THE MANGA BIBLE SERIES & BIBLE-ON-CENTER
This Manga Bible series is:
• the 6-volume series
• published by 新生宣教団 / NEXTmanga (nextmanga.com)
• containing 3 Old Testament volumes, and 3 New Testament volumes
• written and illustrated by professional, Japanese manga artists
• originally in Japanese (following the text of a well-known, Japanese, Bible translation)
• now translated into about 40 languages
manga = comic book
The Manga Bible series is a great tool for people new to the Bible.
It has been translated into about 40 languages!
It contains almost the whole Bible story:
There are 3 Old Testament volumes –
From: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" ...
To: the last prophet in the Old Testament.
There are 2 New Testament volumes (soon to be 3) –
That cover the Gospels and Acts ...
And soon will include Revelation.
Each volume is about 290 pages.
The volumes follow the text of the Bible with some additions to dialogue to make the individual stories sound natural.
Each volume can be read in 1 to 3 hours.
So a person who knows nothing about the Bible can get the whole Bible story in a relatively short period of time.
A preacher could hardly cover the same breadth of content in 10 years of Sunday sermons!
People can read it without feeling pressured.
Asking someone if they would like to read the first volume of the Manga Bible series puts very little strain on the relationship.
So it allows someone to investigate the Bible of their own volition, at their own pace, without pressure.
But just because people read the Manga Bible series doesn't mean that they understand its central meaning.
So Bible-on-Center is designed to explain the main meaning of the Bible to:
• Those who have read the Manga Bible series –
or have read or heard about the Bible in some other form.
• And even to those who have never read any of the Bible –
Hopefully, there is enough context in the 10-Minute, 30-Minute, and 180-Minute Versions, so that people who have heard nothing about the Bible can also grasp its central meaning.
THE STORY OF THE MANGA BIBLE SERIES & BIBLE-ON-CENTER
[manga = comic book]
One effective use of the Manga Bible series.
This web site grew out of about a decade of using the Manga Bible series with Japanese families whose companies have sent them to the United States for several years on business. The manga volumes are loaned to Japanese attending an English outreach program sponsored by a local church, or to private English-as-a-Second-Language students. Probably over 150 people have read them. Without pressure, these individuals are offered the opportunity to read the first volume: “This is the Bible in Japanese in manga form. It is moving and fairly simple to understand. Would you like to read it?” Many are eager to read Volume 1. When they return Volume 1, they are given the opportunity to borrow Volume 2, etc. They can easily read the whole narrative of the Bible in a relatively short time! So it is a very good way for them to get acquainted with the whole Bible. (Even in 10 years of preaching it would be virtually impossible for a preacher to cover this breadth of biblical content!)
If they choose not to read the first volume (or continue with the second), that is fine too. This method puts very little strain on the relationship, and it allows someone to investigate the Bible of their own volition, at their own pace, without pressure. It also requires very little time or effort to facilitate this process. The volumes can be personally offered to each individual, which has its advantages (see the next paragraph). But, if one is working with a large group of people, the mangas can be left out where they can be easily borrowed and returned by anyone. Some respond best to a personal offer to read the mangas; others prefer to simply pick them up on their own.
The advantages of lending rather than giving.
Lending them, instead of giving them away, proves to be very effective:
• It allows the volumes to be used over and over.
• Borrowing them one at a time is much less intimidating than being given a 6-volume set!
•There is also an unspoken accountability for the borrower to read and return a volume in a somewhat reasonable time-frame. (If they are given away, the volumes can sit at their homes unread for indefinite periods of time.)
• There is ongoing contact with the borrower throughout the reading process. This can give an opportunity to answer any questions, or to ask a simple question like: What did you think? (But if the volumes are given away, one never knows if the mangas are even being read.)
• The cost of lending them is much cheaper than giving them away. But, of course, one can still give a set to anyone at any time.
Having several sets allows more than one person to be reading a volume at the same time.
Why Bible-On-Center was created.
When Japanese who read the Manga Bible series are asked, “Do you understand the Bible's main point?” most of them do not understand it. They do not understand about sin. They do not understand the reason that Jesus Christ came to earth. Like the Ethiopian eunuch whom Philip talked to in Acts 8, they need an explanation.
So if they are interested, there have been opportunities over the years to explain the main meaning of the Bible – starting in Genesis and going through to Revelation. It takes 20-40 minutes depending on their questions and level of interest. It is this content that became the seed for Bible-On-Center.
After talking with one Japanese businessman, he said: I heard that Jesus was the Messiah, but I did not know why. Now I understand why Jesus is the Messiah.
So the primary impetus for creating Bible-On-Center was to explain the main meaning of the Manga Bible to Japanese people who do not know Jesus. It explains why Jesus needed to die on the cross for them – and what was accomplished when he died and rose again. So the main purpose is to share Christ with those who do not know him. It is also to give them a picture of what life would be like after becoming a child of God (which is very important as they weigh the cost of committing themselves to Christ), as well as to guide them in their first steps as God's child.
That being said, Bible-On-Center has also encouraged ones who already believe in Christ with a greater grasp of the breadth and depth of the whole Bible and with a deeper understanding of all that Christ has done for us. So it can be used as Bible study material for those who are already children of God.
Bible-On-Center also works independently of the Manga Bible series.
Though the impetus for creating Bible-On-Center was as a follow-up explanation for the Manga Bible series, this web site can also be used independently of the mangas, hopefully with great benefit. Bible-on-Center was designed to even be understandable by someone who knows absolutely nothing about the Bible (although some familiarity with the Bible is obviously an advantage).