James S. Bell

Published in January 1999, The Complete Idiot's Guide® to The Bible was a sensation. Providing a readable overview to the entire Bible, reader reviews praise it for its wit, its ease of use as a reference tool and its ability to introduce new learners to the amazing stories of The Bible. Updates to this popular title will expand the coverage including new sections on the Sermon on the Mount, Daniel, women in The Bible, political and social events in Bible history and more. Also new will be expanded coverage of the resurrection, maps and timelines. This new information will give readers additional context to better interpret the stories and their meanings. A new appendix will feature Bible study themes, calendars and sample questions to help groups get even more out of this beginning-level book.

Many Protestants today--whether Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, or Episcopalian--have never understood how or why each has different traditions and beliefs. Historically, each denomination comes from the same beginnings--the Reformation. Authors Bell and Sumner take readers on a journey from Martin Luther's time through medieval Europe, Old England, colonial American to today, explaining not only big schisms (like the break with Rome) but smaller ones (like John Wesley's break from the Anglican church to form modern Methodism.) Covering everything from Henry VIII's agenda to the North American Great Awakening, The Complete Idiot's Guide® to the Reformation and Protestantism puts everything in perspective.