Truly engaging introduction that will stimulate classroom discussion

The Bible’s influence on Western culture is singularly profound: from Genesis through Revelation, its stories are commonly referenced in the arts, commerce, and beyond. Know the stories and you understand the sly allusion in a commercial, the imagery in a painting, the metaphor in a movie. For those of us living in the Western world, one simply cannot be culturally literate without knowing the Bible in some capacity.

But the Bible itself? A product of a world very different from our own, it can be hard to read and difficult to understand. If you have ever been asked (or asked yourself), “Why does that character have multiple wives?” or “Who was this stuff written for?” The Back Door Introduction to the Bible is for you. Authors Kaltner and McKenzie recognize that it is in the explanation of the customs, social mores, and expressions of the time—the answering of the “what’s the deal with that?” question—that the reader can find another level of understanding, one where the real intent or significance of a story can be more clearly revealed. A different kind of textbook, The Back Door Introduction to the Bible will open up the opportunity for a more engaged, lively, and spirited classroom dialogue.