6A What is the Bible?
M
y first book: Where the Wild Things Are. I wanted to be little Max, racing through the forest, and sailing across the magical sea. My first trip to the cinema: Disney’s Fantasia when I was four. I was terrified by the Sorcerer’s Apprentice scene, when the enchanted broomsticks pick up their buckets and flood the castle. My first concert: Queen, 1982, the Hot Space Tour at the Milton Keynes Bowl. That’s a good one to have ticked off the bucket list… Books, films, music. These are some of the things that form you over the years. It’s more than just entertainment. It’s the culture in which you live. You learn a whole way of seeing the world. It shapes your heart and mind. The book that has probably had the biggest influence on the history of the world is almost certainly the Christian Bible. It has touched individuals and societies in so many different ways. It has been a source of fascination even for those without faith. But what exactly is the Bible? Well, it looks like a book. You can pick it up, you can hold it in your hands. It’s got a title page and a table of contents, a big section at the front, usually called the Old Testament; and a shorter section at the back, usually called the New Testament. 82
