Love Basics for Catholics: Illustrating God’s Love for Us throughout the Bible

by John Bergsma

When you begin to see the Bible as a love story, it transforms how you understand love, sex, marriage, family―and your relationship with God.Join popular scripture scholar John Bergsma on a journey from the union of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to the wedding feast of the Lamb in the book of Revelation. Along the way, you’ll discover how marriage in the Bible reveals the profound love between God and his people.Focusing on nine key biblical marriages, Bergsma uncovers what these relationships teach us about God’s covenant loveAdam and Eve reveal marriage as the culmination of creation and a reflection of the Trinity.Ruth and Boaz embody tenderness, fidelity, and virtue.Solomon and his bride in the Song of Songs celebrate the goodness of the body and human love.Christ the Bridegroom shows us the ultimate union between Jesus and his Church.
With his signature stick-figure illustrations and engaging, accessible style, Bergsma brings scripture and salvation history to life in a way that is both memorable and meaningful. He also sheds light on church teachings on marriage and relationships―including monogamy, the single life, the Sacrament of Matrimony, and Jesus’s words on divorce―revealing how each flows from God’s faithful love expressed through the covenants of scripture.“The story of salvation,” Bergsma writes, “is a romantic comedy because it is literally about love from beginning to end!”Discover the love story at the heart of scripture―and be invited into God’s love.

Genres: Catholic, Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

Published March 10, 2023

About the author

Dr. John Bergsma is Associate Professor of Theology at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, in Steubenville, Ohio. He holds the M.Div. and Th.M. degrees from Calvin Seminary, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and served as a Protestant pastor for four years before entering the Catholic Church in 2001 while pursuing a Ph.D. in Theology from the University of Notre Dame. He specialized in the Old Testament and the Dead Sea Scrolls, graduating with high honors in 2004. His major study of the interpretation of the Year of Jubilee in ancient times is published as The Jubilee from Leviticus to Qumran (Brill Academic, 2007). Dr. Bergsma’s articles, some co-authored with Dr. Scott Hahn, have appeared in several academic journals as well as Lay Witness, the magazine of Catholics United for the Faith. He has appeared as a guest on EWTN’s The Journey Home, Franciscan University Presents, and Relevant Radio’s Drew Mariani Show. Twice voted Faculty of the Year by graduating classes of the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Dr. Bergsma is a popular teacher who inspires his students with a love of Scripture. He and his wife Dawn reside with their eight children in Steubenville, Ohio.


Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Theology - University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, Indiana)
Master of Theology (Th.M.) - Calvin Theological Seminary (Grand Rapids, Michigan)
Master of Divinity (M.Div.) - Calvin Theological Seminary (Grand Rapids, Michigan)
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Classical Languages - Calvin Theological Seminary (Grand Rapids, Michigan)

Reviews

[Julie Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with John Bergsma's other Bible Basics for Catholics books this is an excellent basic coverage, in this case how the story of of how marriage in the Bible shows us God's love for his people. I really enjoyed the gradual development of complexity as we followed the marriages featured in salvation history. I hadn't thought of them in a linear fashion as being an "evolutionary story" of how marriage would be understood, but it's all right there, as John Bergsma shows us. So we get both an in-depth look at marriage and God's love for his people in one handy-dandy, easy to understand book.

As with the Bible Basics book, Bergsma uses the trick of simple stick pictures to help make the main points memorable and I was happy to see them. They really are wonderful memory aids.

[Helen Basham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Bergsma illustrates how marriage is a theme used throughout the entire Bible to explain and demonstrate God’s love for us. This book truly is the “basics” and the information is presented in an extremely digestible way. As someone who can find heavy theological books difficult to keep up with, this was a quick and easy read with great information.
I particularly liked the chapter on Ephesians 5 as well as the chapter on Christ’s Passion.
The book walks through the entire Bible, ending with practical applications from each “marriage” he covered.
I recommend this book to any Catholic and to anyone who is interested in finding deeper symbolism and meaning in the Bible and in marriage.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Ave Maria Press for the opportunity to read an advanced reader's copy of this book for an honest review. (Publish Date: 10 Mar 2023)

“Love Basics for Catholics: Illustrating God’s Love for Us throughout the Bible” by John Bergsma was an enlightening and engaging book.

The author’s fun stick-figure illustrations and comical examples were very enjoyable and made his Biblical references easier to grasp from a modern perspective.

The author showed so many great examples of how different stories in the Bible all represent the love between God and his people. I felt enlightened by his perspective and found myself rereading the stories afterwards to feel a stronger impact of the words and connection with God.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and found it a delightful read. I would recommend it to anyone curious about connections between God’s love for us through scripture.

[Rafael López Castellanos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Libro básico que todo católico debe leer para entender el amor que es el mensaje principal de la biblia, la vocación del matrimonio como enfoque clave de la misma.