The RCP Bible: Reorganized Concise Paraphrased Bible | Vol. I-V

WHY THIS BOOK?The Bible has been around for nearly 2,000 years, and we have excellent translations that scholars have poured their lives into creating. While we don't have the original manuscripts, we can reconstruct them with astonishing accuracy. We can be highly confident about the Bible we have today. So why this book?This book is not a translation of the original Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic, and I do not claim inspiration.I have written this book by paraphrasing English translations (primarily the ESV, NIV, NASB, and NLT) of the original text and expanding when necessary so that the reader can better understand the story.Wherever there were multiple accounts of an event, I did my best to harmonize them. I looked at the different versions of an event and used logic to determine if they could go together. This is similar to what happens with multiple eyewitness accounts in a courtroom trial. For example, at Jesus' Resurrection, one gospel says there were two angels, and others say there was one. It is possible to have one angel without mentioning the other, so I wrote that two angels were at the tomb.I took out the genealogies and descriptions of worship implements we no longer use. I also did my best to condense longer narratives to make them easier to digest.I summarized the Law so that it makes more sense for us. I also did this with some of the prophetic books. I put events in chronological order and organized some of it thematically. I have also taken out portions that may not be relevant to the modern reader (mainly prophecies for which we don't have context or to nations that no longer exist) .Additionally, I added context within the text to help better explain the events. For example, when the prostitute let down her hair to wash Jesus' feet, this was a sign of intimacy and something women did not do in public. We don't understand this on a surface reading because we are two thousand years removed from these events. This is similar to a modern text describing one roommate leaving a sock on a doorknob to indicate that they have a guest for the evening. Writing that one roommate left a sock on the doorknob communicates far more than just words.I know some will look at this book and think that this is an attempt to leave out portions of Scripture that I find inconvenient or unnecessary. That could not be further from the truth. My goal with this project has always been to maintain God's Word but to frame it so that it is easier to digest for readers who are thousands of years removed from the original documents.I fully believe that all Scripture is God-breathed and useful for instruction. I would give my life for its authority and inspiration. I believe that Scripture is how God has revealed himself to humanity and is the sole source of salvation for us all. I affirm all of the historic creeds of the church.However, not all of the Bible is as useful for us, particularly for those who are new to the Bible or the Christian faith. I believe this reorganization and paraphrasing will make God's truth more accessible to all Christians.Much as there have been multiple translations of Scripture to make it easier for a contemporary audience to understand. All I want to do is help people better understand God's message of salvation. I believe this treatment of Scripture succeeds in this aim. The resulting text ends up being less than half the length of the translations we have today.This book is not for serious bible study. This is a tool to help introduce people to the biblical narrative and aid in our understanding. I know I've made decisions about how to word certain parts and the explanations I've included. Not everyone will love what I've done, but my goal has always been to stay as close to orthodoxy as possible. I'm sure that I've made mistakes; I apologize in advance.I pray that you find this book useful in your pursuit of understanding God and Scripture.