Boring Bible

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Boring Bible is a series of 12 books, as one of the numerous spin-offs of the Horrible Histories franchise. The books are authored and illustrated by Christian writer and cartoonist Andy Robb, [1] and intend to help children understand who God is (as revealed in the Bible) and how he has operated throughout history in both the Old and New Testament eras. Six of the books cover the entirety of the Bible and the remaining six books cover particular themes such as Christmas, Easter, God, the church, and how to read the Bible. The series consists of 12 books and is still in print as of June 2013. [1]

Horrible Histories is an educational entertainment franchise encompassing many media including books, magazines, audio books, stage shows, TV shows, and more.

Christian Church term used to refer to the whole worldwide group of people belonging to the Christian religious tradition

"Christian Church" is an ecclesiological term generally used by Protestants to refer to the whole group of people belonging to Christianity throughout the history of Christianity. In this understanding, "Christian Church" does not refer to a particular Christian denomination but to the body of all believers. Some Christian traditions, however, believe that the term "Christian Church" or "Church" applies only to a specific historic Christian body or institution. The Four Marks of the Church first expressed in the Nicene Creed are that the Church is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic.

Contents

The book covers of Boring Bible title Hyper Holy Happenings. Hyper holy happenings.jpg
The book covers of Boring Bible title Hyper Holy Happenings.
The book covers of six Boring Bible titles. Boring-bible.jpg
The book covers of six Boring Bible titles.

Production

Andy Robb notes that he had to find a formula that would appeal to children, "my kids had a number of books that they looked at, that had been really nicely designed and well produced, but they went through a few pages and then just put them down. I thought, why aren't they reading them?". He then found out about the Horrible Histories books and liked their design so much he decided to use them as a template for his own books. He explains, "With a publisher we decided to develop a range of books called the Boring Bible, which showed the Bible isn't boring, but had loads of facts, loads of fun and loads of cartoons; but actually in a way was using that style of bringing alive the Bible to the kids and they really took off. I enjoyed that; kids seemed to like that, so I found my niche". Robb explained that just like with Horrible Histories, he used multimedia to engage the reader, "It's a bit by default rather than design; but as I say lots of humour, lots of illustration and cartoons, but also lots of facts". He added that he wanted to retain the core focus of the books, despite the tangents, "I'm a truth man as well, so I didn't want to dilute any of the truth of the gospel in the process, which is easy to do". [1]

Original books

King class of male monarch

King, or king regnant is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, while the title of queen on its own usually refers to the consort of a king.

Moses person, mentioned in the Torah (Pentateuch) and in the Quran, who led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt to Canaan

Moses was a prophet according to the teachings of the Abrahamic religions. Unlike other religious figures such as Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad, whose historical existences are well documented; scholarly consensus sees Moses as a legendary figure and not a historical person.

Instant lesson material

There is also a teaching aid sub-series known as the Instant Lesson Material books. These books focus on specific passages and stories through the Bible and comment on them with cartoons and pictures to make them easier to understand.

The sub-series is as follows:

Abraham Biblical patriarch

Abraham, originally Abram, is the common patriarch of the three Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the Covenant, the special relationship between the Jewish people and God; in Christianity, he is the prototype of all believers, Jewish or Gentile; and in Islam he is seen as a link in the chain of prophets that begins with Adam and culminates in Muhammad.

Jacob Patriarch son of Isaac, God renamed him as Israel. Father of the Israelites

Jacob, later given the name Israel, is regarded as a Patriarch of the Israelites. According to the Book of Genesis, Jacob was the third Hebrew progenitor with whom God made a covenant. He is the son of Isaac and Rebecca, the grandson of Abraham, Sarah and Bethuel, the nephew of Ishmael, and the younger twin brother of Esau. Jacob had twelve sons and at least one daughter, by his two wives, Leah and Rachel, and by their handmaidens Bilhah and Zilpah.

Prophet person claiming to speak for divine beings

In religion, a prophet is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on that entity's behalf, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the supernatural source to other people. The message that the prophet conveys is called a prophecy.

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Resurrection of Jesus Event in the Christian faith, Gospel episode represented in the cycle of the Passion of Christ

The resurrection of Jesus or resurrection of Christ is a central doctrine in Christianity. According to the New Testament, after being crucified by the Roman authorities and buried by Joseph of Arimathea, Jesus was raised from the dead by God and appeared to witnesses before ascending into heaven to sit at the right hand of God.

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Fire and brimstone Fire and brimstone, Sulfur and fire, refers to divine retribution, Gods wrath in the Hebrew Bible. Also forms of preaching, judgment and eternal damnation

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References

  1. 1 2 3 http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/articles/life/Reaching_Children_With_Humour_And_Cartoons/50840/p1/ "Then I stumbled across the Horrible Histories. With a publisher we decided to develop a range of books called the Boring Bible, which showed the Bible isn't boring, but had loads of facts, loads of fun and loads of cartoons; but actually in a way was using that style of bringing alive the Bible to the kids and they really took off. I enjoyed that; kids seemed to like that, so I found my niche. It's a bit by default rather than design; but as I say lots of humour, lots of illustration and cartoons, but also lots of facts."
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