“I am the LORD your God…You shall not have other gods before me,” states the second commandment given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai (Ex 20:2-3). Jeff Cavins, creator of the Bible Timeline Chart, believes we live surrounded by too many gods. Cavins is also convinced Catholic Christians have forgotten their own story narrative as a people of God.
On Saturday, September 28, Cavins presented to over 650 attendees at Christ Cathedral on reintroducing the story of the Bible. Hosted by Ascension Press, the Great Adventure Bible Timeline seminar was a full day featuring intensive sessions led by Cavins on the big picture of salvation history. Armed with the color-coded Great Adventure Bible, Cavins’ signature approach to understanding the Bible, attendees followed Cavins from Genesis to the life of Christ.
“We must be taught to read the Bible,” Cavins said, a former EWTN host and best-selling author of “The Timeline Bible Chart.” “Parents have an obligation to teach children how to read the Bible.” While Cavins acknowledged the good intentions of those who desire to read the Bible straight through, he pointed out that all too often understanding the overall picture of the Bible’s storyline gets lost along the way.
“What a gift to the Diocese of Orange to have Jeff Cavins present to us, in person, on what is truly a masterpiece teaching of our times, the Great Adventure Bible timeline,” noted Patrick Reidy, vice president of Mission and Faith at JSerra Catholic High School. “Two years ago we began to incorporate Jeff’s narrative in our sophomore theology classes and the results are irrefutable,” Reidy added.
The key to understanding the Bible Timeline Chart is by first breaking the Bible into twelve periods, each color-coded with a specific color matching the period’s theme. For instance, the “Egypt and Exodus” period is color coded red, for the Red Sea. The “Early World” Period (Gen 1-11) is turquoise, the color of the earth viewed from space. The “Messianic Fulfillment” period, the life of Christ, is color-coded gold, for the gifts of the Magi.
Within each period, the chart is further divided by 14 “narrative” books, which each tell the story of salvation; 59 “supplemental” books placed into their historical context; the growth of God’s Family Plan traced through a series of covenants; the Genealogy of Jesus, from Adam though the biblical narrative; 70 key events as an outline to the biblical story; and supplemental events in world history that further put biblical events into historical context.
“Jeff Cavins created the Bible Timeline to teach everyone how to read the Bible effectively, understand salvation history, and ultimately become true disciples of Christ,” Hank Evers, director of marketing for the Diocese of Orange, said. “After experiencing this program, my initial thought was, ‘This is a game-changer. I wish this program was available when I was in school; or for that matter, when my children were in school.’ That said, it’s never too late to enhance faith formation.” Evers is planning a Bible Study he and his wife will be hosting at their home, anchored by the Bible Timeline.
Attendees of the Great Adventure Bible Timeline seminar were reintroduced to the power of storytelling that lies at the heart of the Bible. When one looks at Scripture as a dramatic story of sin and redemption, as opposed to the frequent habit of approaching random parts of the Bible in a vacuum, the epic and yet intimate scope of the Bible’s consistent theme of God coming to mankind and mankind returning to God is powerfully interwoven.
Full story at OC Catholic.
The Great Adventure Bible study is a rip off. Any catechist worth his salt could teach the Bible competently without Cavins’ overpriced materials. Ascension Press makes money because the Church has largely hired incompetent DREs, just as OCP makes money because the Church has largely hired incompetent musicians and liturgy directors. Both companies offer an easy button that ignorant catechists and DREs are all to happy to use. Just plop in the DVD and press play. No need to teach or research or know your stuff.
I’ve witnessed young people and not-so-young people blessed and truly enlightening via the Great Adventure Bible Timeline. As a former youth minister and high school teacher, as well as adult educator, I highly recommend it. It’s great to see fine programs like this spreading. And, it’s great to see the Diocese of Orange hosting this at their cathedral.
Just really like to see differences of opinion expressed.
Having taken the Bible Timeline course I HIGHLY RECOMMEND it. It helped me make sense of what otherwise seemed like a very confusing set of books.
It helped me see our salvation history clearly. Well worth the money!
My wife and I took the Great Adventure courses at our parish for 6 years, and we each were facilitators of different courses for 5 years. Every Catholic whose parish offers the Great Adventure courses should take them. These are structured courses and not ones in which class participants or facilitators go off on tangents or give their personal interpretations. They are rock-solid Traditional Catholic classes, and the cost per participant is quite reasonable despite a previous poster’s comment.
So, let’s bring hundreds and hundreds of kids together to learn more about the Bible, a feat in itself, and then tell the instructors that the teaching materials they are using are a rip-off. A good deed goes unpunished again. Society today isn’t our grandfather’s society. Kids are pulled in several directions at once. We need new approaches to teaching them, keeping their attention and interest. They learn differently than we did. The last thing they need is a monotone lecture. That would drive them away.
If you’ve seen the Great Adventure DVDs you’d realize they will put kids to sleep. They are lectures on DVD, pure and simple. They are not interactively instructional. The newest one, on Romans, features some bodybuilder who can barely be understood clearly in the basement cavern he’s lecturing in to a group of fake students. THey aren’t interesting. And the flimsy thin student workbook costs $35. Total rip off. Believe me, I’ve been in parish and high school catechesis for decades, and the best teachers steer away from Cavins’ stuff because they can do better on their own and adjust content and presentation style to their own classes. With DVDs there’s no flexibility because you can’t change or adapt the recorded lectures. Listen to a 45 minute DVD lecture. Then discuss canned questions in small groups, and answers are given at the back. It’s boring, boring, boring. Not the way to reach kids.
You may also be interested in The Great Adventure Catholic Bible. It’s put together by Dr. Peter Williamson of Sacred Heart Major Seminary and Fr. Sebastian Carnazzo (a priest with a doctorate in Scripture from Catholic University of America), a couple of fine Catholic Biblical scholars. You can check it out at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqzhaWhnGeg
Whatever helps young and not-so-young Catholics read, study and pray the Scriptures is a good thing.
The Great Adventure isn’t, of course, the only thing out there, yet, it is one of the good resources available.
The Great Adventure Bible costs $60. Great example of the rip off I have been talking about. You can get a good Catholic Bible for as little as $7. Combine that $7 Bible with some competent guidance and a selected passage reading list from a catechist over about 5-10 meetings (depending on age and desired depth) and a teen will understand and be able to read the Bible with comprehension and know all about the narrative of salvation history and where to find things in the Bible. But Ascension Press wants you to shell out $200 for the DVD set and $60 per Bible and watch 24 hour-long DVD lectures. I’m telling you, the people peddling Ascension Press materials here are likely shills trying to drum up business. Hey, you can even buy a Great Adventure “travel mug” for $20. Total commercial rip off that no decent catechist would touch. These products are sold and used because most catechists don’t know how to teach and don’t know the faith.
While we disagree about The Great Adventure, where can I get the “good Catholic Bible for as little as $7,” to which you referred? I am also interested in that. Thanks. For example, the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible isn’t inexpensive either. Your statement that “no decent catechist would touch” the Great Adventure seems to be an uncharitable overstatement and judgment of all catechists. I won’t defend myself as a teacher, but I know quite a few. There is no one solution for Biblical illiteracy.
I’m a DRE at a parish, and a couple weeks ago I received a survey from Ascension Press asking me about sensitivity to price points for their products. They’re looking to squeeze parishes even more. I completed the survey by telling them that anything over $50 is too expensive for a DVD series, and anything over $10 is too expensive for a student workbook.
Although it is not “perfect,” this is a very worthy effort to aid Catholics in becoming more familiar with the Sacred Scriptures. Better equipping Catholics with knowledge of the Bible will help them in dealing with some Protestants who inaccurately assert the Catholic Church is not Biblical.
Just refer them to 1 Timothy 3:15 which says the Church is the pillar and foundation of the truth. In other words, the Bible itself subordinates its authority to the Church (That is, the Catholic Church, over a thousand years before Luther was even born). So, if they believe in the Bible as they say they do, I guess they’ll immediately become Catholic converts (not).
Many of my church-going friends are Protestant. I’m always impressed with their basic knowledge of the Bible. They take it to church with them and take notes during the sermon, attend Bible Study before or after services most Sundays. Some go to Wednesday Bible Study sessions. Kids from about three years and up attend Sunday attend Sunday School at which they hear stories, color pictures and memorize Bible verses. Confirmation is a two year Bible study program. They don’t have the Mass, but they do know the Bible and consider it an important part of their lives.
Over fifteen years I took a Bible class taught by a Catholic priest. Part of his teaching included a Bible time line since not all of the books of the Bible are arranged in order according to the times in which they were written. I had a time line bracelet, which I got at that class, that I no longer have. Since it was so long ago, I do not know if it was this program that the priest partially used, but it was helpful.
‘“I am the LORD your God…You shall not have other gods before me,” states the second commandment given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai (Ex 20:2-3).’ [first line]
That used to be the First Commandment (Old School).