Tim Challies and Josh Byers released a sequel to their book Visual Theology! It’s called A Visual Theology Guide to the Bible. Don’t be fooled by the similar titles, though. They are completely different resources… except that their digital versions are exclusively available through Olive Tree. ?
So, let’s see what all the fuss is about!
THE VISUAL THEOLOGY SERIES OVERVIEW
If you don’t know anything about the Visual Theology books, you should read this post first. We wrote about Challies’ and Byers’ first book, and it was incredibly exciting to offer it in the app.
How it all began…
One day, Byers saw Challies post an infographic online and it inspired him to create more graphics to represent theological systems. After a few conversations, the two realized they had the same vision: combining the power of words and visuals to communicate truth. The rest is history!
What’s in the first book?
Their first book is organized by a Christocentric view of theology. The sections are titled:
- Grow Close to Christ
- Understand the Work of Christ
- Become Like Christ
- Live for Christ
So, if you’re looking for a new way to learn systematic theology, this is a fun option.
Another One: A Visual Theology Guide to the Bible
Challies and Byers were thrilled with the outcome of the first book. It is a well-loved resource—not only teaching Christians about systematic theology, but equipping them to teach others.
So, they set their sights on creating a visual guide for the Bible. The primary headings for the guide are:
- Trusting the Bible
- Studying the Bible
- Seeing the Bible
These are very general, overarching themes — especially compared to the specific, Christocentric systematic theology of the first volume. Of course, the subheadings reveal that the content goes deeper and deeper in the guide. But still, the primary goal is to give you a general, and visual, guide to the Bible.
WHAT MAKES A VISUAL THEOLOGY GUIDE TO THE BIBLE USEFUL?
The saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” really rings true here. So much can be communicated with images. And so much more can be retained when we use images, too.
When you use graphics to learn, it is much easier to recall information. You can’t easily copy down verbatim the two paragraphs you read. But you can sketch out a picture of what you just saw rather easily. A Visual Theology Guide to the Bible uses this medium in the best way — to help you learn and retain information about God’s Word.
Also, you’ll be able to think about concepts in new ways. Sometimes, seeing something visually laid out gives our minds the opportunity to run with a thought or understand more fully. And since these infographics are top-notch, you’re sure to learn a lot.
Here are some examples.
In the Olive Tree Bible App, you’ll get even more use out of these!
If you’re looking for a digital version of the Visual Theology books, Olive Tree is the only place you can get them. We’ve worked very hard to make sure the images in this resource are good quality and accomplish what they set out to do.
One benefit of having these infographics in the app is that you can zoom in. The only way to zoom in with a print version is to buy a magnifying glass. Not terrible, but we definitely think digital is the way to go for reading the small print on some of these!
You can also quickly read verse references in the text. There are some spots where 100 or more verses are referenced in a chart. And there are verse references tucked into graphics We have made the Bible text accessible in all of theses places! So, instead of getting out your print Bible and thumbing through to find the verse, all you need to do is tap.
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