The News Daily recently ran an article on the 20 books one should read and not surprisingly, the Book of Life was not on the list.
Rose Donohoe asks - There's no excuse for not reading at least some of these classics. How many can you cross off your list? Wait for it, these "are compulsory reading for all Aussies."
This is astonishing as this next statement is not suggestive or a personal recommendation, rather definitive: "So, here they are: the 20 books you should have read by now, and in no particular order because it's hard enough to condense to a list of 20 in the first place."
Yes, some of the books on this list I have read and some my now adult children have read, and you're welcome to check out the list through the link above.
But the book that is not on this list is the best book, if you read this book every day, it will ....
Moreover this book still retains the highest book sales in Australia and it comes in many and varied forms – there are study versions which provides explanatory notes for the keen theological student, there are large print types for those with older eyes, there are compact versions for the handbag or brief case, there are leather bound versions or soft cover types.
With an estimated total sales of over 5 billion copies, the Bible is widely considered to be the best-selling book of all time. It has estimated annual sales of 100 million copies, and has been a major influence on literature and history, especially in the West where the Gutenberg Bible was the first mass-printed book. It was the first book ever printed using movable type.
Moreover there are more people alive and deceased in this whole wide world who have learnt to read and write by the Bible than any class room teacher's blackboard notations. Missionaries since time immemorial have taught the illiterate to read via the bible, for it is the best book to read in any case.
The Bible
The Bible consists of 66 books divided into the Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament consists of books of the Law and History, Poetical and Prophetic Books, and the New Testament are the stories of Jesus (four Gospels), historical accounts, Letters and a book consisting of Apocryphal writings.
There were wars in Europe on whether this Bible could be translated into the languages of the nations rather than a political Latin version controlled and interpreted by the Roman Church (the Priests). The stalemate resulted in one part of Europe becoming Protestant and the other remaining Roman Catholic. The Protestant section had the Bible in their own languages.
This idea spread to England and although King Henry VIII through Parliament made England a Protestant nation, it wasn't until King James in 1611 published the Authorised King James Version, again with politics front and centre.
This time it was control of the religion. There was a strong non-conformist political body who were agitating for freedom of belief (interpretation of the Bible) and whose emphasis was on the word "congregations". King James wanted the religion contained within the realm of Kingly authority, and therefore the word "Church" was given the nod in this all important text.
The poetic metre of the King James Bible has made it a symbol of not only Protestant that saw missionaries take this Bible around the world. Its style of language was the epitome of how Shakespeare utilised. This Bible's influence over the past 400 plus years has dominated secular education, the law, social agendas and the arts.
Since then many other translations of the Bible have been published. One very popular version last century was REV (English Revised Version) which removed almost all references to the "blood" of Christ. This upset many evangelicals who recognised that this omission weakened the power of the Scriptures into people's hearts and minds.
Modern English saw additional translations come into play, such as American Standard Version, the New American Standard Version, the New King James Version, the New International Version and other English language versions. Very popular has been not a translation but an evangelical interpretation, The Living Bible. This is not a word for word translation of the original Hebrew and Greek, rather applies the application of the words into an easily understood book for its readers.
It's power
It says of itself that every word is sharper than a two edged sword. For Christian believers not a truer word has been read or spoken. It has seen lives changed, towns and cities change, nations moved from wrong to right. In one US steel town after preacher Billy Sunday visited the good workers of the steel mill returned all that had been stolen which filled several acres of land. During the darkest days of WWII under Churchill's leadership and the Dunkirk miracle, it was front and centre.
Many of the nations entertainment, sport, business, corporate and political leaders have this book on their beside table and another copy in their studies with regular use thumb prints.
Yet, for whatever reason, this Book of Life was not listed as the top 20 books to read. It is terribly sad and such an indictment.
Dr Mark Tronson is a Baptist minister (retired) who served as the Australian cricket team chaplain for 17 years (2000 ret) and established Life After Cricket in 2001. He was recognised by the Olympic Ministry Medal in 2009 presented by Carl Lewis Olympian of the Century. He mentors young writers and has written 24 books, and enjoys writing. He is married to Delma, with four adult children and grand-children.
Mark Tronson's archive of articles can be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/mark-tronson.html