Our Daily Bread Bible Sourcebook
In the early 1950’s Henrietta Mears wrote a helpful Bible introduction for the layman entitled What the Bible Is All About. It has been updated a number of times, but it still shows its age. Dave Branon has created a new book written for the same audience and for the same purpose but for the 21st century.
The author, in his introduction, provides a good overview of the books contents. Each book is described in two sections:
Top Ten List - an on overview of author, time of writing, themes, etc.
The W’s - Answers the questions of Who, What, When, Where, Why, Wow!, Worth Remembering, and Wonders from the Past. The answers provided here are in a bit more detail than those provided in the first section.
The material is current, including reference to modern archaeological discoveries and research. The biggest concern this reader has is the minimal references provided - there are some, but in this 300-page book are only 15 footnotes. The author does list 15 sources dating from 1958 to 2016, but he gives no specific page numbers from which he pulls his data. Even though written for a lay audience, it is my feeling that an author should include detailed references to material borrowed from others. A good teacher (i.e. even a Sunday School teacher) should be able to verify and guide his or her students to more information on the topics discussed.
Given these limitations, the book would still be handy for the pastor for quick reference and for the lay Sunday School teacher as a source for supplemental material. The book will find a home in most church libraries.
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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are my own.
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