Information Visualization
A SINGLE STORY—THE BIBLE THROUGH THE LENS OF 250 EVENTS
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The Bible consists of two distinct yet unified collections of literary and historical text, the Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament contains thirty-nine books that were written over a period of one thousand years before the birth of Jesus Christ, and the New Testament twenty-seven books that were written after Christ’s death. Although authored by dozens of individuals over several centuries, the Bible is both consistent and coherent in its message. It tells a single story about Jesus Christ, the central figure of the New Testament and the fulfiller of Old Testament prophecies and covenants. The first four books of the New Testament, the Gospels, recount 250 events about his life, death, and resurrection. Distilling an array of thematic references that connect all books of the Bible reveals a harmonious bond between the books of the Bible and these 250 events. By mapping the 250 events in a chronological clockwise order and the books of the Bible in concentric rings, this information visualization scores the books of the Bible against the 250 events to reveal each book’s connection to each event. On the map, an orange ring indicates a Gospel’s direct record of a specific event. A blue dot indicates that the book references the event, while an orange dot highlights that the book references covenants God makes with man. Collectively these dots illustrate Christ’s centrality, linking the contents of the Bible as a whole.