Look Inside: Christian Basics Bible

Here’s a guest post from author and pastor Michael Beaumont on the Christian Basics Bible. Keep reading to learn more about this excellent resource new to Olive Tree.

WHY A ‘CHRISTIAN BASICS BIBLE’?

For three simple reasons. First, there are more and more people coming to faith in Christ in the West with little or no church or Christian background, and utterly devoid of Christian language and ideas; so the need for them to have a Bible they can actually understand and start to come to grips with is more needed than ever before. Second, there are people who aren’t yet Christians who are searching, but who find traditional Bibles difficult to read and understand. Third, because there are many people who became Christians years ago but who somehow missed out on some of the basic building-blocks of the faith along the way and need help to go back and put those building-blocks in place.

So this is where the Christian Basics Bible comes in. “Basics”, not because it is simplistic or stripped back in any way, but because it tries to help people to get hold of the very basics of the Christian life and to get into loving this life-changing book and the One it leads us to.

WHAT EDITION IS IT BASED ON?

Because of its target audience, Christian Basics Bible is built around the highly readable and accessible New Living Translation. While editions like ESV, NIV and NASB are fantastic for people who have been Christians for some time and who really want to dig deeper into God’s Word, it’s sometimes easy for us to forget how alien our “religious” language is to most people today. NLT therefore seeks to bring the truth of God’s eternal Word, using the principle of dynamic equivalence, but in the language of today. If after a couple of years of using Christian Basics Bible, readers feel the “basics” are now in place and they are ready to move on to one of these other editions’ Study Bibles, then none will be more pleased than CBB’s authors, for they will feel their work is done.

WHAT’S INSIDE IT?

Christians Basics Bible is full of helpful notes and introductions, all written in non-religious, non-technical language for people who have little or no knowledge of the Bible, or who grew up in traditions where the Bible found little place. We assume nothing in it, so you can read it without knowing who the Bible’s key characters are, or what the significance of certain events was, or what the overall storyline of the Bible is all about. We’ve done our best to explain everything and to set things in their historical context, yet to show how and why they apply to life today.

All the notes and comments are accessed in the Resource Guide. They are in blue font, so it’s really easy to see the contrast between the “Bible” and the “comments”.

Each of the Bible’s 66 books begins with four key features:

• An introduction, giving a short one-paragraph summary of the book’s content and purpose
• An overview, outlining the structure and key sections of the book to help with reading it
• What’s it all about? Summarizing the book’s content in a bit more detail
• What does it mean for us? Showing the ongoing significance of this particular book and its teaching for life today

Then, throughout the Bible text that follows, there are feature panels that –

• explore basic Christian beliefs, ideas, words and terms
• summarize significant people, places and events
• explain life-issues that were different from life today but show how the underlying principles still work today
• explore challenging moral and ethical issues

And throughout all this, we avoid Christian jargon, and never use big theological words without explaining them. And even when we do use those big theological words, we always end up at the word rather than start from it.

Front Matter

At the front of the Bible there is –

• An introduction to this edition to help guide readers on their way
• Three short essays, all in non-religious language, on “Becoming a Christian”, “Now you are a Christian” and “What is the Bible?”
• A concise timeline of the Bible

End Matter

At the back of the Bible you can find  –

• Two reading plans to help people get into regular Bible reading, both specially designed to give new readers a feel of “the Bible’s big story”.
• “Basic Truths of the Christian Faith” which not only outline key Christian doctrines, but also show how the Bible has answers to questions from everyday life today. Each topic has a short summary of the issue and then a list of Bible verses that address various aspects of that issue.
• A glossary, giving a short definition of key Bible words and ideas, with links to where more can be found on this topic
• An A-to-Z index of every topic covered in this edition
• A visual overview of the Bible, with stunning charts and maps to illuminate your reading of the Bible

THE GOAL

The goal in producing this edition of the Bible was simply to help the Bible come to life—whether for those who do not yet know Jesus personally, or for new Christians with little or no Christian background, or Christians who have simply got stuck in reading their Bible. The Bible is both life-giving and life-changing—but the only way to discover that for ourselves is to read it. Our prayer is that this edition will help people to do so and so to find God and their place in his plans.

Author Biography

As well as Christian Basics Bible, Mike has authored and co-authored several Christian reference and devotional books. These include—

• as sole author: The New Lion Bible Encyclopedia (Lion); The One-Stop Bible Guide (Lion, published in over 20 languages); The One-Stop Guide to Jesus (Lion); The Everyday Devotional Bible for Men (Christian Art Publishers, due out in 2023).
• as co-author: The Handbook of Bible Prayers (Eagle); The Handbook of Bible Promises (Eagle); Devotions for a Well-tended Heart (Tyndale); Prayers for a Well-tended Heart (Tyndale)’ The Myanmar Study Bible (CLC)
• as editor or associate editor: The Illustrated Bible (Dorling Kindersley); The Spiritual Growth Bible (Christian Art Publishers); NIV Bible Handbook (Hodder & Stoughton)

He has also produced several series of podcasts on the Bible with one of the UK’s leading Christian broadcasters, UCB.

Mike is married to Liz, has three grown daughters, and 5 wonderful grandchildren.

Christian Basics Study Bible

We are thrilled to offer the Christian Basics Bible on Olive Tree. As you can see, this is perfect for the new believer or any believer desiring to grow. Visit our store today to learn more or make a purchase!