CBB Review – A.D. The Bible Continues: Catholic Viewers Guide

On the night of Easter Sunday NBC will be debuting the latest series from Mark Burnett and Roma Downey. A.D. The Bible Continues tells the story of the early Church and first christians. Sophia Institute Press has been named publisher for books related to the 12-part series. Today I will be reviewing their book A.D. The Bible Continues: The Catholic Viewer’s Guide by Veronica Burchard. For those preparing to watch the series this is a great guide and rest assured I am only going to discuss the layout of the book. There are no series spoilers in this review.

The book is setup with a viewing guide for each of the 12 episodes of the series. Each of these guides contains:

• A short list of key events covered in the episode
• A map and timeline
• A listing of key characters in the episode
• A background reading (more on this later)
• A list of terms to know
• A section called Biblical Touchstone that provides some suggested readings from Scripture
• Writings of the saints that connect to scripture
• A focus question
• Discussion questions
• Suggestions for evangelization
• A closing prayer

Also included for each episode is a Catholic takeaway. This is a key point or principle as it relates to the Catholic faith. Each of the episode guides is fantastic providing the reader with ample opportunity to draw deeper into the story that each episode portrays. The entire guide is perfect for personal study, group discussion or family study. The entire book is presently nicely in full color.

As promised I want to spend a little time on the background readings. Each episode guide is a roughly page and a half to two page “essay” written by Mike Aquilina. Mike has written numerous books on early church history and the early Church Fathers. His twelve articles included in this volume really complete the package and I could think of no better candidate to provide this material.

A.D. The Bible Continues: Catholic Viewer’s Guide is a great resource for the upcoming NBC television event. It allows the user to get more from each episode. It provides readers with a tool to use this series and come away with a deeper understanding of the early years of the Church. Share this guide with family, friends and fellow parishioners and grow deeper in faith and knowledge of the Catholic Church.

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