A gateway to the Bible
Saxum International Foundation publishes Bible Portico, a book that helps to better understand the Sacred Scripture, with timelines, maps and graphics for each of the books.
For centuries, pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela have seen their faith depicted in the sculptures and reliefs of the Portico de la Gloria. In this way, they prepared themselves for the encounter with God that they would experience inside the cathedral, especially when they participated in the Holy Eucharist. Today, the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona offers the same experience with its two façades already built, those of the Nativity and the Passion. Bible Portico is intended to serve a similar purpose. Its authors, Jesús Gil and Joseángel Domínguez, have tried to display various aspects of the Bible. The history from Abraham to the present day is captured in timelines, maps and graphics of each biblical writing, with the desire to help believers prepare for an encounter with the word of God.
An invitation to read the Bible
Bible Portico offers three types of visual resources that help to better understand the sacred texts:
- Timelines of the History of Salvation from Abraham to the present, with historical context information from other civilizations close to Israel or from world history. The selection comes mostly from museum material available at the Saxum Visitor Center.
- Maps of the most significant events of the people of Israel up to the first expansion of the Church. The 16 maps come from the Oxford Bible Atlas.
- Graphics which explain each of the books that make up the Old and New Testament according to the Catholic canon. They are synthetic and informative graphics, but without compromising the necessary scientific accuracy. You can find for each book the literary genre, the story narrated and its historical context, the time and process of composition of the book, the authorship, the main teachings, key concepts, relevant aspects of the structure and central passages. These synthetic graphics are accompanied by illustrations from National Geographic Magazine and data on the oldest surviving manuscripts for each book, also compiled by the American magazine.
The authors of Bible Portico have seeked the advice and guidance of several professors of Biblical Theology and History from the University of San Dámaso in Madrid (Napoleón Ferrández and Agustín Giménez), the Theology School of San Vicente Ferrer in Valencia (Joaquín Mestre), the University of Navarra (Francisco Varo, Vicente Balaguer and Fernando Milán) and the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome (Carlo Pioppi).
The authors hope that Bible Portico will encourage further reading of the Bible and other Bible-related titles. It will thus become a complementary work to the many editions of the Bible available, to the manuals of introduction to Sacred Scripture, to the monographs of biblical studies, to the books for teaching religion or catechesis and, in general, to any didactic material related to the Word of God.
In addition, Bible Portico is in itself a very useful teaching resource, because the book in PDF format, double-page spread, it is available for free download on the Saxum website saxum.org/bible-portico/ Anyone is be able to use the maps or chronologies in presentations, lectures or classes related to the Bible, history and geography of the Holy Land. Saxum International Foundation is also working to make all of this material available in interactive formats.
Features
Páginas: 136 páginas
Formato: 178 x 254 mm
Encuadernación: Cartoné
The authors
Jesús Gil (Logroño, 1976)
He is a priest of the Opus Dei Prelature and holds a doctorate in Spiritual Theology from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (Rome, 2014). He previously studied Advertising and Public Relations at the University of Navarra, and worked as a visual journalist at Diario de Burgos and as art director at La Voz de Galicia, where he was awarded international prizes in design and infographics. He is co-author of In the Footprints of Our Faith, also published by Saxum International Foundation.
Joseángel Domínguez (Sevilla, 1984)
He holds a PhD in Biblical Theology from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (Rome, 2019). Previously he studied Business Administration at the University of Seville and, as executive director of Polis Institute (Jerusalem), he collaborated in the creation of the Saxum Visitor Center. He is currently co-founder and executive director of Cretio Foundation, and Board member and training director of Shelton Academy (Miami).
Scepter Publishers release Bible Portico!
More information here in English.
The book is also available worldwide on print-on-demand services and free to download.
More languages here