Tyler Ellis has just published a new book called, “Question Everything.” The book has a single purpose, to offer up a single question for every verse in the New Testament. There are nearly 8000 verses in the New Testament so that results in a book that is nearly 900 pages long. There have been other similar books to this in the past. One that comes to mind is Navpress’ New Testament Lesson Maker that offers questions about every section of the New Testament, heading by heading. But I haven’t ever seen a book that tackles every single verse. At the end of each chapter, Tyler has a section for further reflection where you can write your thoughts on the impact that chapter of scripture had on you as you reflected on it (another big plus not offered in books like Navpress’).
Here is what I like about this book. It has you reading the Bible and paying attention while you do it. You can’t just skim through the Bible while following this book. You have to pay attention. That is always a good thing. This book can be used to study a single book, study a single chapter or read through the New Testament. If you are looking for a new approach in doing that, here is a chance to try something different. The other thing I like about this approach is that it is just about the details of what is actually in the Bible without getting caught up in assumptions, speculation or pet issues. It just helps you see what is there and that is it.
Having said that, that means the questions don’t really get into any interpretation (which is not automatically a bad thing). They are almost exclusively what or how questions that are looking for answers that are supplied in the text. One problem that will come up is that this book doesn’t ask the questions the reader will be left with by the text. What I mean by that is, when we read our questions usually have to do with interpretation over comprehending the specific details. So when you read passages like Hebrews 6:4-6 the reader will be left with a question of whether or not it is really impossible to repent of sins based on what is said there. The book doesn’t ask the question that the text is screaming and, therefore, doesn’t offer any answers at all. Take that for what it is worth. That also means there aren’t any application questions (at least, none that I saw) in the list of questions. There is room to write down application at the end of each chapter, so this book does provide opportunity to identify areas of application.
Thanks to Tyler for working through the whole New Testament and helping us all get our magnifying glasses out while we read the New Testament.
Here is the book trailer
