Alpha Teach Yourself The Bible in 24 Hours
W. Terry Whalin
Alpha Books
The hardest task in this book was picking my Bible. I saw this book sitting on my editor's bookshelf and immediately accepted the challenge. I thought this would be exactly the thing to introduce me to the Bible and help me gain a nice, rounded experience of the different texts.
Teach Yourself the Bible in 24 Hours is written in an Idiot's Guide or Dummies style — complete with little sidebars and annotations such as "cultural facts," "historical facts," and study questions at the end of every chapter. It's not intended to turn you into a biblical scholar in one day but to read the Bible in chunks of one hour at a time. Hour (or Chapter) 17 is The Miracles of Jesus, for example, in which the novice will find out more about Raising the Dead, Feeding the Multitudes and Physical Healings.
Before we go any further, here's a bit of background on Alpha courses. Charles Marnham, a clergyman at Holy Trinity, Brompton in London, England, developed the concept of Alpha — a relaxed and informal introduction to the basic principles of the Christian faith — in 1977. When a man named Nicky Gumbel took over the Alpha course in 1993, Gumbel saw an opportunity for evangelism. Today, Alpha is aimed at non-churchgoers and thousands of courses run in different countries around the world.
Not having read much of the Bible, I figured that Alpha's Teach Yourself the Bible would be a good place to start.
I was stumped on Hour One — Bible Basics.
There is helpful information in the first chapter, including "Who wrote the Bible?" and a note on the different translations. It was "Selecting the Bible that's Right for You," that threw me for a loop and turned one hour into five. How does one choose?
With the generosity of the Presbyterian Church's bookstore, I was able to borrow a few versions for perusal. The beautiful, lyrical tradition of King James appealed to me but I couldn't understand a lot of what was being said. The New International Version was easy to read but the magic wasn't there — none of the poetry or cadence that I was used to hearing in church. I glanced through some other versions, comparing passages. Ultimately, after plenty of suggestions from coworkers and my parents, I chose King James and hoped I was bright enough to figure out what was being said — I was smart enough to pick a large print version.
As I worked my way through the Alpha course book, one thing became very clear. For people who have no background in the church or for those who aren't sure of Christianity, it's a wonderful overview. I, however, was reading the Bible for a different reason. I wanted not only to meditate on the messages within but I wanted more information — more history, more debate and more reflection — than this 24-hour model could offer.
