Many of us, especially cradle Catholics, have not read our Bible through, especially the Old Testament, and in many homes it just gathers dust on a bookshelf. Probably, one reason for this is that the OT is so long-winded, looks complex and in language from a different era. So Michael Hinton has condensed the 66 books of the Bible into one that can be read in just 100 minutes, hence its name. I tested this out on a long car journey (Marion driving of course) and found that each of the 50 sections took exactly 2 minutes to read at moderate speed.
Apart from its brevity-and therefore greater appeal- it makes Jesus the centre of the whole book because He is central to the Christian faith and it includes those stories which have passed into the human consciousness such as Noah and the flood, Jonah and the whale, Moses and exodus from Egypt, so that readers can see them in their proper context. The book deals briefly with the Old Testament in sections 1 to 17, concentrates on the Gospels in sections 18 to 43 and then after the Ascension from pages 44 to 58, outlines the early Church, the growing Church, St. Paul’s travels, the young Church’s doctrine, daily life and difficulties and Revelation.
I recommend this book to you because it is:
(a) An excellent start for today’s young Christians say, from 8 to 14 years of age, to introduce them to the bible without their being bored.
(b) A stimulant to more mature people who have not had the time nor the inclination to read, leave alone study, the Bible, but who want to get hold of the whole story.
(c) Excellent for people who don’t know much about Christianity but are curious as to why it is so popular with 2 billion people.
(d) It is for people who want an easy access into the central Christian story
(e) It is clear, succinct, easy to read yet comprehensive. Be warned though, and don’t be put off by the bloodthirstiness of the first few sections. This is the social context into which God sends His only Son to initiate a new way of life.
(f) Reading this gives the whole sweep of God's loving purpose for His world and people.
(g) Three quarters of the traditional Bible is devoted to the centuries before Christ but this version majors on His life and impact on society because He is the key to unlocking the Bible. He is the explosion in the centre of history and the Bible is a record of its impact.
(h) Finally, to understand Christianity fully we need to understand the context in which it was written, the text itself and what it meant to those who first read it but first we must get hold of the overall story which the 100 minute Bible does so succinctly and elegantly.
The book can be bought directly from The 100 minute press, Mystole Farm, Canterbury, Kent, CT4 7DB.
David John De Souza