes score me a free book is only icing on the cake. Recently, I have had the privilege of being on the Launch Team for Max's Anders' "30 Days to Understanding the Bible." It's be a wonderful month reading through the book, taking notes, interacting with other reviewers, and completely enjoying every minute of it. Still, you didn't come here to hear my story, you came for a book review.
There are many kinds of books for new Christians. Devotionals and Study Bibles both serve a purpose, but I believe that this book would be one of the most helpful of them all. As America (where I live) becomes more and more a "Post-Christian" culture, fewer people have read the Bible, and fewer still know much about it. Sadly, many who would claim to be Christian, saved or not, know very little about the Bible. I often hear the words "I just don't understand it." So, what's the best way of introducing new believers and unlearned believers alike to the truths of the Bible? Is there a single resource that can help them? Yes.
This book. Period.
As the author notes, learning the structure of the Bible is the key to understanding it. In "30 Days," he promises to not only introduce readers to the structure of the Bible, but also to the major doctrines, some answers to commonly asked questions, some ways to further study the Bible, and even more. This is a lofty goal yet in my reading, nobody has done that better, for that audience, than Max Anders.
Writing Style:
All throughout, the tone is that of a conversational teacher. Never does the book seem condescending or mocking for a lack of knowledge or understanding. It is a book for those who know nothing, or very little, but also contains many insights for those that are more familiar with it all. Starting from that base of nothing, Max Anders beautifully builds up knowledge and truth, until a strong and solid foundation is laid. The amount of material covered in the book is vast, yet only occasionally does the daily reading seem on the border of being too much in one day.
Anders has a concise but informative style that seems to say more in a few, basic, understandable sentences than I often can in an entire paragraph. This is perfect for this kind of book.
Book Structure:
In every daily lesson, an introducing story is given that draws out the main idea in a relevant way. Then, Bible truth is explained before transitioning into a (often lengthy) review section that is full of blanks to be filled in by the reader. This repetition may become tedious for those chafing against the consequentially slower pacing, however, it is necessary to truly cement the knowledge.
This book is divided up into 7 major sections. The first two cover the structure and stories of the Old and New Testaments respectively, while the third covers the 10 major doctrines of the Bible. The remaining sections have "nano-summaries," tips on mastering the Bible, a Teacher's Guide, and a "bonus" section at the end of extra chapters (missing from previous editions) that address a wide range of different questions and ideas.
As a result of blasting through so much material in so little space, only the very significant Bible stories and concepts are touched upon and many things are generalized. Very little is said about any of the kings, nor are many details given about the Epistles of the New Testament, to name just two omissions. However, great detail was not the purpose of the book. Many other resources can help with deeper study in one particular area, while this is content to provide only a "bird's-eye view."
Special Features:
Several graphics offer great visual organization of his concepts. The "Arc of Biblical History," as well as the timeline of the Old Testament on Page 9 are both fantastic in their simplicity. the frequent use of maps helps set the geographical stage, which is complemented by the text's excellent setting of the historical and political background.
In addition, his chapter explaining the poetical books of the OT (Chapter 13) is the best concise description of Hebrew poetry, how that genre works, and how to interpret it, that I have read in a single book. Likewise, his chapter on Jesus' parables (Bonus Section: Chapter 32) rightly notes that "parables must be interpreted in light of the main point." He kindly points out that overemphasis on little details can easily lead to false theology, pointing instead to ways to find that "main point."
One feature that I feel should have been included is that each chapter would have some "recommended reading" (I.E. significant chapters/verses) for that section. It would also be handy, when summarizing, to provide references to the stories being told. Especially for bigger books where first time readers may get lost trying to find them.
Near the end of the book is a very, very detailed "Teacher's Guide" that would be great help for those using the book as a textbook in a small group/Sunday School setting.
Theology:
Max Anders is consistently and unflinchingly conservative, never introducing a shred of doubt that the Biblical events actually, truly, happened exactly how the Bible says. His timeline is the traditional, conservative timeline, both in the Old Testament, and in dating the events and writings of the New.
However, a note on his Doctrine section is needed. He sets out ten "Great Doctrines." (Bible, God, Christ, Holy Spirit, Angels, Man, Sin, Salvation, Church, Future Things) His view on doctrine is two-fold. First, it's almost impossible to find two people that agree identically on every single point of every single doctrine. Second, Christians as a whole have held to certain "core principles" of doctrine that all agree on, while they do disagree on the "fringes" of doctrines. While I'd heartily disagree that important distinctions are only "fringe issues" when they change the very character of God or his workings, I see his heart and am quite impressed with the results.
He continues to write in his informative and concise style, but backs up to be just a touch more "generic," writing in such a way that nearly all denominations would agree with him. He does so admirably, and while sometimes it leads to awkward sentences or wordings, I'd agree with him in nearly all the chapters. The "Holy Spirit" chapter is a particular delight.
Sadly, a few issues do crop up here, particularly in the "church" chapter. While I understand I'm not in the majority, I'd hold to "Local Church" view, not a Universal and believe Christ began it while he was on the earth, and only empowered it at Pentacost. Also, I'd hold to Elders and Pastors being the same position. His chapter on "future things" is necessarily very, very generic and short, leading to little gain from it.
Later on in Section 5, "How to Master the Bible so Well That the Bible Masters You" he makes some incredibly helpful suggestions in his four "Steps," but falters when it comes to his discussion of Bible translations. He openly admits that some sacrifice accuracy for "readability," and suggests using two Bibles; NLT for normal reading, and NASB for study. I'm saddened that a man so dedicated to Biblical accuracy elsewhere would openly recommend using a translation that he admits isn't as accurate as others. In light of that desire for accuracy, I'm a Textus Receptus/KJV supporter, and am not keen on his recommendation of Critical Text translations.
Still in that section, I'm not sure I agree with the principle of "read for understanding." Essentially, it is reading what you can understand and skipping what you don't. Perhaps, at the very start a newer Christian should begin this way, but since the entire Bible is God's Word, at some point he/she needs to stop skipping anything they don't understand and sit down to study it. Also, at the very beginning, they won't understand most of the Bible. I think it's a decent, but slightly mis-guided principle. However, only a few pages over, he mentions his philosophy of memorizing "deeply" where one knows a few verses really, really well, rather than the normal practice of knowing many verses but only quoting them with many hints and struggles. That, sirs, is a marvelous philosophy.
Conclusion:
I love this book. It beautifully guides new believers into an understanding of the Bible, offers a vast amount of knowledge in an attractive format, and hammers home again and again the truths of the Bible. I'd love to see this picked up by churches and used as a discipleship tool.
However, as an Assistant Pastor, I want to be very careful in handing material to brand-new believers. I have no problems handing a book with a few issues to someone whom I know to be grounded in the faith. Yet, new believers are in a very tender and special place in life and I do not want to lead them down the wrong path. The Bible translation issue and structure of the church are two very big issues that would need to be warned against.
In the end, I love 98% of this book. I think it would be a marvelous tool to help Baptists disciple converts (A task IFB's have not always done well at) and train them up in the Lord. Pairing this with Ryan Rench's "Big Idea Bible Study" and a basic book on Baptist Distinctives would be a fantastic gift for all new members and new believers.
Sections 1 and 2 get A+
Section 3: Doctrines gets B+, for some Universal church and unusual wording in salvation.
Section 4: Nano-Summaries: Story is great, Doctrines is copy/paste, Main Message of the Bible is back to really good. A-
Notable Quotables:
Chapter 6: The Exodus Era - "Look at the state of Texas on a map and imagine the city of Dallas beginning to move on the map, and you get an idea of the magnitude of the exodus."
Page 302 - "If we do not think about Scripture enough, the truth of Scripture may be in our heads as knowledge but not in our hearts as deep, controlling beliefs."
Page 360 - "The purpose of prophecy is not to satisfy our curiosity, but to purify our lives."
4.8/5
Buy it here on Amazon.com.