Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Crisp, straightforward, and above all, Christ-focused, 23 Dec 2008
Steve and Paul have grabbed this opportunity to revive a fundamental aspect of the Christian's life which is consistently neglected over the ages - that is, the centrality of Christ in the Holy Bible.
Here are just a few views of mine:
1. Expression: the book is very simple and straightforward in getting the message across. The use of relevant and often humourous (but not distracting) anecdotes follows well with the style of the message -- the Bible is not meant for academics, nor intellectuals. It is meant to be easily accessible for telling us firstly about Christ, and in turn understand ourselves better.
2. Structure: it follows naturally throughout each book of the Bible without following the same chronology as provided in the OT as we have it. Levy has put the books under their themes which is helpful for those who aren't familiar with the OT books, to say the least.
3. What's so different between this book and other "Bible overviews" in the past few decades: I haven't read many (and I don't want to drop names), but this book successfully points out that the entire Bible is about Christ. How? By looking at what the Bible has to say about itself, rather than relying on less authoritative (and highly speculative) extra-biblical sources. The FAQ section near the back written by Paul Blackham is especially helpful for those who may have questions after reading the first portions of the book (on the Angel of the LORD; Christophanies; the 'mysteries' of God; the giving of the Holy Spirit; continuity of the OT to NT; etc); furthermore, Steve's choice of quoting church history theologians in the appendix who confirm the continuity of conscious faith in Christ in the OT and NT solidifies and clarifies the wholeness of the Spirit speaking through Christians down the ages.
This is a MUST buy for those who are struggling to understand the cohesion of the NT and OT, and especially in this age where we are dominated by high-brow intellectual theology and forget that it is first by the Spirit that we understand how the OT testifies to Christ (John 5:39) in entirety. Biblical, Christ-focused theology is not a luxury, but a necessity for all Christians and poor theology is a sign of unbelief. If there is too much at stake for neglecting a healthy diet of the Holy Scripture, this book can kick anyone back into gear that the Bible, both Old and New Testament, testifies to only one type of faith and salvation in the eternal Christ.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Really solid stuff, 25 Aug 2009
What can I say? This is just an excellent book. Levy & Blackham demonstrate the presence, and undeniable centrality of Jesus Christ all the way through the bible, old testament, and new. Levy is engaging, personable and quietly authoritative. What shines through as you read is an infectious excitement about scripture, and a deep, genuine love for Christ. This book will encourage you, it will probably surprise you, and it will certainly get you stuck into your bible. I'd recommend this to anyone because it's about Jesus, and Jesus is awesome.
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by Timothy Keller
by Michael Reeves
by Wm Paul Young
by John Chapman
