Pocket Guide to the Bible

"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.

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