As you know, I love a good book. But what you may, or may not, know is that I also like a book that looks really nice, both inside and out. I enjoy seeing how illustrators and authors work hand in hand to create works of art that not only inform your mind, but also capture your imagination. Here’s a new book that I’ve enjoyed reading and looking at!
The Visual Word: illustrated outlines of the New Testament books, does exactly what it says on the tin. In this book you’ll find summaries of each book in the New Testament, with short sections outlining the main teaching points and arguments of each book. The really helpful written words are from Patrick Schreiner, who is a professor of New Testament at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Each page is full of his clear insights into the text of the Bible and the over arching narrative and themes of each book.
These summaries and outlines will be helpful for Christians who are wanting a bird’s eye view of a Bible book, maybe a preacher who is wanting to take a step back from the detail of a book and read helpful summaries and a Sunday school teacher who is wrestling with what certain books teach. Basically, if you’re a Christian who loves God’s Word, I think you’ll find this book helpful!
Personally I found the book helpful because I have a terrible memory, but the illustrations throughout get your attention and may help you remember the information better. I also know people who are ‘visual learners’ I am not one of them, but I do think this book will help those who find visual aids better than simply written or spoken words.
The other thing to note is how beautifully the illustrations are. Anthony Benedetto has created a work of art, there is no other word for it. Each illustration perfectly depicts the point the written text is trying to convey and so together, the text and the illustrations, create a book that is aesthetically pleasing and rooted in the text of the Bible.
Get your own copy here for a mere £9.99*, I guarantee you that it will be money well spent. I’d love to hear from others who have read it and how they found this book. It isn’t the usual kind of book that I would review, but it will definitely be interesting to many of my readers. I’ve not seen a book like The Visual Word before, I do hope that Moody publishers plan on bring out an Old Testament version too!
*This was the price when this blog post was first written.
Chalmers' Blog 
Great read. Thanks for sharing!
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