The Return

Yes, this is the Open Bible from years ago that has been re-issued. It was great then and it still is now. My favorite helps are the Biblical Cyclopedic Index and, believe or not, the maps. The index lists a word, defines it, and then covers the uses or occurrences by category. That opens lots of new areas for consideration from the very beginning. The maps are readable, colorful and color coded, and are assembled in chronological order from the Genesis period to modern times. There is so much more there to explore. This Bible makes study fun. There are other study helps too that included the Jewish feast dates, the Maccabean period, and brief summaries of the Apocrypha. I don’t think they published a version of this that includes those books of the Apocrypha, but the summaries give the reader some insight into them. Each book starts with a helps section and an outline. Throughout the reading notes give alternate readings. Cross references? Of course. There’s so much...

In 15 minutes a day?!! I had to see this book. Believe it or not, this book lives up to expectations. Morgan states in his preface that his aim is to be concise and recommends a textbook he uses in his classes for those that what to learn more. Condensing any major religion into a 15 minute read is a challenge and one that I feel he has met well. He defines religion at the start and that is helpful given the various ideas that exist. There is also a brief discussion of why looking at other's religion is important. Especially so now in the globalization of nearly everything. His descriptions give the basics of each religion covered. Remember the 15 minutes a day thing. Another of his aims is to be descriptive and not necessarily comparative and to avoid the “mine’s better than yours” rhetoric. In that he generally succeeds. As he admits, a person’s cultural point of view is difficult to avoid, and from time to time you will see in his word choices some minor reflection...