I am pleased to
announce that the first Bible Junkies Online Commentary has been published!
This book arose from this blog and the weekly entries on the Gospel of Mark and
so I see it as a special work. Its genesis began not necessarily with the
writing, however, but with some readers who began to ask whether the finished
product would be available in book form at some time. It seemed like a good
idea and initially I thought that an e-book would be the best (and most
inexpensive) format. When I saw the watercolor that Gabriella Galvez produced
for the cover, though, I knew that a paperback was necessary. The book is worth
it for the cover art alone!
For the first month, the
book will be available in paperback for only $15.00 (CA) and then it will
be available in all e-book formats for $5.00 (CA). The cost is being kept down
so that readers can afford it and students could utilize it for class at a reasonable
price. If for some reason you are not able to afford the book, please know that
the blog posts are available for free on this website. Just
click here and you can get access to all of the posts. The book, apart from
the art, does have some added features, including a Foreword about the Bible
Junkies project, an annotated Bibliography and additional footnotes and Appendices.
I also want you to know that this is the first in what we
hope will be commentaries on every New Testament book. We have paired with Red Maple Press because it shares our vision of making biblical studies affordable
and is willing to stay in for the long haul in publishing the whole series,
which might take (more than) a few years!
I want to encourage you to buy the book if you can afford to
do so and to let people know about the book. The book is suitable for college
or high school study, but also for Bible studies and personal reflection. Fr.
Jim Martin, S.J. was kind enough to read the manuscript for me before
publication and had this to say,
"John Martens reminds us that the Gospel of Mark is a
dramatic book—with an energetic Jesus moving rapidly from one exciting moment
to the next. Martens’ book is a terrific invitation to encounter Jesus of
Nazareth in all his immediacy and excitement. Bringing together deep learning
with his trademark flair for clean, clear, direct prose, Martens offers us one
of the most creative and innovative books on the Gospel that I’ve read in
years."
I thank him for his kind words and hope that you, too, will find the
book an exciting and dramatic read. That is the nature of the Gospel of Mark and, I believe, the nature of the Gospel message.
One more thing, there are two draws for a free book going on
right now. Either follow Bible
Junkies on Twitter (see below) and retweet my announcement of the book’s
publication (it is the tweet that tells you to retweet to enter the draw) or
follow Bible Junkies on Facebook
and share the post on the Bible Junkies post announcing the draw! Either way,
if you share the Facebook post or retweet the tweet, you will be entered in the
draw. We will announce the winners on April 2, 2014.
To buy the book now,
just follow this link! Thanks for all of your support in this project.
John W. Martens
I invite you to follow
me on Twitter @Biblejunkies
I encourage you to
“Like” Biblejunkies on Facebook.
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