Quite a valuable resource that provides in depth review of biblical principles provoking deep thought. It puts biblical principles in perspective.

I felt this book held very little depth. It may be helpful to someone who is new to the Bible, but I did not get far in the book before the word trite came into my mind. Anyone who studied Bible archeology, anthropology or history might feel this book is overly simple. I love the idea of an travel-industry themed Bible study, but I was disappointed in the product.

The author created a clever way to explore the Bible using flight as an acronym (see above). For each book of the Bible, he does a thorough job of going through all of the points listed.

I found a few possible errors, depending on your stance toward modern Bible scholarship. For example, he contends that Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible.

This is a common view, however I have read that most modern Bible scholars do not believe the Pentateuch was written by Moses, or not all of it. (See How to read the Bible by Harvey Cox.)

I am not a Bible scholar, so I will leave that debate to the experts.

I am, however, someone well-acquainted with flight, as my husband and I travel frequently, both in commercial airlines and in our own small airplane. I would say that the title should be instead: The Bible from 5,000 Feet.

From 30,000 feet, you don't see much ground detail, whereas from 5,000 feet, you see much more. This book is dense with details. In fact, it weighs in at 642 pages. The Bible itself is only about 350 pages long.

So, will you learn much about the Bible while reading this book in conjunction?

Of course. The information goes well beyond the short summaries found frequently at the beginning of each book of the Bible.

I enjoyed seeing how Jesus figures into each book. I especially liked learning about the cultural setting. That is so important, if we hope to understand what the words might have meant to people in ancient times and how it sometimes dramatically changes what the words could or should mean to us.

Mark Ralf's review

The big sweep of the Bible story in an inspiring way.
A very useful resource. Reading the introduction will tell you straight away if you will like this book - style and structure. In a helpful and clear way the books shows the facts, history, features and importantly the way the gospel is reflected in the book. The Travel tips and In-flight sections are both informative and encouraging - showing great insights and key messages in the text. More complex passages and ideas are tackled carefully and thoughtfully. This is not a book to be read in one go but enjoyed across a year as well as being an invaluable asset whenever whenever you need an overview and inspiration for a book of the bible.

The Bible is the world's bestselling book. It has been read and revered through the centuries. Instead of multiple books of disconnected stories, there is a general narrative from Genesis to Revelation. Trained Bible scholars will be able to do many connections from the Old Testament to the New Testament. For the rest of us, we have to rely on teachers to guide us. Author Skip Heitzig is one such teacher. Sharing his wealth of knowledge about the Bible, this book is a bird's eye view of the whole thrust of Scripture. It is free from difficult terminology or technical details. Heitzig makes the learning interesting by using the metaphor of a plane. He begins with a flight plan where the facts are first laid out. He gives short notes on who the author(s) was, when it was written, landmarks of the expedition, and an itinerary or outline of the chapter. Along with this initial flight plan is an overview of the gospel's relevance to that particular book and some historical background.

The "in-flight" segment is the main part of the book where it becomes a mini-commentary. Heitzig describes the key characters; main events; significant stories; major themes; concise messages; and practical examples for modern readers. The chapters appear like mini-sermons that double up as an overview of the Bible book. The strengths of this book include:

Ease of understanding with a creative metaphor
Modern use of language
Big Picture Overview to help readers keep to the main message
Stirs up imagination about how we can design our own flight plans
Convenient reference book

Having said that, we need to go easy on any critiques because this book simply empowers readers on seeing a big picture of the Bible landscape. A lot of details are left out just like passengers on a plane could only see the terrains of the land instead of the trees; or the colour of the waters instead of the ships and fish. It is true that there are lots of summaries and reductionist language used here which may not do justice to the overall biblical theology. Thus, we need to see this book basically as a brief primer to the study of the Bible. It is not meant to be comprehensive. It is definitely not a verse-by-verse commentary. It takes the big ideas of the Bible and puts them into a convenient flight plan and path. Not all books have a chapter on their own. Some like the minor prophets (Joel, Amos, and Obadiah); (Micah, Nahum, and Habakkuk); (Zephaniah and Haggai); the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke); etc are combined.

The preview copy I have does not contain any introduction, so I am left to guess at the author's intent and purpose of the book. I believe that the main thing is to stir one's appetite for the Bible, in order to motivate readers to go deeper into the richness of Scripture. Heitzig does the introduction for us to meet God in the Bible. The rest is up to us.


Author Skip Heitzig is founder and senior pastor of Calvary Albuquerque in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He holds a B.A., M.A. and Doctor of Divinity, and a Ph.D. in Philosophy Biblical and Theological Studies from Trinity Southwest University. He has been awarded a doctor honoris causa from GFA Biblical Seminary. He currently serves on several Boards of Directors, including Samaritan's Purse.

Rating: 4 stars of 5.

conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of Harvest House Publishers and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.