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Unlocking the Bible: What It Is, How We Got It, and Why We Can Trust It
How We Got the Bible and Why It Is Reliable
The Bible is the bestselling, most read, most beloved, most criticized, most neglected, and most antagonizing book in history. It's also the most misunderstood--sometimes even by those who claim to follow its teachings. So what exactly is it? Who wrote it and how did those writings come together into what we now know as the Bible? And how do we know we can trust what it says?
For the curious reader, whether a lifelong Christian, a new believer, or an unconvinced skeptic, Unlocking the Bible provides the answers to these questions and more. In easy-to-understand language, it covers the Bible's origin, its transmission throughout history, its trustworthiness, and its significance. It also explains how to read this unique collection of religious texts and outlines how to study and teach it to others.
The Bible is the bestselling, most read, most beloved, most criticized, most neglected, and most antagonizing book in history. It's also the most misunderstood--sometimes even by those who claim to follow its teachings. So what exactly is it? Who wrote it and how did those writings come together into what we now know as the Bible? And how do we know we can trust what it says?
For the curious reader, whether a lifelong Christian, a new believer, or an unconvinced skeptic, Unlocking the Bible provides the answers to these questions and more. In easy-to-understand language, it covers the Bible's origin, its transmission throughout history, its trustworthiness, and its significance. It also explains how to read this unique collection of religious texts and outlines how to study and teach it to others.
- GenresChristian
320 pages, Paperback
Published September 13, 2016
9 people are currently reading
241 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 13, 2017
Finally, a great book I can recommend! I requested Unlocking The Bible by Jeff Lasseigne a couple months ago. The name "Unlocking The Bible" is a little misleading, because it almost presents the Bible as inaccessible without "unlocking" - but on the contrary, this book is a wonderful resource to help readers realize that anyone can read and understand God's Word.
The first couple chapters talk about the way the Bible was put together, and what qualified different books to be included in the Bible. I thought this was really interesting. I think there has been a lot of confusion and misinformation about how we came to have the Bible we can hold today, and these chapters explained why we can have confidence in the Bible as the inspired word of God.
The next two chapters give a timeline of the Bible, from Genesis to the writing of Revelation. I've read through the Bible several times, but I really liked this condensed version of the story to give a bigger picture. The part I liked best was the historical details that the author included, placing biblical event sin historical context.
Finally Lasseigne gives tips on how to study the Bible, and how to teach the Bible, along with an entire section with a summary and quotes about each book of the Bible. I thought these sections were a great encouragement and resource!
This book is sound, and the author holds the Bible in high esteem - and I think this is something we need more of, even within the church today. I highly recommend this book! It was readable, but full of information and encouragement to dig into God's Word!
Note: I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for a review. This is my honest opinion.
The first couple chapters talk about the way the Bible was put together, and what qualified different books to be included in the Bible. I thought this was really interesting. I think there has been a lot of confusion and misinformation about how we came to have the Bible we can hold today, and these chapters explained why we can have confidence in the Bible as the inspired word of God.
The next two chapters give a timeline of the Bible, from Genesis to the writing of Revelation. I've read through the Bible several times, but I really liked this condensed version of the story to give a bigger picture. The part I liked best was the historical details that the author included, placing biblical event sin historical context.
Finally Lasseigne gives tips on how to study the Bible, and how to teach the Bible, along with an entire section with a summary and quotes about each book of the Bible. I thought these sections were a great encouragement and resource!
This book is sound, and the author holds the Bible in high esteem - and I think this is something we need more of, even within the church today. I highly recommend this book! It was readable, but full of information and encouragement to dig into God's Word!
Note: I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for a review. This is my honest opinion.
August 24, 2017
Lasseigne is a master storyteller - I found myself looking forward to the anecdote that would come with every new chapter (only 1 out of the so many was average and uninteresting; the rest were brilliant in reeling the reader's attention to the topic at hand!). From what I can infer, the primary audience for this book would be lay readers, and therefore most of the material did not have scholarly citations. The downside of this would be that readers who are interested in studying further into any topic covered in the book would have to consult other similar titles for advice/direction. The scholarship however was excellent - a lifetime of research was probably involved in the compiling of material for this title, with few controversial assertions observed by this reviewer (to be discussed in a while).
One section that perhaps best illustrates Lasseigne's amazing ability to digest a ton of material and present it in an easy-to-understand summary, would be the section about the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenees and Sanhedrin (p81-83). First year Bible school students and small group leaders would find sections like these very useful, but as mentioned previously, the lack of citations leaves one with not much guidance for further reading. And when a statement like "there are at least a thousand prophecies in the bible, half of which have already been fulfilled," (p65) it is almost a crime not to provide references and more information about such a claim.
While Lasseigne toed the line of safety when declaring that he was unsure of who the author of the book of Hebrews was, he strangely affirmed that Solomon was the author of the book of Ecclesiastes (p64). His short points (and scholarly citations) in support of this substantive I felt were insufficient for such a bold claim.
Nevertheless, I felt that the concept of the book was actually quite brilliant - establishing all the whys before the whats. But it is a pity the second half - the survey/summary of each book of the bible - was too short to be of much use. Perhaps a better idea would have been to publish the two sections as separate books, and to elaborate further on the surveys/summaries. Weighing in at 300 pages, the book could also deter potential occasional-readers (people who not usually read) from picking it up.
I received this book from the Baker Publishing Group's Blogger Review Program for the purposes of providing an unbiased review. All views are my own.
One section that perhaps best illustrates Lasseigne's amazing ability to digest a ton of material and present it in an easy-to-understand summary, would be the section about the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenees and Sanhedrin (p81-83). First year Bible school students and small group leaders would find sections like these very useful, but as mentioned previously, the lack of citations leaves one with not much guidance for further reading. And when a statement like "there are at least a thousand prophecies in the bible, half of which have already been fulfilled," (p65) it is almost a crime not to provide references and more information about such a claim.
While Lasseigne toed the line of safety when declaring that he was unsure of who the author of the book of Hebrews was, he strangely affirmed that Solomon was the author of the book of Ecclesiastes (p64). His short points (and scholarly citations) in support of this substantive I felt were insufficient for such a bold claim.
Nevertheless, I felt that the concept of the book was actually quite brilliant - establishing all the whys before the whats. But it is a pity the second half - the survey/summary of each book of the bible - was too short to be of much use. Perhaps a better idea would have been to publish the two sections as separate books, and to elaborate further on the surveys/summaries. Weighing in at 300 pages, the book could also deter potential occasional-readers (people who not usually read) from picking it up.
I received this book from the Baker Publishing Group's Blogger Review Program for the purposes of providing an unbiased review. All views are my own.
July 16, 2019
Definitely one of my favorite reads so far this year! I like how it included notes and interesting historical facts about all the books of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation
December 21, 2016
If you’ve ever wanted to read through the bible and found yourself confused, dizzy from a myriad of numbers, bogged down with a litany of laws, lost in a sea of strange places and names, this book is for you. Like a jigsaw puzzle, Unlocking the Bible snaps together one piece at at a time to reveal the big picture of something extraordinary.
Written in a warm, conversational style with fascinating facts, anecdotes, quotes, stories, and a touch of humour, it captures a panoramic snapshot of ancient Biblical times from the viewpoint of present-day relevance. In the background and foreground is evidence of how each page of the Bible carries a unified theme and the presence of Christ throughout.
Jeff Lasseigne’s “keys” to unlocking the Bible are simple, easy to understand yet filled with lots of rich detail and practical application. Keys that include answers to common questions like: where did Old Testament people go when they died? Why is the Bible important? What happened in the 400 years between the Old Testament and New Testament? What’s with all the translations? Keys to treasures like the ten reasons you can trust the Bible, Seven takeaway thoughts for when we don’t feel as if God is speaking to us, times when He is silent; helpful geography and historical facts, how to study and teach the Bible and an overall view of the Bible as a whole followed by gems from each of the 66 books.
The author’s hope and prayer for this book is “as you read through it you will fall more in love with Jesus and receive and understand His Word.” Definitely worked for me. Over and over again I couldn’t wait to open my Bible because of what I read or learned.
Disclaimer: Many thanks to Baker Publishing for the complimentary copy of Unlocking the Bible in exchange to this unbiased review.
Written in a warm, conversational style with fascinating facts, anecdotes, quotes, stories, and a touch of humour, it captures a panoramic snapshot of ancient Biblical times from the viewpoint of present-day relevance. In the background and foreground is evidence of how each page of the Bible carries a unified theme and the presence of Christ throughout.
Jeff Lasseigne’s “keys” to unlocking the Bible are simple, easy to understand yet filled with lots of rich detail and practical application. Keys that include answers to common questions like: where did Old Testament people go when they died? Why is the Bible important? What happened in the 400 years between the Old Testament and New Testament? What’s with all the translations? Keys to treasures like the ten reasons you can trust the Bible, Seven takeaway thoughts for when we don’t feel as if God is speaking to us, times when He is silent; helpful geography and historical facts, how to study and teach the Bible and an overall view of the Bible as a whole followed by gems from each of the 66 books.
The author’s hope and prayer for this book is “as you read through it you will fall more in love with Jesus and receive and understand His Word.” Definitely worked for me. Over and over again I couldn’t wait to open my Bible because of what I read or learned.
Disclaimer: Many thanks to Baker Publishing for the complimentary copy of Unlocking the Bible in exchange to this unbiased review.
September 23, 2016
`Unlocking the Bible` is a biblical reference book written by author Jeff Lasseigne. Jeff Lasseigne teaches the midweek Bible study and assists with oversight of his church, Harvest Christian Fellowship, as part of the pastoral staff. He also enjoys traveling, reading, and all things England. Unless otherwise indicated, scripture quotations are from the New King James version of the Holy Bible.
`Unlocking the Bible` is divided into two parts. The first part explains how we got the Bible, why we can trust the Bible, understanding the Old and New Testaments, how to study the Bible, and how to teach the Bible. The second part lists each individual book of the Bible which includes author of the book, theme of the book, and category of the book, and some Fascinating Facts. I was pleased to see the Forward was written by Greg Laurie, Senior Pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship and an evangelist I am familiar with.
The Bible is the world's all-time bestselling book, yet it's the least read. The author's desire in writing this book is that we might understand and appreciate that the Bible is not that difficult to read, study, and apply as some think it is.
I learned it took about fifteen hundred years for the Bible to be written and recorded by God's chosen vessels. The Bible was written by at least forty different writers. The writer's were oftentimes in difficult circumstances. Examples, Moses was in the wilderness, Ezekiel was a captive in Babylon, Paul was a prisoner in Rome, and John was banished to an island. (pg. # 22)
This book is an in-depth look at the Bible and I recommend it to Believers and Seekers.
Disclaimer: I received `Unlocking the Bible` complimentary for review
`Unlocking the Bible` is divided into two parts. The first part explains how we got the Bible, why we can trust the Bible, understanding the Old and New Testaments, how to study the Bible, and how to teach the Bible. The second part lists each individual book of the Bible which includes author of the book, theme of the book, and category of the book, and some Fascinating Facts. I was pleased to see the Forward was written by Greg Laurie, Senior Pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship and an evangelist I am familiar with.
The Bible is the world's all-time bestselling book, yet it's the least read. The author's desire in writing this book is that we might understand and appreciate that the Bible is not that difficult to read, study, and apply as some think it is.
I learned it took about fifteen hundred years for the Bible to be written and recorded by God's chosen vessels. The Bible was written by at least forty different writers. The writer's were oftentimes in difficult circumstances. Examples, Moses was in the wilderness, Ezekiel was a captive in Babylon, Paul was a prisoner in Rome, and John was banished to an island. (pg. # 22)
This book is an in-depth look at the Bible and I recommend it to Believers and Seekers.
Disclaimer: I received `Unlocking the Bible` complimentary for review
May 10, 2017
I’ve enjoyed reading Unlocking the Bible by Jeff Lasseigne. As a pastor I’ve read multiple books about bible study and getting the most out of your time while reading the bible. This book is much like one of those, but I have noticed that I don’t dread coming back to it. Some books about reading the Bible are too academic. They often present the material in a very direct, dry manner. This book does a good job of mixing personal experience, stories, and tried and true information.
My one complaint about the books is that he sometimes goes a bit to far. I think it is hard to find a healthy balance between too much information and too little. In general the author seems to do a good job, but sometimes when it comes to describing the layout of specific book types (historical, prophesy, epistles, gospels, etc) it seems to drag on a bit. However, that may also come as a result of being so immersed in biblical literature. To a new reader of the bible or someone looking to do an in depth study of the bible for the first time it may be the perfect amount.
I do like this book, and for the type of book it is I’m giving it a 4 out of 5 stars. It’s probably not a book you’re going to pick up and read every night before you go to bed, but it’s not necessarily meant to be.
My one complaint about the books is that he sometimes goes a bit to far. I think it is hard to find a healthy balance between too much information and too little. In general the author seems to do a good job, but sometimes when it comes to describing the layout of specific book types (historical, prophesy, epistles, gospels, etc) it seems to drag on a bit. However, that may also come as a result of being so immersed in biblical literature. To a new reader of the bible or someone looking to do an in depth study of the bible for the first time it may be the perfect amount.
I do like this book, and for the type of book it is I’m giving it a 4 out of 5 stars. It’s probably not a book you’re going to pick up and read every night before you go to bed, but it’s not necessarily meant to be.
September 4, 2016
Unlocking the Bible: What It Is, How We Got It, and Why We Can Trust It by Jeff Lasseigne explores the Bible, its content, and its relevancy in our lives. Part I of the book focuses on the Bible’s history, importance, and trustworthiness. Part II – my favorite part – is filled with interesting facts, quotes, and notes about each book of the Bible. For each book of the Bible, Lasseigne devotes two to three pages, including Important Information (in which he lists the author, theme, and category), Fascinating Facts (a lot of facts), Quotable Quotes (things historical figures have said about that book), Notable Notes (extra, brief information), and Christ Connections (where Christ can be found in that book). Part II is a valuable resource, and could easily be used as a companion to Sunday school lessons. The book in its entirety is a testament to the Bible’s history and reliability.
*Received this book for review*
*Received this book for review*
October 23, 2016
Overall Unlocking the Bible was a quick, informative read. Whether you're someone who has been a Christian your whole life or someone who has just recently committed your life to Christ, there is something to learn and take away from this book. I really enjoyed the history portion of this book. The author provides an overview of the Old Testement that really brings everything together from creation until the birth of Christ. The Old Testament is so big and covers so many centuries that it's hard to make it fit into just a few pages. The only peeve I have with this book is when the subject switches gears to that on how to teach the Bible. While I understand and appreciate the importance of teaching the Word correctly, I would've rather had more discussion on the history/evidence on the reliability of God's Word. To me that chapter didn't seem to really fit in.
***I received a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
***I received a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
March 31, 2018
A helpful and concise book I will be referring back to as I read and study scripture
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews