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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI, USA) July 6, 2005 Informatively and accessibly written by W. Milton Timmons (an academic professor with a Ph. D. in Mass Communications and many years of classroom based curriculum experience), Everything About the Bible That You Never Had Time To Look Up: A Condensed Guide to Biblical Literature is a straightforward summary of not only the Bible itself, but many extra-Biblical books. With a text presented for the non-specialist general reader in plain English, these summaries make the messages of Biblical text readily understandable to readers of all backgrounds. The interpretation is as direct as possible, with no attempt or suggestion to color the summaries according to the author's personal religious beliefs. An absolute "must-read" for novice Biblical scholars and anyone who needs to get a better understanding of the Bible and associated apocrypha quickly. (5 Stars) (Highest recommendation)
Mensa Bulletin, September, 2003 I was tempted to compare this with those classic Cliff Notes you'd buy back in high school when you didn't want to be bothered reading the real thing. Not only content is treated here, but there's also a lot of intriguing history and background you were never taught in Sunday School. In addition to covering all the books in the traditional Bible, it includes some really interesting alternatives such as the apocryphal books from the Jewish, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Ethiopian and various other denominations. So no matter how well you know the Old and New Testaments, you probably aren't very familiar with such esoteric (and sometimes shocking) documents as First Enoch, The Life of Adam and Eve, Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, the Gospels of Thomas, Peter, James, and Philip, the Acts of Paul, Peter, Pilate, Andrew, and Thomas, and even the Apocalypses of Paul, Thomas, the Virgin, and Stephen.
Secular Nation, Fourth Quarter, 2004 Reviewed by Lois Lyons
If you've ever looked for a good, brief secular guide to the Bible, you've probably found that the good ones are few and far between. Now Milt Timmons's book is available and I highly recommend it. It not only discusses every book of the Old Testament, but also the Apocryphal Jewish books in Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Ethiopian Bibles, the Pseudepigraphy and other Judeo-Christian literature from the Biblical Era, the Christian Apocrypha of the Pre-Nicean Era, Christian Documents accepted as Canonical by the Council of Nicea and The Christian Apocrypha of the Post-Nicean Era. It includes a concise history of both Old and New Testaments, a convenient list of the major versions of the Judeo-Christian Bible and a bibliography. Dr. Timmons gives short descriptions of each book and what you will find there, including who wrote it, if known, and whether it's considered a forgery. While reading this book, you will probably want to have a Bible and copies of the other writings handy so you can look further into the fascinating material under discussion.
In his foreword, Dr. Timmons says, "The aim of the volume is to be concise rather than exhaustive -- thus making available to general readers the main sources of Judeo-Christian thought, without the distraction of scholarly disputes."
He also points out that the extra-canonical works he discusses that are not part of the Bible as we know it, have been "extremely influential in the evolution of religious traditions." To this day, he adds, sermons, theological doctrines, and Sunday school lessons are still based on them. (One niggling point: although Dr. Timmons doesn't mention it and notes that Timothy II is probably based on forgeries, the name Lois appears there for all the world to see and, for once, with no allusion to Superman.)
My only criticism of the book is that it cries out for an index but doesn't have one. I hope this lapse will be corrected in future editions.
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Milt replies: I did consider an index, but the book contains so many different names and subjects that an index would be almost as long as the text itself -- which would have been prohibitively expensive for the print edition. For anyone who really needs an index, there is the option of buying it as an e-book directly from Xlibris. Loading it into your computer then gives you a "Search" capability.
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Rational Alternative, July, 2003 Reviewed by Margie Farber
The author, AU's own Milt Timmons, begins his book with the history of the Bible. He states in the first paragraph that "There is no historical or archaeological evidence that the Hebrews had ever been held in captivity by the Egyptians, as claimed by the Torah." All we know is that the Jews were a nomadic tribe living in the Arabian Peninsula. The Bible was written by many unknown authors, both in the Old and the New Testaments.
The book is written in modern English and is easy to comprehend by anyone. I have a friend, who is a slow reader, say that it took him just a short time to finish the book. Timmons describes each book in a storylike manner, with a touch of humor. He adds some of his own comments, in parentheses, on the validity or the lack thereof on certain passages from the Bible.
Timmons shows that our ancestors had little or no knowledge of our universe and our world. The way they described the cosmos is very amusing to say the least. For example: the sun and moon were chariots pulled by angels through many gates in the firmament, depending on the different times of the year. When the sun chariot reached the west, an angel would polish it before it went to east, because the sun would lose some of his shine. Everything in the cosmos was controlled by angels, including all the stars and the planets.
In 325 C.E., 318 bishops who were called together for the first ecumenical council, by Emperor Constantine in the city of Nicea, composed the Nicene Creed:
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"I believe in one God the Father Almighty; Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
"And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds [God of God], Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance [essence] with the Father; by whom all things were made; who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried; and the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father; and he shall come again, with glory, to judge both the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.
"And [I believe] in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceedeth from the Father [and the Son]; who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified; who spake by the Prophets. And [I believe] in one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen."
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This book shows that the Bible, with all its authors, cannot be the inspired word of a god or any gods. If a god did speak through the authors, why would he give them false information about the cosmos? All this only proves that man created god. God did not create man as is stated at the beginning of the Bible.
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Reader Reviews from Amazon.com
(5 Stars) Must Read, June 12, 2004 Reviewer: Rachel Sene (Santa Monica, California USA)
Invaluable as a reference. I have been searching for years for a book of this nature. I have found some similar ones. This book is superior to anything I have ever read.
(5 Stars) An Essential Resource for Students of Religion, June 12, 2004 Reviewer: Chuck Collazzi (Sherman Oaks, California USA)
For anyone who has ever questioned a clergyperson on a biblical matter and found his answer unconvincing, this book is essential.
Dr. Timmons has assembled a fascinating comprehensive, entertaining account of the origins of Western religious belief, organizing and explaining in vivid detail how ancient myths, literature, and oral tradition evolved into the various religious texts of the modern era.
Invaluable as a reference, it provides a chronology of both biblical and extra-biblical works with detailed synopses of the content of each book, scroll, codex, etc. It is an enjoyable read notwithstanding its scholarly subject matter, and it answers innumerable questions about our life and times in the light of ancient literature.
The author obviously committed years to its research, and provides a hefty bibliography for additional study.
Highly recommended!
(5 Stars) Best Full Summary of the Bible, February 20, 2006 Reviewer Gary Hundertmark "Gary the Bookaholic" (Southern California)
Dr. Timmons' book is a much needed reference guide to the Bible. And at times it's entertaining as well as clear and understandable to a generalist layperson, not just specialists in the field of hermeneutics. It is a fine "Cliff-Notes" type summary and also gives some historical background to the various sections of the Bible. It's even captivating for casual reading. I keep a copy at my bedside. In fact, I find it more useful than the Bible itself. His coverage of Revelations is a revelation of itself."
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From a Childhood Friend:
I finished your book early last week. ... Congratulations! I am impressed, and "learned" now that I have read it all... (Wish I'd had this back when I had enough memory left to remember all this stuff.) It is a wonderful reference book. It is easy reading!... conversational, even chatty and witty in places. I really love some of your asides, "Apparently there were no female angels in Heaven." There are even better ones scattered around throughout, but I just can't remember them right now. I love having all those contradictions placed side by side and sources explained seemingly without an author's having a transparent agenda. In short, I love it and will selectively recommend it to people. So many people I know now are becoming Bible literalists I find I can't really discuss with them much of the reading I do. They can't seem to even admit the present Bible is the result of a crazy-quilt of history, time laps, writers and odd characters. I think your book has come out at an opportune time.
(Name pending approval)
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There's more to come, but for now...
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Click here to browse through the book, or to order it.
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