Book Review - “The Biblical World” From National Geographic
Were you like me? Did you sit around when you were a kid and read encyclopedias instead of play outside?
Oh…then maybe I am kind of strange…
Anyway, I love reference works. Encyclopedias, yearbooks, atlases, stuff like that. I can’t count how many times I read through the “World Book Encyclopedia” when I was growing up.
So, I’m not much of an athlete…but I’m your guy if you’re playing Trivial Pursuit.
Anyway, I was glad to get a copy of the new illustrated atlas from National Geographic, “The Biblical World”. And there’s not much of a surprise inside the covers…exactly what you’d expect from the Geographic. Fantastic pictures, very detailed graphs, maps and such. A lot of fun to explore. From Genesis all the way to Paul’s letters, and even beyond into early Christian history, as well as the Muslim/Christian lands of today.
My only caveat? Just like anyone else, the Geographic comes from a certain viewpoint…so for a person of faith in the Bible, there are some editorializations that one has to take with a grain of salt.
For example…in discussing the Ten Plagues before the Exodus…“The waters of the Nile River turning the color of blood - becoming undrinkable and killing the fish - is a phenomenon that has been observed in modern times and must also have occurred in antiquity.” Yeah…but the Bible says the Nile turned TO blood, not the color OF blood. I know there’s a widely accepted view of how the plagues occurred naturally…but I choose to take the Scriptural account at face value, in faith.
So, enjoy the book, enjoy the pictures…but let your own heart and soul find the answers to the big questions.
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Paul - I am totally down for a game of Trivial Pursuit at re:create. Yes??