Pocket Guide to the Bible: A Little Book About the Big Book

by Jason Boyett

Overview

"Jason Boyett's Pocket Guides are smart and hilarious. And they're sneaky too: You don't realize how much you're learning because you're having so much fun." —AJ Jacobs, author, The Year of Living Biblically

Americans consistently identify the Bible as the most influential book in history, but seriously: are you really reading it? Probably not. If all you know about the Bible are a few Psalms and the Christmas story, then you're missing out on a book that's wilder, weirder, and more entertaining than you ever imagined.

With a stealthy combo of entertainment and insight, Jason Boyett's Pocket Guide to the Bible fills the gaps in your religious education. It introduces you to the characters you must know, reveals the thrilling development of the biblical canon, and details the less-churchy parts of Scripture (hello, sex and violence!). Don't miss out on discovering

• How God employs talking donkeys, mentally unstable prophets, and helpful prostitutes in his master plan
• Which moral failures may result in an old-fashioned smiting

• Why Catholic Bibles include books some Protestants refuse to recognize

• Whether your New International Version of the Bible may in fact be demonic

With Pocket Guide to the Bible, you'll finally realize what's so good about the Good Book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780470373095
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	08/03/2009
Series:	Pocket Guides (Jossey-Bass)
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	4.90(w) x 6.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Jason Boyett is not a professional theologian or historian but that hasn't stopped him from writing this book. His work has appeared in a variety of publications as well as on his blog (www.jasonboyett.com). He lives in Texas with his wife and children.

The Pocket Guide Series explains complex religious subjects with a lethal dose of educational hilarity, guided by the author's insatiable curiosity, humor, and gentle irreverence. The Pocket Guide series includes Pocket Guide to Sainthood, Pocket Guide to the Afterlife, and this book. Discover more at www.pocketguidesite.com.

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Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION VII

Chapter one
BIBLICABULARY (A Glossary of the Good Book) 1

Chapter Two 
CAST OF CHARACTERS (A TO J) 31

Chapter Three
CAST OF CHARACTERS (K TO Z) 63

Chapter four
WHAT HAPPENS, PART 1 (The Old Testament at Breakneck Speed) 87

Chapter five
WHAT HAPPENS, PART 2 (The New Testament at Breakneck Speed) 117

Chapter six
THE BRIEF HISTORY OF HOLY WRIT (A Timeline) 133

Chapter seven
VERSIONS AND PERVERSIONS (A Selective Survey of Translations) 157

Chapter eight
LIST YE BE SMITTEN (Biblical Flotsam and Jetsam) 173

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 189

What People are Saying About This

Chriss Yambar

Informative, thoughtful, humorous in all the right places; and best of all, it's smartly written!
—Chris Yambar, Bart Simpson Comics, Mr. Beat creator

Dean Nelson

I usually don't laugh out loud when I read the Bible--or even stuff about the Bible--but Jason Boyett had me laughing all the way through this book. Laughs aside, the Pocket Guide is well researched and documented, instructive and insightful.
—Dean Nelson, co-author of The Power of Serving Others

Andrew Osenga

Jason's first Pocket Guide left me shaking my head with a grin and a healthy appetite for more of his writing. This new book exceeded my expectations. Reading it is like staying up late with that old friend from seminary. He just won't shut up, and you're not about to ask him to, cause you're loving every second of it.
—Andrew Osenga, singer/songwriter Caedmon's Call

Lauren Sandler

Leads us through the Bible like Jon Stewart leads viewers through the day's news.
—Lauren Sandler, author and New York Times, Atlantic Monthly, and Village Voice contributor

Terry Esau

Jason Boyett dips the King James into a cultural vat of theological salsa. One bite and you know this ain't your grandpa's Bible.
—Terry Esau, author of Surprise Me

Editorial Reviews

Boyett (Pocket Guide to the Apocalypse) packs a surprising amount of information into this little guide. With humor always at the ready, he dashes through a glossary of biblical terms, a list of key characters and a summary of every book of the Bible. The introduction kicks off with a nod to the difficulties of biblical interpretation and a few of the less-than-stellar movements it helped inspire ("The Bible has motivated its readers to tend the sick.... It also motivated the Crusades"). This forthright tone continues throughout, though Boyett clearly writes from an evangelical perspective. The guide also includes an interesting history of the English Bible and summary of translations. Younger readers who would like to be more familiar with the biblical text will appreciate Boyett's tone, while older readers who have been in the church most of their lives will learn-or be reminded of-many things along the way. The book has a few weaknesses: the endless list of books and biblical events gets tedious; readers may have benefited more from thematic summaries. And there are a few references those outside the church won't understand. But overall, the guide is well written, fun and brief-which, when you're attempting to summarize the entire Bible, is quite an accomplishment. (June 6) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly