Among books, the Bible is unique. Compiled over a time period spanning some 1600 years, it includes contributions from over forty different writers. Yet it has a unified message and a clear theme--redemption through sacrifice, and most especially redemption through the sacrifice of the Christ, the Messiah, the Promised One from God. This coherence across time and space is the product of a single, unseen author--the Holy Spirit. Using the personality and style of each of the different sacred penmen, the Spirit so guided their work as to produce documents that expressed the divine mind precisely. Thus the Scripture, in the original autographs, was entirely without error in everything to which it spoke whether pertaining to matters of faith or fact--right down to the very words. However, this amazing book--God's message to the human race--remains rather mysterious and even inaccessible to many Christians. I hope that these summaries will help interested students of the Bible acquire a clearer and more comprehensive understanding of the sixty-six canonical books of sacred Scripture, making their own Bible study more productive and meaningful. Ronald F. Satta is an independent scholar and researcher who teachesAmerican history for Liberty University Online. He earned his PhD in American history, with an emphasis in 19th century American intellectual and religious history, from the University of Rochester. Additionally, he holds advanced degrees in rhetoric andNew Testamentlanguage and literature. He has published three books and many articles.
