Customer Reviews

What the Bible Is All About for Young Explorers: Based on the Best-Selling Classic by Henrietta Mears ; Author and General Editor, Frances Blankenba

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I have been teaching through this book with my Sunday School class (students of grades 6-8). Even though these students have mostly been in Sunday School and exposed to Bible study all their lives, they did not really have a clear sense of the various divisions of the Bible, the timeline, the geography, etc. They knew the main stories and the main characters, but they were quite unclear about how everything fits together.
So I decided to spend a few quarters (of time, not of money) in a systematic overview of the whole Bible. I already had a copy of this book, or rather my daughter did, and it looked like it might work out for this, so I tried it.
We have just completed our study of the Old Testament and are about to begin on the New. The book is great. There is a chapter corresponding to each book of the Bible plus a couple of additional chapters, such as one which discusses the history of Bible lands during the time between the Testaments. Each chapter contains material describing what is known about the time, authorship, and purpose of the book. An overview is followed by more detailed material. There are lots of graphics: timelines, maps, illustrations, color photos. The material is accessible to students of this age without being condescending. It has kept the interest of my students (and of me.) And it has fulfilled my purpose of giving them a good overview of the big picture.
The theological stance of the book is moderately conservative Protestant. It takes conservative positions on issues such as authorship and dates. It does not, however, delve into theological distinctives but concentrates on introducing the students to the Bible to facilitate their reading it for themselves. So parents and church workers of many denominations should feel comfortable in using it with their children.
Recommended.