![]() The current edition of The Bible Story set | |
Author | Arthur S. Maxwell |
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Illustrator | Russell Harlan, William Heaslip, William Hutchinson, Manning de V. Lee, Lester Quade, Paul Remmy, Herbert Rudeen |
Published | 1953 |
Publisher | Review and Herald Publishing Association |
Part of a series on |
Seventh-day Adventist Church |
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Adventism |
The Bible Story is a ten-volume series of hardcover children's story books written by Arthur S. Maxwell [1] based on the King James and Revised Standard versions of the Christian Bible. The books, published from 1953 to 1957, retell most of the narratives of the Bible in 411 stories. [2] Maxwell started making arrangements for The Bible Story over a decade prior to 1959. He said that he spent seven years writing the stories, and considered it his most important work. [3]
The books have been marketed in the United States for many years by placing the first volume, which covers the first part of the Book of Genesis, in doctor's offices with postage prepaid postcards included for readers to order the set or ask for more information. [4] Originally written in English, the books have been translated into French and Spanish (as Las Bellas Historias de la Biblia). The original English editions were based on the King James and Revised Standard versions of the Bible; more recent editions have been based on the New International Version of the Bible. [5] Signs Publishing Company published volumes from the series, which The Age in 1960 called "a monumental achievement" and noted that "[t]he covers are most attractive". [6] In a 1959 review, the Napa Valley Register said it was "beautifully illustrated with reproductions of an art collection valued at more than $500,000". [3] 14 artists who were from nine countries contributed illustrations to the book. [3] Illustrators included Harry Anderson, Harry Baerg, Vernon Nye, and Russell Harlan. [7]
The Bible Story is jointly published by the Review and Herald Publishing Association and the Pacific Press Publishing Association, both closely associated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Maxwell presented the 10 Volume Bible Story set to both Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy. [8]
The film director Cecil B. DeMille praised the books, writing to Maxwell, "If you have done nothing else with your life but make the Bible simple for children, you have not lived in vain." [3] Queen Elizabeth II and Ivy Baker Priest, the Treasurer of the United States, wrote "fan letters" to Maxwell about the books. [3] The Queen added The Bible Story to the royal library so that Princess Anne and Prince Charles could read it. [3] Priest read the books to her children. [3] The Bible Story has sold over 1.5 million copies. [7] The volume of sales was helped by a subscription model. [7]
Ellen Gould White was an American author and co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Along with other Adventist leaders such as Joseph Bates and her husband James White, she was instrumental within a small group of early Adventists who formed what became known as the Seventh-day Adventist Church. White is considered a leading figure in American vegetarian history. Smithsonian named her among the "100 Most Significant Americans of All Time".
Walter Ralston Martin was an American Baptist Christian minister and author who founded the Christian Research Institute in 1960 as a parachurch ministry specializing as a clearing-house of information in both general Christian apologetics and in countercult apologetics. As the author of the influential The Kingdom of the Cults (1965), he has been dubbed by the conservative Christian columnist Michael J. McManusthe "godfather of the anti-cult movement".
The Seventh-day Adventist Church had its roots in the Millerite movement of the 1830s to the 1840s, during the period of the Second Great Awakening, and was officially founded in 1863. Prominent figures in the early church included Hiram Edson, Ellen G. White, her husband James Springer White, Joseph Bates, and J. N. Andrews. Over the ensuing decades the church expanded from its original base in New England to become an international organization. Significant developments such the reviews initiated by evangelicals Donald Barnhouse and Walter Martin, in the 20th century led to its recognition as a Christian denomination.
Arthur Stanley Maxwell (January 14, 1896 – November 13, 1970), otherwise known as Uncle Arthur, was an author, editor, and administrator of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
The investigative judgment, or pre-Advent Judgment, is a unique Seventh-day Adventist doctrine, which asserts that the divine judgment of professed Christians has been in progress since 1844. It is intimately related to the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and was described by one of the church's pioneers Ellen G. White as one of the pillars of Adventist belief. It is a major component of the broader Adventist understanding of the "heavenly sanctuary", and the two are sometimes spoken of interchangeably.
Cherie Priest is an American novelist and blogger living in Seattle, Washington.
The Great Controversy is a book by Ellen G. White, one of the founders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and held in esteem as a prophetess or messenger of God among Seventh-day Adventist members. In it, White describes the "Great Controversy theme" between Jesus Christ and Satan, as played out over the millennia from its start in heaven, to its final end when the remnant who are faithful to God will be taken to heaven at the Second Advent of Christ, and the world is destroyed and recreated. Regarding the reason for writing the book, the author reported, "In this vision at Lovett's Grove, most of the matter of the Great Controversy which I had seen ten years before, was repeated, and I was shown that I must write it out."
Most Seventh-day Adventists believe church co-founder Ellen G. White (1827–1915) was inspired by God as a prophet, today understood as a manifestation of the New Testament "gift of prophecy," as described in the official beliefs of the church. Her works are officially considered to hold a secondary role to the Bible, but in practice there is wide variation among Adventists as to exactly how much authority should be attributed to her writings. With understanding she claimed was received in visions, White made administrative decisions and gave personal messages of encouragement or rebuke to church members. Seventh-day Adventists believe that only the Bible is sufficient for forming doctrines and beliefs, a position Ellen White supported by statements inclusive of, "the Bible, and the Bible alone, is our rule of faith".
Historic Adventism is an informal designation for conservative individuals and organizations affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church who seek to preserve certain traditional beliefs and practices of the church. They feel that the church leadership has shifted or departed from key doctrinal "pillars" ever since the middle of the 20th century. Specifically, they point to the publication in 1957 of a book entitled Seventh-day Adventists Answer Questions on Doctrine; which they feel undermines historic Adventist theology in favor of theology more compatible with evangelicalism. Historic Adventism has been erroneously applied by some to any Adventists that adhere to the teachings of the church as reflected in the church's fundamental beliefs such as the Sabbath or the Spirit of Prophecy. They misapply those who hold to mainstream traditional Adventist beliefs as synonymous with Historic Adventist.
The Review and Herald Publishing Association was the oldest of two Seventh-day Adventist publishing houses in North America. The organization published books, magazines, study guides, CDs, videos and games for Adventist churches, schools and individual subscribers. It also printed and distributed the Adventist Review magazine. In 2014 the Review and Herald Publishing Association was absorbed by its sister publisher, Pacific Press Publishing Association but maintains its board and administrators. The Maryland publishing house closed and some of its personnel and assets relocated to PPPA, in Nampa, Idaho.
Francis David Nichol was a Seventh-day Adventist editor, of the church's main newsmagazine, and supervising editor of the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, author, and also chairman of the Ellen G. White Estate board of trustees, and considered the leading twentieth-century apologist for the prophetic ministry of Ellen G. White. In 1965, Walter Martin described him as "the most able Adventist apologist."
Samuele R. Bacchiocchi was a Seventh-day Adventist author and theologian, best known for his work on the Sabbath in Christianity, particularly in the historical work From Sabbath to Sunday, based on his doctoral thesis from the Pontifical Gregorian University. Bacchiocchi defended the validity of the Feasts of the Lord, situated in Leviticus 23, he wrote two books on the subject. He was also known within the Seventh-day Adventist church for his opposition to rock and contemporary Christian music, jewelry, the celebration of Christmas and Easter, certain dress standards and alcohol.
The Seventh-day Adventist Commentary Reference Series is a set of volumes produced primarily by Seventh-day Adventist scholars, and designed for both scholarly and popular level use. It includes the seven-volume Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, the two-volume Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia, as well as the single volumes Seventh-day Adventist Bible Dictionary, Seventh-day Adventist Bible Students' Source Book and Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology. The series is published by the church-owned Review and Herald Publishing Association.
The Desire of Ages (DA) is a book about the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, written by the Seventh-day Adventist pioneer Ellen G. White. It was first published in 1898.
Edward E. Heppenstall was a leading Bible scholar and theologian of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. A 1985 questionnaire of North American Adventist lecturers revealed Heppenstall was the Adventist writer who had most influenced them.
Arthur Graham Crowder Maxwell, often abbreviated as A. Graham Maxwell, was a Seventh-day Adventist theologian, and the emeritus professor of New Testament studies at Loma Linda University. In a 1985 survey of 55 religion teachers at North American Adventist colleges, Maxwell tied for fourth place among most influential Adventist authors.
Seventh-day Adventists believe that Ellen G. White, one of the church's co-founders, was a prophetess, understood today as an expression of the New Testament spiritual gift of prophecy.
Children's Bibles, or Bibles for children, are often collections of Bible stories rather than actual translations of the Bible aimed at children.
Walter Julius Veith is a South African zoologist and a Seventh-day Adventist author and speaker known for his work in nutrition, creationism and Biblical exegesis.
Arthur Asa Grandville Carscallen (1879–1964), was a Seventh-day Adventist pastor, missionary, administrator, linguist, and publisher.