INSPIRED STUFF Everything you wanted to know about the Bible but were afraid to ask Peter Downey and Ben Shaw

BACK TO SEARCH PAGE

INSPIRED STUFF
Everything you wanted to know about the Bible but were afraid to ask
Peter Downey and Ben Shaw

A chance meeting between old friends has lead to them writing INSPIRED STUFF, a new introduction to the Bible From the stage to the bookshop… IN January 1991, two friends – Ben Shaw and Peter Downey – sat next to each other on a Qantas flight to Wellington, New Zealand. They were on their way to perform at the Mainstage Christian Music and Arts Festival. Back then, Ben was playing guitar for the popular Christian rock band In The Silence. Peter was singer and guitarist for the old-timers of the Sydney Christian rock scene, Priority Paid. Little did they imagine that twelve years later, they would put down their guitars, and join forces to co-write a book about the Bible.  When In The Silence folded, Ben headed off to Moore College in Sydney where he started his degree in Theology. One night, while working as a Catechist, he lead a Bible study and was surprised to find that some of the people in the group, many of whom had been Christians for years, had some fairly basic questions about the Bible. “Someone asked me what the Tabernacle was and if it was important,” said Ben. “It became clear as we talked that they knew most of the main themes of Scripture, but they didn't really have a handle on the big picture of the Bible from start to finish.” Ben started work on a series of compact introductory studies about the Bible. But the problem was that he had too much material to include in a traditional talk format. “I'm a very visual person, so I designed the studies in Power Point, with a lot of graphics and fast moving text. I wanted more than just a bland presentation of information,” he said. “I wanted people to enjoy looking at God's word.” After many months of refinement, Ben had built his studies into an interactive multi-media presentation – The Bible in Three Hours – which has since become so popular that Ben now travels interstate to present it to churches and groups.

Meanwhile, unknown to Ben… in a nearby high school on Sydney's northern beaches, his old mate Peter had started teaching a Year 7 Christian Studies class. QUIZ In the first lesson of the year, Peter gave his students a quiz on their knowledge of the Bible. While many students knew quite a lot, he was surprised to also find some strange ideas. “One student said the Bible was written by Jesus. Another said it was written one hundred years ago in Latin. One student said that a Testament was a building where sacrifices were made,” said Peter, who has a Doctorate in Education, writes a regular column for Southern Cross and has three internationally published parenting books under his belt.  “It was apparent that some students had a patchwork quilt of ideas about the Bible. So I went back to basics and designed a program of lessons that worked through the Bible and its history. The Bible is an exciting and powerful book. My aim was to present it in a relevant and accessible way.” THE MEETING One Thursday morning in February last year, Ben and Pete bumped into each other. Ben had been invited to Peter's school as guest speaker at Chapel. After his talk, the two old mates reminisced about their old band days over a cup of coffee. They soon discovered that they had had been working on similar Bible projects and it didn't take long before the idea of a co-written book came to the surface. It was all systems go from that day on. Within a few days, they had a meeting and started to plan the framework of the book.  “We decided straight up that we didn't want to write some same-old boring textbook filled with Christian jargon and lists of facts and dates. Why can't a book on the Bible be fun to read too?” said Ben. “We wanted a modern Australian book that would be cool to give to friends, not some cheesy Bible guide.” “Fortunately, we've got a similar sense of humour,” said Peter. “We both really like the writing of Bill Bryson, and wanted our book to have the same relaxed and conversational style.” But the authors were both well aware that behind the quips and anecdotes, writing a book about the Bible is very serious business. To guide them over the following months, one of the first things they did was put together an informal board of friends and advisers, off whom they could bounce ideas and get feedback.

“We enlisted the help of authors, teachers, lecturers, ministers and friends from a range of backgrounds,” said Peter. “We emailed them our proposals and drafts as we went along. They gave the thumbs up or down on some of our ideas and set us straight when we were going off track.” “It was great to have such a learned group behind us all the way. They encouraged us and gave us good advice.” After almost two years of writing, the result of their efforts will be released next month.  INSPIRED STUFF is a book in two parts.  “Part One is the story behind the Bible,” said Peter. “You know… what the Bible is, who wrote it and when, its languages and history and how translation works. It really has gone on a remarkable and epic journey.” “Part Two runs through the major themes and sections of the Bible itself,” said Ben. “The aim is to give readers a quick understanding of the big picture of the Bible, in all its glory and excitement. The ultimate aim is that readers will want to dive into the Bible for themselves, and perhaps be a bit better equipped as they do.” WHAT OTHERS SAY Well-known author and evangelist John Dickson has written the Foreword for the book. He says, “Inspired Stuff is a first rate introduction to, overview and exposé of God’s Word, the Bible. Pete and Ben have done an enormous service to believers and spectators alike: they have taken complex historical and theological issues surrounding the Bible and told them like a great yarn or a good joke; they have taken the soaring, life-changing message of the Bible and faithfully re-presented it in a digestible, yet faithful, bite-sized form.”

Excerpt from the Bible Section
What is it?
• It is a best-seller that most people on the planet have at one time read or at least casually glanced at.
• It has touched countless people with its insights and information.
• The English language version is now distributed in over seventy countries.
• It opens doorways and tells us a lot about ourselves and our world.
• It is to be found in pretty well every library on the planet.
• It is available in thirty-seven foreign language translations.
• Sales of this book are phenomenal, totalling somewhere up near the hundred million mark worldwide.

 And the name of the book?
 What was that you said?
The Bible ?
 Sorry… no. Wrong. Do not pass go. Do not collect two hundred dollars.
We were tricking.
The book mentioned above is actually The Guinness Book of Records… which happens to be the world’s second best-selling book.
 Now, the Guinness is a good read and has some pretty impressive sales figures. And it also contains life-changing information like the fact that in 1998 some guy blasted a strand of spaghetti 19cm from one nostril.
However, on every measurable scale, it is absolute chicken feed when compared to its superior.
 The world’s best selling book is, as you already know… wait for it… trumpet fanfare please (bup-dudda-bup, bup-bup-bup-baaaa)… The Bible.

It has been translated into 2 233 languages and dialects. As a point of comparison, the works of William Shakespeare have only been translated into 50 languages! Bible   Societies  are  currently  working  in  over  200 countries and almost 500 new languages. They distribute over 500 million Bibles and Bible portions annually. In the past twenty years, over one hundred million copies of the Good News version have been printed. In China alone, almost 2.5 million Bibles are distributed each year.  The King James Bible, despite its thees and thous from the 1600s, is still averaging thirteen million copies a year.... and this is to say nothing of the umpteen other versions that are walking out of bookshops around the globe every second of every day.
 In the past two centuries, an estimated five billion (yes folks, not thousand, not even million, but BILLION with a “B” - one more time for the slower readers, that’s 5 with eight 0s after it) Bibles have been printed. Wouldn’t you just love to be the publisher who signed up the copyright on that print run!
 These figures are pretty staggering. In fact they are so big, it almost defies comprehension. So think of it like this: For about the past two hundred years, a Bible has been sold every few seconds of every minute of every day. At the same sales rate, the Guinness Book of Records would have sold out after only a few years.
If you were to stack these Bibles flat one on top of each other, you would have a tower 78 000 kilometres tall. It would take the world’s fastest climber over sixty-five years to get to the top, assuming he climbed constantly at maximum speed and didn’t stop for food, sleep or to go to the toilet.
Or think of it like this:
If you were to lay all these Bibles end to end in a single line, they would… well, they… let’s just say they would go lots and lots of times around the world and then make a three lane bible-paved expressway up Mount Everest just because it was there. However, the awesomeness of the Bible goes way beyond simplesales figures.

MINISTRYBLUE INFO	PRINTING EQUIPMENT	DATA PROJECTORS	COMPUTER
What is Ministryblue?	FREEColour Laser Printers	Data Projectors	New Computers
Our Monthly Email out	Risograph - printer	Second Hand Projectors	Web hosting
Who is Rob Lamont?	Used Digital Photocopiers	Projector hire	Internet Connection
RETREAT CENTRE	Want to sell your photocopier	Day time screens	Discounted software
Trinity Cottage, Katoomba	OFFICE EQUIPMENT	FREE ITEMS	PHONES
Cheap midweek Holidays	Laminators	Laminators	Discounted Phone calls * Mobiles
Vacancies	Book Covering Machines	Colour Laser Printers	Ringtones
VEHICLES	Document Binders	Microsoft software	HOME AND MINISTRY LOANS
New Cars & buses	Office Supplies	Free Software	Home or Church Loans
Car Loans	FREEColour Laser Printers	Other free things	Rescue Loans
INSURANCE: Click			SOUND: PA Belts

the Christian Youth Resources Site

EMAIL :rob@ministryblue.com
 

Christian Youth Resources, Australia