Book Review: The Good Book

This book review is being given in exchange for a copy of the book and a small monetary stipend. All opinions are my own.

The Good Book by Paul S. Williamson is an interesting interpretive reading of the Gospel accounts and the Acts of the Apostles. Paul Williamson graduated from the University of Kansas with a BA and an MD. He also holds an MA, and a PhD in Biblical Studies and Languages from the Catholic University of America. After translating the entire New Testament from Greek after graduate school and with his blend of degrees in chemistry, medicine, language and the Bible, Paul felt uniquely qualified to write a Biblical account in easy to read, modern day language specifically geared toward those who find reading the scriptures a daunting and confusing task.

Rather than following the traditional forms of the Bible we currently have, or a chronological form, Williamson arranges his book starting with a in depth introduction on reading the New Testament, followed by Conversations with Jesus, covering many of the important interactions between Jesus and people like the religious elite - Pharisees and Sadducees, the rich young ruler, the woman at the well, Nicodemus, his own disciples and more. He writes out the passages where these conversations are found and includes references to all the Gospel accounts. I like this detail, as it then allows me to look up the various verses in the translation of the Bible I desire for my own study.

Williamson follows this chapter on Jesus’ conversations with a chapter on Jesus background, going into the details surrounding God’s choosing of Mary as Jesus mother, how Joseph was convinced in a dream to take Mary as his wife, where he was born, shepherds, the wise men and other points including Jesus’ early foray’s into the Temple.

The chapters that follow look specifically at Jesus miracles, the Sermon on the Mount, teaching through the Parables, the disciples, why and how Jesus died, his resurrection, and then closes the book with a look at the early church through the Acts of the Apostles.

Paul Williamson does an excellent job of adding his interpretations of the passages he presents in a way that reinforces his learning and knowledge, but enables the reader to understand and learn from them. He is not overly wordy, but also gives enough information to make important points and observations from the scripture.

I think I would have liked this book better if Paul had arranged it more in keeping with the actual Bible itself. I think he should have talked about Jesus background first, followed by the disciples, the sermon on the mount, conversations, miracles and so on. I think this arrangement would make more sense to the trained and the untrained reader and creates a flow that allows the reader to move along easily as they read.

That being said, I would still recommend this book as a resource, especially for someone who is looking at studying the Bible, or leading others in Bible study. It would serve as a reference that would allow looking things up with ease. For example if you are teaching on the Sermon on the Mount, you could go to that chapter in Paul’s book. If you wanted to discuss a particular interaction or miracle, you could reference those chapters quickly.

I think The Good Book would be beneficial book to have in a church library, as a Christian leader’s personal resource, or for someone who is interested in a different way to study God’s word.