Sunday, September 2, 2007

The Beauty Behind the Mask: Rediscovering the Books of the Bible

That latest post at The Books of The Bible Blog notifies us of a new book, The Beauty Behind the Mask: Rediscovering the Books of the Bible, by Christopher R. Smith. This book gives background and rationale for The Books of the Bible, recently published by IBS, as described on amazon.com:
Christopher R. Smith is a member of the team that worked with the International Bible Society to develop this new edition. In this book, he traces the history and effects of the traditional elements that have shaped the customary presentation of the Scriptures. He describes how the new format was developed to help overcome these effects. And he explains how The Books of The Bible can be used effectively for personal devotions, group studies, sermon preparation and the other disciplines by which we apply the teachings of God's word to our lives. The Rev. Dr. Christopher R. Smith is pastor of the University Baptist Church of East Lansing, Michigan. He has a B.A. in literature from Harvard University, an M.A.T.S. in church history from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. in theology from Boston College. His articles have appeared in such publications as The Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, New Testament Studies, Novum Testamentum, and Vigilae Christianae.
I have added Smith's book to this blog's TNIV Bookshelf (right margin). I also pushed the 1-click button at amazon.com to order my own copy.

7 comments:

ElShaddai Edwards said...

Wayne,

Can you provide an update on your experiences with TBOTB for those of us who have not yet picked up a copy?

Thanks,
ElShaddai

NotJustLaura said...

Thanks for visiting my blog. I've seen The Beauty Behind the Mask advertised and quite fancy getting a copy!

Wayne Leman said...

ElShaddai asked:

Can you provide an update on your experiences with TBOTB for those of us who have not yet picked up a copy?

I can't just yet, ElShaddai. I have been extremely busy, including two weeks away from home, since getting the book. But I do want to spend more time with it to report on it. Until them, please click here to read my expanding list of posts on other blogs which do address your question, at least in part.

Jerry Weinhausen said...

Now that a month has gone by, has anybody read the book? Would they be willing to review it here or at Amazon?

Wayne Leman said...

Now that a month has gone by, has anybody read the book? Would they be willing to review it here or at Amazon?

I'm still reading mine. It's at the top of my books that I'm reading. It's a good book. The author is well qualified from his own research and Bible teaching to write it. I think I could heartily recommend it to others. Stay tuned for more when I finish the book. I don't know when that will be.

Jerry Weinhausen said...

Wayne,

Did you ever finish the book? If so, did you write a review?

Thanks,

Jerry

Wayne Leman said...

Jerry asked:

Did you ever finish the book? If so, did you write a review?

No and no. Sorry. I wonder if anyone else reading this has finished reading this book and would like to review it?