101 Surprising Facts About the Bible
By Rick Rotondi
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About this ebook
How well do you really know the Bible?
The Bible is the Word of God, but even on a human level it stands apart. No other book has sold so many copies; been translated into so many languages; been so often adapted, recited, and performed; or took so many years (centuries!) to write.
In 101 Surprising Facts About the Bible, Rick Rotondi recounts the story of how the Bible was written, translated, published, and proclaimed. Join him as he explores the mysteries of the Bible, unpacks its prophecies, and examines how this ancient text is a living word—a rule of life and a letter from God addressed personally to you.
Read and learn . . .
- How Alexander the Great helped shape the Bible (Fact 14)
- The age of the oldest copy of the Bible (Fact 16)
- God's other means of Revelation (Facts 24 and 25)
- When Christ appeared in the Old Testament (Fact 38)
- The striking prophecy of the Crucifixion, 1,000 years in advance (Fact 65)
- How the Bible has a sense of humor (Fact 82)
- How the Bible transformed civilization (Fact 85)
- . . . and much, much more!
101 Surprising Facts About the Bible is a fascinating guide to the Word of God. In these pages, learn new facts about the Bible, test your knowledge of it—and make its amazing treasures your own.
Includes scores of beautiful full-color illustrations and a glossary of biblical terms.
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101 Surprising Facts About the Bible - Rick Rotondi
author
Introduction
A friend of mine returned recently from the Grand Canyon. It’s one of those places you have to see in person,
he told me. No photo or video does it justice.
I knew what he meant. I remembered my own trip to the canyon years ago, helicoptering over its immensities, descending to its depths.
You don’t have to be a geologist to appreciate the splendor of the Grand Canyon. As visitors strain to capture it in their gaze, they understand intuitively the canyon is a product of unfathomable power operating over vast stretches of time. Even the most soaring human works pale in comparison.
The Bible might be considered the Grand Canyon of books. It too is a work of great power—of God himself—operating over a vast expanse of time. It, too, has depths and immensities we can see, consider, explore, but never fully capture. There is always more to drink in.
There is, however, this difference: unlike the Grand Canyon, the Bible doesn’t reveal its immensities automatically. It’s easy to think of the Bible as just another book, no different than any other on your shelves. The Bible is a human work; it’s possible to view it as a human work alone, blind to its spiritual power.
You don’t need to be a theologian to see the beauty of the Bible. But you do need to engage with it, study it, place it in context. It helps to have a guide.
There are many facts that help illuminate the Bible’s power and beauty. For me, it is, above all, the unity of Scripture that makes reading the Bible a Grand Canyon experience.
When we see the sacred authors speaking of Christ centuries before his birth, we see the finger of God. Here is a work of great power, beyond the ability of man to fashion, next to which merely human works fade away.
Though I’m no theologian or scholar, I hope I’m at least a reliable guide, and will prove myself capable in these pages of leading you to a Grand Canyon experience
too.
Even books as short and breezy as this one are the work of many hands. First to be acknowledged is Carolyn Klika, who responded with characteristic generosity to my plea for a research partner. Carolyn contributed greatly to many of these facts, particularly in the third section.
My parents, Paul and Betsy, and children, Olivia and Timothy, encouraged me and graciously listened as I read facts batch by batch over a period of weeks. Their chuckles, raised eyebrows, and sometimes stoic expressions helped focus-test how proposed facts registered on the Surprise Scale.
Several readers offered very helpful comments, alerting me to scholarly precipices into which I might otherwise have tumbled. Any errors remain my own. At Saint Benedict Press, my editor, John Moorehouse, had the patience of Job with my stitching and unstitching and requests for extensions, and offered unfailing encouragement and support. Nick Vari expertly and discreetly corrected my many stylistic infelicities; and Caroline Green’s outstanding design and illustration selections are quite simply the most-likely reason you bought or were given this book. Finally my publisher, Conor Gallagher, has generously entrusted his talents to this project, seeking not only the food that perishes but that which endures for eternal life (Jn 6:27). Saint Benedict Press’ publishing program exists to make saints. May this book yield a