What was your first impression?

I really like the art on the front cover. There are a number of books in Tom Wright's
"…for everyone" series, covering much of the New Testament, all of which follow a similar format. It's set out like Bible study notes I've come across before, so the format
was familiar. The book has more than 50 daily sections, so lasts me about 2 months. Other books in the series do vary in length.

What's it about

It's a Bible study on 1 Corinthians that takes just a small chunk of verses
at a time. Tom uses his own translation which sheds light on certain passages
and makes for easy reading as it's in a modern style. After the Bible
verses there's a little anecdote from modern life so you can get a feel for
what the passage is on about and what it might have to say for our time and
culture. Then Tom draws the two together and asks questions about how
the passage challenges us today.

What did you like about it?

Tom's translation is very easy to read and relatively jargon free. In
addition, jargon words are in bold type and there's a glossary at the back.
The anecdotes help in understanding how the passage might be relevant
today, or they might help explain something that's different between our culture
and St Paul's. The passages and the notes on it are in short chunks so
it only takes 5-10 minutes to read and so it's easy to fit bible study into
a busy life – ideal for mothers I'd say!

What didn't you like?

We all know the Bible isn't always clear and Tom does point out where Christians
disagree on some issues, but he comes across as dismissive of those with whom
he disagrees. I know that unlike some of his others, these books aren't
so academic so he can't go into the necessary detail, but he needs to watch
his tone sometimes!

What will you still remember a year from now?

That man is the "source" of woman just as God is the "source"
of man – apparently the word "source" better reflects the meaning
of the original Greek than the word "head". Maybe women would
have been less downtrodden through the ages if Greek scholars had recognised
this sooner!

Who would you recommend this book to?

Anyone wanting to study the Bible regularly who is pushed for time.

Can you give us a couple of good quotes from the book?

"But what does Paul mean by 'head'? He uses it here sometimes
in a metaphorical sense…and sometimes in a literal sense…but a good case can
be made out for saying that in verse 3 he is referring not to 'headship' in
the sense of sovereignty, but to 'headship' in the sense of 'source' like the
'source' or 'head' of a river. In fact, in some of the key passages where
he explains what he's saying (verses 8, 9 and 12a) he is referring explicitly
to the creation story in Genesis 2, where woman was made from the side of man."

"I once knew a student who never bothered to buy a screwdriver. He
had a couple of knives that he used instead, one larger and one smaller; and
most of the things he needed to screw or unscrew he could do quite well with
the point of one of the knives. The problem was, of course, that it didn't
do the knives any good. The ends got bent, and they were harder to use
for their proper purpose. Then one day, trying to unscrew a particularly
stubborn screw, the knife-blade snapped in three pieces, and cut his hand quite
badly. That's what can happen when you use something for the wrong purpose.
This whole passage is about learning to use the human body in the right
way, for the right purpose."

review by Anne-Marie