By Nick Page
HarperCollins. 155 pages. £9.99
ISBN 0 00 274022 2
The Scroll is a large selection of stories from the Bible written and presented in the style and format of a tabloid newspaper. The idea is to make the Bible accessible to ordinary people and to encourage them to dip into it for themselves. And Nick Page has done a good job. It's well written, amusing (at times, very amusing), and far from trivialising the message of the Bible, actually offers some valuable insights. Good stuff.
You can dip into it, say, over coffee or in an idle moment (when did you last have one of those?), and I found that having read one part made me want to read further.
I suppose my biggest question is just who would read this. It's not a Bible to study; more one to be entertained by. And strictly speaking, it isn't a Bible, but adapted stories from the Bible, so I wouldn't use it for my quiet times or have it read in a church service. Maybe it could go on the coffee table and visitors could pick it up and browse while we're making the drinks. Our young people like it so it ought to get circulated there and among their friends. Or perhaps I could give it to my non-Christian friends as a present. Now that's a thought.
Is your preaching merely teaching?
I need to be challenged, regularly. And so do you. At least, that’s what the Bible tells me.There are …