PREFACE
The Bible must be the most popular yet least-read book in the world! It looks so complex, so long, and in a language from a previous era. And yet it's the greatest story ever told, the ultimate love story, the biography of God himself.
It is quite true that the Bible is complex. It was written over 16 centuries, in 66 books and by scores of different writers, each of whom has their own style. The 100-Minute Bible is designed for people who may not know very much about the Christian faith but want to know why the Bible is so popular with two billion Christians around the world. It's for people who want an easy access into the central Christian story. This little book represents a first-class way of doing just that. It's clear, succinct, an easy read - yet is still comprehensive. A word of warning though! Do not be put off by the bloodthirstiness of the first few sections - this is the social context into which God sends his own son to show a new way of living.
But the 100-Minute Bible is also for Christians who want to revisit the big picture. Read this and you'll see the whole sweep of God's loving purposes for his world and all its people.
Unlike the traditional Bible, three-quarters of which is devoted to the centuries before Christ, this version majors on his life and impact on society. This is simply because the key to unlocking the Bible is Jesus Christ. It's as if he is the great explosion that happened in the centre of history and the Bible is a record of its impact.
If we're to understand Christianity more fully, ultimately we'll need to understand something of the context in which it was written, the text itself and what it meant to those who first read it. But first we need to get hold of the overall story. And this is what the 100-Minute Bible provides so succinctly and elegantly.
Bishop John Pritchard
