A Quick Introduction to Christianity

[EvanEssence]

What book or books of the Bible would you recommend for a stranger to read to give them a quick introduction to Christianity?

You might meet such a person in an elevator, or at the mall, or walking in the park, or crossing the street, or in a parking lot, or even on the Internet, etc. You mention your Christian faith, or the person sees your Christian lapel pin, or reads the Bible quote on your T-shirt or on your bumper sticker, etc.

The person has never read the Bible, and wants to know what parts of it to read for a relatively quick introduction ... let's say no more than a few books. This would be the book or books of the Bible — without footnotes etc — and you should assume the person will read alone at home, without any help from Christians, the Internet, etc. If you only have a favorite Bible verse, then please mention it.

I had heard of a recommendation many years ago, which I have been telling people, but I have heard different ones over the years, and I wonder if I should change.

Thanks.

 

[Albion]

This was asked before, and - lo and behold! - different posters recommended, one after another, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John--all for different reasons. My preference would be for Mark because it's the least complicated and you're dealing with a person just now being introduced to the faith, presumably without any background in it.

 

[Goodbook]

I second the gospels. Jesus first.
Also, genesis for ppl curious to know how it all began.

 

[DiscipleHeLovesToo]

Romans; this explains what Jesus accomplished at the end of the 4 gospel accounts, and why He had to

 

[Winken]

Mark, then John, then Acts 9 thru Romans.

Pay attention to the audience in each case.

 

[SnowyMacie]

Genesis, Luke, Romans, the end of Revelation.

 

[Mister_Al]

The book of ACTS and then the book of ROMANS.

Alan

 

[BFine]

Gospel of John
Gospel of Mark
First, Second and Third books of John
Genesis
Ephesians
Galatians
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel of Matthew
I Corinthians
II Corinthians
Romans
Psalms
Proverbs

 

[Psalm3704]

Lots of good books to read in the new testament but just make sure you know John chapters 14-16 like the back of your hand.

 

[Emmy]

Dear EvanEssence. In Matthew 22: 35-40: Jesus tells us: " The first and great Commandment is: Love God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. The second is like it: love thy neighbour as thyself." In verse 40:
we read: " on these two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." God is Love, and God wants loving sons and daughters. In Matthew7: 7-10: we read: " ask and you shall receive," we ask God for Love and Joy, then thank God and share all Love and Joy with our neighbour. ( neighbour is all we know and all we meet, friends and not friends) God will see our loving efforts, and God will approve and bless us.
The Bible tells us to "Repent and be Born Again," change from being selfish and unloving to be loving and caring.
The Holy Spirit will help and guide us, and Jesus our Saviour will lead us all the way: JESUS IS THE WAY.
Ask and receive, then thank God and share all love and joy with our neighbour, it is what God wants from us.
I say this with love, EvanEssence. Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ.

 

[EvanEssence]

Thank you everyone who has responded so far. I didn't mention my experiences because I wanted fresh, unbiased ideas.

About 30 years ago, my pastor recommended Genesis and Matthew. The Bible is presented in rough chronological order (imagine Revelation as the first book!). My thoughts of his recommendation was as follows — Genesis is the first book of the OT and of the Bible, and it acts like the introduction to the rest of the Bible and provides a foundation for all the other books. Matthew is the first book of the NT and of the gospels, it contains the most references in the gospels to the OT, and it begins with a genealogy of Jesus that connects him to OT prophecy, and it's a sizeable gospel.

What I have heard recommended over the last 10 to 20 years is the Gospel of John (and not much else). Maybe this is a local thing here in New England. I hear other Christians agree that it's a great book (and it is).

However, I wonder about the Gospel of John as an appropriate book to introduce a non-believer to the Bible and Christianity. It begins with 300+ words of figurative language, and the reader can do at least three things:#1 – take it literally (and incorrectly), #2 – try to interpret it, which is not the way (or habit) I would want a non-believer to start reading the Bible, or #3 – skip it, which is also not something I would encourage.

After those 300+ words, the Gospel of John can be read literally, but it mentions people and things unknown to a non-believer. After all, to jump to the Gospel of John means passing over the first 85% of the Bible, which is basically in chronological order. It's somewhat similar to going to see a movie but walking into the theatre with only 15 minutes left, and watching it for two minutes ... you'll probably see the exciting climax to the movie, but with a confusing cast of characters, and motives and so on. Even the mention of the name "John", which we know to be John the Baptist could easily be mistaken for the gospel's author ... not a huge error, but confusing nonetheless.

People in Gospel of John are mentioned matter-of-factly as in the Pharisees questioning John if his is Elijah, or Isaiah or the Prophet. It's like reading a book about the Seafarers asking a guy named Joe if he is Mike or Fred or whoever. A reader might think, of course he's not Mike or Fred or whoever because he's Joe, and the reader might also wonder who those Seafarers are, as well as the "Lamb of God".

Thank to all of you again. I will consider everyone's recommendations, and I hope this thread has you thinking about your "15-second elevator speech" on Christianity. (A "15-second elevator speech" is what people seeking employment are recommended to develop for brief, unexpected encounters with potential employers.)

 

[Goodbook]

I would consider of the 4 gospels, Luke, because most people are familiar with Jesus of the christmas stories and only Luke has the most details on how he was born and his childhood.
Even though Matthew is first, some ppl get put off by the geneology.

Mark is short and to the point but Luke is more for Gentiles and it talks more about Jesus healing people. Also Luke wrote the book of .acts which is also a key book in the bible for new christians.

Christians love John because John really loved Jesus and it shows in his gospel and letters. He was the one who was closest..and also was the author of revelation.

 

[Goodbook]

The Jesus movie was based on the gospel according to Luke.

 

[seashale76]

Regarding books of the bible that I think everyone should read if they are not going to read anything else: The Book of John, the Acts of the Apostles, and Romans. However, I do recommend reading the entire New Testament and then going on to read the Old Testament (I'm a fan of reading all of the scriptures at least once). Daily lectionaries are good for this.

Various one-year bible reading plans:
http://www.bombaxo.com/nrsvplan.html
If you want to use a daily lectionary that goes along with the Church calendar (Orthodox), then here's one:
http://oca.org/readings/monthly/2015