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A Visual Theology Guide to the Bible: Seeing and Knowing God's Word
The deepest truths of the Bible accessible in a way that can be seen, understood, and experienced like never before, combining graphics and text to teach the nature and contents of the Bible in a fresh and exciting way. For a beautiful, approachable, informative presentation of the concepts and principles of Scripture--turn to any page of A Visual Theology Guide to the Bible and be instantly immersed in the visuals and teachings of God's Word. A Visual Theology Guide to the Bible is not only a wonderful introduction to the Christian life, it is a functioning guide for understanding and living out your faith. You'll see how the Bible is put together, why the authors wrote each book, and what all of it means for your life today. What's more, you'll learn why the Bible can be trusted and how to answer common criticisms of the Bible. Used in conjunction with Tim Challies and Josh Byers' bestselling book, Visual Theology , this unique resource helps you connect the truth of the Bible to your life, showing how God's eternal truth leads to life change and transformation. A Visual Theology Guide to the Bible :
208 pages, Paperback
Published March 26, 2019
44 people are currently reading
579 people want to read
About the author
Tim Challies
61 books1,567 followersTim Challies is a leading evangelical blogger. A self-employed web designer, Tim lives in the outskirts of Toronto, Ontario with his wife and children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
March 19, 2024
A great overview of the Bible with gorgeous visuals that help explain theological concepts. I'm such a visual learner and this was very helpful to break down truths in a way that deepened my understanding and love for the Bible.
January 20, 2025
Love me some charts
April 2, 2019
This just happens to be the first book I have read by these two authors. I hadn’t heard of Visual Theology until I picked up this book. I saw that this book was being released and knew I wanted to get my hands on it! This book is amazing! You can really see all of the hard work and dedication put into each and every page of this book. It’s absolutely stunning. This book is perfect for people of all walks of faith. The visual word maps are so appeasing for this teacher-brain like myself. It’s super informative and yet so easy to understand. I wish I had this book ages ago to help show and teach my peers how to read and understand the Bible, where to find specific themes in the bible to help answer your pressing questions, and how to live out your life based on what God is teaching us through his Word. I will be bringing this book with me everywhere. There’s always someone, myself included, who has a pressing question about God’s Word that this book will help to answer. I highly recommend this book and I am so thrilled to have this in my home to teach my children about the Bible as they grow. Thank you Zondervan for gifting me a copy in exchange for my honest review.
September 30, 2025
As someone that has worked with data visualisations, I found the formatting messy and not as informative as it could have been. Especially the spiral about the judges, and the different legends sprinkled throughout different charts. Overall, the message is diluted by how the content is structured, and the extensive circular reasoning. Would not recommend.
September 27, 2023
In its own right, the text of this book is an outstanding overview of Scripture and how to study, understand, and apply it to our daily lives. However, the artistic excellence and creativity of the visuals separate this book from many similar works. Incredibly helpful and memorable, this is a source I will return to again and again.
March 12, 2023
A fantastic overview of the Bible! I loved the combo of text and visuals—it really brought the data/information to life in new ways for me. Nothing like seeing things to have a lightbulb moment!
June 17, 2023
Good not great collection of graphs and illustrations representing different biblical themes and theological ideas.
The book has too many illustration that lacked imagination and genuine usefulness (filler) and to few breathtaking or eye opening one as well.
I appreciate the concept of the theological themes they and progression through the book, but would have gladly traded that unity for more insightful shots.
I will hang on to this for a few of the helpful illustrations such as the visual overview of the Psalms.
The book has too many illustration that lacked imagination and genuine usefulness (filler) and to few breathtaking or eye opening one as well.
I appreciate the concept of the theological themes they and progression through the book, but would have gladly traded that unity for more insightful shots.
I will hang on to this for a few of the helpful illustrations such as the visual overview of the Psalms.
August 6, 2019
Is it just me? Or have you, too, found it challenging to winningly introduce the Bible to people who are unfamiliar with it?
That has certainly been my experience in the nursing home where I’ve been serving for nearly two decades. In this environment, it’s rare to talk with someone who has even read the entire Bible, let alone studied it in any depth. Most residents’ familiarity with Scripture is limited to hearing a few passages read aloud in church each week (and even that is becoming increasingly uncommon).
So how exactly can one convey the Bible’s unrivaled significance as the inspired and inerrant Word of God—the only book that, as the Gideons so lovingly describe it, “contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers”?
Here’s a great new solution: A Visual Theology Guide to the Bible by pastors Tim Challies and Josh Byers (Zondervan, 2019). If that title sounds a little heavy, check out the subtitle: Seeing and Knowing God’s Word. Then take a gander at the book’s inviting cover and flip through its lively content. You’ll discover that there’s nothing imposing or forbidding about this beautifully organized and illustrated volume.
And oh, the content!
“Part 1: Trusting the Bible” sets the stage, describing everything from what the Bible is and how it was written to how we know that we can trust it.
“Part 2: Studying the Bible” explains why we should study this book, and how exactly to go about it.
“Part 3: Seeing the Bible” goes through the Word of God section by section. The authors take the reader from creation, the fall of man and the flood through Israel’s history, from Jesus’ life, death, burial and resurrection through the birth of the church and, of course, the end of the story.
Throughout, the authors have captured key points in irresistible infographics that were surely designed to aid both understanding and memory.
Perhaps my favorite example, perfect for anyone who fears that the Bible has changed over the millennia: a three-page section entitled “Has the Bible Really Been Preserved for Us Today?” (pages 32-34). With very few words but arresting artwork, they compare the New Testament to other ancient works from Tacitus’s Annals to Plato’s Tetralogies and Homer’s Iliad. The only logical conclusion? “[T]here is overwhelming evidence that the text of the New Testament we have today is the same as the original.”
I’ve been using excerpts from this book at the nursing home, both in one-on-one visits and during our weekly Bible Discussions, with uniformly happy results. Challies and Byers have explained these critical concepts much more concisely and compellingly than I ever could have.
In the process, I’ve also learned a lot from them—even though as a former skeptic who fought mightily against embracing the Bible, I did extensive research into most of these subjects many years ago.
Highly recommended!
That has certainly been my experience in the nursing home where I’ve been serving for nearly two decades. In this environment, it’s rare to talk with someone who has even read the entire Bible, let alone studied it in any depth. Most residents’ familiarity with Scripture is limited to hearing a few passages read aloud in church each week (and even that is becoming increasingly uncommon).
So how exactly can one convey the Bible’s unrivaled significance as the inspired and inerrant Word of God—the only book that, as the Gideons so lovingly describe it, “contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers”?
Here’s a great new solution: A Visual Theology Guide to the Bible by pastors Tim Challies and Josh Byers (Zondervan, 2019). If that title sounds a little heavy, check out the subtitle: Seeing and Knowing God’s Word. Then take a gander at the book’s inviting cover and flip through its lively content. You’ll discover that there’s nothing imposing or forbidding about this beautifully organized and illustrated volume.
And oh, the content!
“Part 1: Trusting the Bible” sets the stage, describing everything from what the Bible is and how it was written to how we know that we can trust it.
“Part 2: Studying the Bible” explains why we should study this book, and how exactly to go about it.
“Part 3: Seeing the Bible” goes through the Word of God section by section. The authors take the reader from creation, the fall of man and the flood through Israel’s history, from Jesus’ life, death, burial and resurrection through the birth of the church and, of course, the end of the story.
Throughout, the authors have captured key points in irresistible infographics that were surely designed to aid both understanding and memory.
Perhaps my favorite example, perfect for anyone who fears that the Bible has changed over the millennia: a three-page section entitled “Has the Bible Really Been Preserved for Us Today?” (pages 32-34). With very few words but arresting artwork, they compare the New Testament to other ancient works from Tacitus’s Annals to Plato’s Tetralogies and Homer’s Iliad. The only logical conclusion? “[T]here is overwhelming evidence that the text of the New Testament we have today is the same as the original.”
I’ve been using excerpts from this book at the nursing home, both in one-on-one visits and during our weekly Bible Discussions, with uniformly happy results. Challies and Byers have explained these critical concepts much more concisely and compellingly than I ever could have.
In the process, I’ve also learned a lot from them—even though as a former skeptic who fought mightily against embracing the Bible, I did extensive research into most of these subjects many years ago.
Highly recommended!
October 21, 2020
Get this book!
Such an invaluable resource and especially for those who are visual learners and want a good resource on understanding the Bible. Challies and Byers have produced a beautiful book that uses high quality graphics to visualize concepts to help the reader understand the Bible.
The first section is an apologetic for the Bible - what it is, it's history of how it came to be, it's trustworthiness and authority. The second section focuses on how to properly study the Bible. Finally the third section (and biggest portion of the book) is a "tool kit" of sorts to help the reader see the overarching narrative of the Bible and understand its parts within the context of its whole message (biblical theology).
The writing is clear and engaging in and economy of words that helps make it a resource that is a joy to read.
Highly recommend this for every Christian's bookshelf - but not just to stay on the bookshelf but well used to help them understand God's word more deeply!
Such an invaluable resource and especially for those who are visual learners and want a good resource on understanding the Bible. Challies and Byers have produced a beautiful book that uses high quality graphics to visualize concepts to help the reader understand the Bible.
The first section is an apologetic for the Bible - what it is, it's history of how it came to be, it's trustworthiness and authority. The second section focuses on how to properly study the Bible. Finally the third section (and biggest portion of the book) is a "tool kit" of sorts to help the reader see the overarching narrative of the Bible and understand its parts within the context of its whole message (biblical theology).
The writing is clear and engaging in and economy of words that helps make it a resource that is a joy to read.
Highly recommend this for every Christian's bookshelf - but not just to stay on the bookshelf but well used to help them understand God's word more deeply!
February 26, 2020
A book about theology. It is a wonderful time for people who desire to study God's Word to be alive. We have software that searches libraries of information in seconds. Access to amazing sermons, websites, and books on every topic imaginable. "A Visual Theology Guide to the Bible" is a prime example. Challies and Byers ultimately give us two small books in one: an introduction to the Bible/hermeneutics and an overview of the storyline of Scripture. The graphics are high quality and condense large amounts of information down to understandable visuals. The text and images complement each other seemlessly. I would recommend this to anyone, but especially to a person who is just being introduced to the Bible.
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May 9, 2022This has good information I won't deny that.
I also found the underlying sexism to this book. Women are mentioned 4 times in this book, two women are named (Mary- but only as the mother of Jesus blurb) and "Rehab the prostitute")
It's clear that these authors lean more to the side of "no to women in ministry"
I found it specifically interesting the one sentence... (pg. 178)
"Two women discovered the tomb was empty, they were Jesus' disciples." Not their names EVEN THOUGH THE BIBLE ITSELF NAMES THEM.
(Mary Magdalene and also Mary)
However later in the book(pg 188) "a Gentile man named Cornelius had received a vision from God"
* I found it interesting how the writers choose to name the men even for a small sentence such as this, but not the name of women.
I also found the underlying sexism to this book. Women are mentioned 4 times in this book, two women are named (Mary- but only as the mother of Jesus blurb) and "Rehab the prostitute")
It's clear that these authors lean more to the side of "no to women in ministry"
I found it specifically interesting the one sentence... (pg. 178)
"Two women discovered the tomb was empty, they were Jesus' disciples." Not their names EVEN THOUGH THE BIBLE ITSELF NAMES THEM.
(Mary Magdalene and also Mary)
However later in the book(pg 188) "a Gentile man named Cornelius had received a vision from God"
* I found it interesting how the writers choose to name the men even for a small sentence such as this, but not the name of women.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 12, 2024
What's not to love about this book - It's simple, straight forward, gives all the details you need, and it has colourful graphs and charts to keep the eyes entertained.
The first half of the book breaks down the bible and gives you the key data, it's talks a little of the history and the formation of it without getting too indepth (perhaps a negative for some). The second half of the book explains the entire premise of the bible and summarises well the key message.
Could this book have been better.......Which book couldn't?! But did this book do badly anything it set out to do, certainly not.
This book will serve as a great reference moving forward and constantly provide a nice visual aid for bible study.
The first half of the book breaks down the bible and gives you the key data, it's talks a little of the history and the formation of it without getting too indepth (perhaps a negative for some). The second half of the book explains the entire premise of the bible and summarises well the key message.
Could this book have been better.......Which book couldn't?! But did this book do badly anything it set out to do, certainly not.
This book will serve as a great reference moving forward and constantly provide a nice visual aid for bible study.
December 30, 2025
The title and subtitle of this resource sum it up well. It truly is a visual theology guide to the Bible that allows the reader to see and know God's Word.
It's also a little bit more. Yes, there are ample infographics. But the authors also take time to fully explain the history and make-up of the Bible, which I found fascinating. They are very clear communicators and the information is easy to understand and digest. The infographics are also very clear and easy to read. They are visually attractive without being overly busy or stylized. I think the biggest compliment is that I chose two charts to make a photocopy of to keep in my Bible case for reference. I know they will come in very handy.
It's also a little bit more. Yes, there are ample infographics. But the authors also take time to fully explain the history and make-up of the Bible, which I found fascinating. They are very clear communicators and the information is easy to understand and digest. The infographics are also very clear and easy to read. They are visually attractive without being overly busy or stylized. I think the biggest compliment is that I chose two charts to make a photocopy of to keep in my Bible case for reference. I know they will come in very handy.
September 16, 2020
Wonderful introduction to understanding the Bible, specifically how each part of God’s Word points to Jesus. The connections that Challies and Byers make between the Old and New Testament are very insightful, and the graphics make it easy to understand! The book also introduces the ideas of how the Bible was written, preserved, and canonized; there is also a brief discussion of its authority, trustworthiness, and sufficiency. Not necessarily the most in-depth, but a great foundation for further study + the visuals are stunning!
August 14, 2019
Add this to the list for books every believer should read. Excellent for summarizing the entirety of the Bible and provided an easy to understand overview. The book is great for every new believer, but I would strongly recommend every believer to read it. Presents the information very well. A good book to go over with your kids and one to leave on the coffee table at your house! Read it! You’ll love it.
February 7, 2020
I read this to help prepare for a class I’m co-teaching at my church. It’s extremely easy to digest and really well put together. The graphics were fantastic and really aided in understanding. If you know nothing about the Bible this is a great place to start. If you’ve been reading the Bible for years you may be able to skim some parts but you will still encounter information that is encouraging and helpful in understanding more about the Bible.
February 28, 2020
Nice resource on the New Testament for new believers or those who want to understand how the bible is organized, its history and the underlying concepts of the Bible.
By the Bible though the Author is referring to the New Testament. The Old Testament is only tertiary addressed in this book and is only mentioned to show the need for Jesus and to provide a detailed linage. Not sure I or others can agree with that.
By the Bible though the Author is referring to the New Testament. The Old Testament is only tertiary addressed in this book and is only mentioned to show the need for Jesus and to provide a detailed linage. Not sure I or others can agree with that.
December 2, 2023
Very cool concept that made understanding the history and creation of the Bible simple - even though it just hit the wave tops and didn’t get into deeper discussions/questions like infallibility, inerrancy, etc. While some of the visuals didn’t serve much purpose, the visual guides describing the connections/patterns across the whole Bible, and especially across the Gospels, were v helpful
Overall the simplification of the whole story of the Bible was neat-o
Overall the simplification of the whole story of the Bible was neat-o
January 20, 2024
Good for the baby believer. Gets some things wrong, like food laws only being a symbolic separation of Jews for God and from the other nations, using 'Calvary' instead of Mount Moriah, believing we are unsure about Hebrew's author (Ap. Paul), and misunderstanding that the Lord's supper was not instituted but rather a clarification of the purpose of God in establishing the Passover and how Christ fulfills it. You have your average run-of-the-mill Christian mistakes but okay overall.
December 25, 2021
This was a very approachable theology book. With so many visuals and simplified text, it read more like a magazine. I still needed to break this down into sections, but the authors gave a clear explanation of the Bible, its historicity, the canon and overarching themes. I highly recommend this this to anyone wanting to understand the Bible more.
December 24, 2023
An overall review of the Bible, with visual diagrams and graphics that help us visualize what is explained in the text. Very effective. The Guide covers what the Bible is, why we can trust it, and why we should study it, and offers a lengthy review showing how Christ and His work are found throughout the Scriptures.
May 4, 2019
I loved everything about this book! The visuals are incredible, and the content is theologically spot on and super helpful. I can’t wait to use this resource in discipleship settings and in a seminar format for our entire church.
January 20, 2020
An amazing overview of the Holy Scriptures. It shows the historicity of the books and the accuracy of their content. Gives a high pictures of the overall story of scripture and shows you how to read and understand it. Highly recommend to new and seasoned believers
July 2, 2020
An important book that explains clearly and logically the truth of the Bible in chart form and detailed paragraphs. This book will make you want to open God's Word and find out more about our Great Saviour.
September 27, 2020
A great resource for a new believer to acclimate themselves to the Bible, especially the second half of the book that provides an overview of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. The first half of the book outlines how the Bible originated and gives basics for studying the Bible.
December 30, 2024
This wasn't what I expected.. I was expecting more of a bible commentary when it was gifted to me but it is a wonderful read, I would recommend this to all Christians or faith-curious people.. especially those in the beginning of their faith journey!
March 31, 2019
I love the visual theology series!! Excellent graphics with solid content.
March 31, 2019
This is a really slick and cool overview on the Bible. Very well done.
May 2, 2019
LOVED THIS BOOK. The graphics and charts were very helpful and it was a great handling of the doctrine of Scripture.
July 15, 2019
Great intro to the Bible. Many helpful graphics.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews