A year ago, I was taking an online class through Regent University’s School of Divinity when another student posted an image in a discussion post: a beautiful visualization of “Bible Cross-References.”
The image was created by Chris Harrison, an associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute. He also directs the university’s Future Interfaces Group.
The image takes data from 63,779 cross references in the King James Bible, between its 1,189 chapters, depicting them in a “multi-colored arc diagram.” Cross references are words, phrases, people and quotes used by one biblical author and repeated by that author or picked up and used in other Bible books.
Harrison explains his visualization, saying, “Each of the 63,779 cross references found in the Bible are depicted by a single arc – the color corresponds to the distance between the two chapters, creating a rainbow-like effect.”
Harrison’s academic work, listed on Google Scholar, includes titles about computers and technology this English major can barely begin to understand, such as “TeslaTouch: electrovibration for touch surfaces.”
Another of his research presentations is titled, “Electrick: Low-Cost Touch Sensing Using Electric Field Tomography.”
“Electric Field Tomography.” Sure.
But the Bible Cross-References I get. The image demonstrates the interconnectedness of Scripture, or what Norman Geisler and William Nix call “the unity of the Bible,” in their book From God to Us: How We Got Our Bible.
They explain that this unity offers evidence for the inspiration of the Bible, which is “composed of sixty-six books, written over a period of some fifteen hundred years by nearly forty authors in several languages containing hundreds of topics.”
Geisler and Nix add,
“Yet the Bible possesses an amazing unity of theme – Jesus Christ. One problem – sin – and one solution – the Savior – unify its pages from Genesis to Revelation.”
While this is not conclusive evidence for the inspiration of Scripture, it strongly indicates a divine hand behind the writing and editing and formation of the Bible, guiding each writer and bringing these books together as they were written through God’s chosen people, the Jews.
Harrison explains how this image, which portrays that unity, came to be, saying,
One example of these connections would be a word like “covenant,” an agreement between God and an individual or group of people, that is used by different biblical authors and elaborated on throughout Scripture. The word is used 282 times in the Old Testament and 34 times in the New Testament.
Different references to covenants can be traced throughout the Bible, from Abraham to Moses at Sinai, and from David to the New Covenant given to us by the Son of David, Jesus Christ.
Another example would be similar commands like “fear not” or “do not be afraid” – repeated hundreds of times, in different contexts, through the books of the Bible.
Harrison says that he and Pastor Römhild “struggled to find an elegant solution to render the data – 63,779 cross references in total.”
Eventually, he writes,
“We set our sights on something more beautiful than functional. At the same time, we wanted a visualization that honored and revealed the complexity of the Bible at every level – as one leans in, smaller details should become visible. This ultimately led us to the multi-colored arc diagram.”
Harrison explains what the whites and grays at the bottom of the image represent:
Harrison has also created visuals showing the “Distribution of Biblical People and Places” and a “Biblical Social Network (People and Places).” They’re worth checking out, as well.
Related Articles and Resources
Bestselling Author Lee Strobel and the 4 Proofs of the Resurrection
Celebrate Lent with Your Kids this Easter
Harvard Scientist: Wonders of the Universe Point to a Creator
How Jesus’ Incarnation Changes Everything
Leading Scientist: The Universe Points to the Existence of God
Tim Allen Finishes Reading Entire Old Testament: ‘What a Treasure’
Why Believe in Christianity? Because it is True.
Christianity is Both a Religion and a Relationship
Image credit: Chris Harrison
The post The Beauty of the Bible’s Interconnectedness appeared first on Daily Citizen.
Daily Citizen