BURGOS, Spain (Mennonite Mission Network) — Dennis Byler believes that for the Bible to accomplish the work God intended, it must be understood.
In his newest book, Todo lo Que te Preguntabas Sobre la Biblia (Y Algunas Cosas Que Preferirías No Saber)—translated as Everything You’ve Wanted to Know About the Bible( and a Few Things You Probably Didn’t—Byler presents the basic tenets of the Bible in Spanish, in a format that is easy to understand.
The book is available for free download at www.menonitas.org, where readers also can purchase hard copies.
Connie and Dennis Byler are Mennonite Mission Network workers currently serving in their 30th year as part of the Burgos Mennonite Church, in Burgos, Spain. In addition to teaching at a Protestant seminary near Madrid, Dennis Byler has written several Spanish-language books and edits the monthly Anabaptist periodical, El Mensajero (The Messenger). While writing for El Mensajero, Byler conceived the idea for this latest book.
For years, Byler has written a series of articles on different books of the Bible for inclusion in El Mensajero. The positive response to these articles, Byler says, led him to recognize the need for a comprehensive reader’s guide to the history and message of the Bible, from an Anabaptist perspective, in the Spanish language.
“Most of the Anabaptist Mennonite tradition books are presented in the English, Dutch or German languages,” Byler said, thereby leaving an informational void for those in Spanish- language communities of faith.
Byler felt led to help fill that void.
A lifelong student of the Bible himself, Byler began a habit of daily Bible reading as a teen, and maintains a daunting Bible reading schedule. He sees the Bible as a source of foundational texts of the faith, which, he said, ”continue to be essential for discovering our full potential as human beings created in the image of God, growing into the likeness of Jesus by the enabling power of the Spirit.”
Byler has lost count of the number of times he’s read the entire Bible through in its original languages.
Considering the complexity of the Bible’s language and message, Byler’s newest book could easily have become ponderous and unreadable. Byler met this challenge by presenting the material in a modern “Frequently Asked Questions” format, familiar to Internet users, and couples a detailed index of the questions with clear concise answers. The result is a book that is accessible and easy to use.
Hard copies of the book are available for purchase from www.menonitas.org. Byler also offers a free download in PDF format so that believers in countries across the world can more readily access it. Within weeks of posting the book online, Byler reports, “there have been several hundred downloads from all over the Spanish-speaking world.”
As for the future of his latest work, Byler knows that once a book is written, it is sent out to do whatever work lies ahead for it. But, he admits he would be delighted to learn Todo lo Que te Preguntabas Sobre la Biblia (Y Algunas Cosas Que Preferirías No Saber), is being used by congregational study groups around the Spanish-speaking world as a tool for ministry and discipleship.