Helping children and young people to follow the golden thread of God’s inspired Word through over 3,500 years of history.
The Bible is an extraordinary book. Even though it was written by forty different men over 1,500 years, it carries a single united message: that we are lost sinners, and that our only Saviour is the Lord Jesus Christ. This is because the Bible is not just human words, but God-breathed Scripture.
Read the fascinating history of the most important book in the world, and learn how God inspired, protected, and guided it from the temples and pyramids of Ancient Egypt to the online world of computers and phones.
This fully-illustrated book covers 3,500 years of history, guiding children through the fascinating account of the inspiration and preservation of the Word of God, and its translation into English. It follows the Textus Receptus (Received Text) and maintains the divine preservation of Scripture. With mini-quizzes and activities. Suitable for individual or family reading, for ages six and up.
Review by Graham Chewter
This is a significant book that certainly meets a need. Here is a child-friendly and engaging description of how the Bible came to us. Its aim is to introduce junior-aged children to the foundational truth that God has made Himself known to us and purposed that His self-revelation should be recorded in a permanent written form.
Within the space of a little more than 160 pages the author, by means of his creative style, holds the reader’s attention as he explains the means God used to give us the Holy Scriptures. Concise pen-portraits of men such as Moses, David, Isaiah, John, Luke, and Paul introduce us to some of the inspired writers.
A wealth of historical information is woven into the ‘fabric’ of the narrative; and the well-known maxim, ‘a picture is worth a thousand words,’ justifies the use of life-like illustrations (by Paul Fryer) on almost every page, as well as the occasional timeline to make the teaching memorable. The book is also interspersed with cameos of imaginary people at different periods of history without confusing the reader as to which part is fact or fiction. Several interactive pages help children pause and think about how much they have learnt.
It is highly commendable that early on in the book Christ and salvation is introduced as the great theme of the Bible, and towards the close, appropriate gospel texts remind children of the only way to be saved. Each chapter begins with a suitable Scripture text, and occasionally the author recaps to jog the reader’s memory before moving on.
Practical aspects are not overlooked, such as how scrolls and books were made, methods of making ink, writing with a quill, and the ability to mass-produce Bibles when the printing press came into its own. Some of the remarkable archaeological discoveries of the 20th century are brought forward by the author to show that the ‘stones cry out’ in support of the unerring testimony of God’s Word.
It is rare to find anything in print today intended for children which covers the Bible’s inspiration, providential preservation, reliability, and sufficiency. Young people growing up in a world of doubt and cynicism will be well grounded by this helpful and well-written introduction to the unique character and life-changing message of God’s holy book of truth.
Review by Roland Burrows & Beverley Jones (retired headteacher)
Matthew Wainwright (author) and Paul Fryer (illustrator) have produced a unique and attractive work aimed at what we might call middle school children.
The book aims to engage the reader’s attention throughout. Here are not just reams of writing but illustrations, questions, interactive quizzes, model making etc. The format clearly weaves together the saving message of the Gospel, and the story of how the Scriptures came to be written, emphasising their accuracy and inspiration.
There is an emphasis on the care that has been taken in the Bible’s translation and transmission through the years; here we meet the Masoretes, Jerome, and on to the Greek manuscripts of Byzantium. The first British translations are touched upon i.e. the Lindisfarne Gospels, the fifty Psalms translated by King Alfred the Great, and the Wessex Gospels of the tenth century. We move on to the Bibles of Wycliffe and Tyndale, Guttenberg and the invention of printing, on through the Reformation and to the production of the Authorised Version in 1611.
The message at the heart of the book is that “The Bible teaches that salvation is the gift of God, not something we can learn by following man-made rules.”
One slight query would be that among the well set-out and arranged factual information, there are fictional stories which are to illustrate the various points. These could perhaps be more clearly identified as fictional, and not part of the factual information.
Altogether an original, useful and valuable book, highly recommended.
Once Delivered: How God gave us the Bible
Matthew Wainwright & Paul Fryer
Wakeman Trust
170 pages
RRP £8.95
ISBN 9781913133689
Suitable for ages 6+