Giving the Gift of Scripture

The Bible Illuminated

If we live in a world that must have its magazine Bibles, and we do, the Bible Illuminated is the kind of Bible-zine that could grace urban coffee tables. Swedish ad man Dag Soderbergh first published this Vogue-like Bible last year in his homeland, and it precipitated a 50% increase in Bible sales. The New Testament version that was released here this fall has also received a good deal of attention, mostly for its inclusion of glossy photos of Angelina Jolie and other modern-day Good Samaritans. Some of the art choices are discordant (a swimming polar bear over Paul's "hope is unseen" passage), and the publishers don't have the grandest vision of What the Bible is About (their answer, in short, is "ethics"). But they also take the Bible seriously, demanding that it be read as an indication of what we are supposed to do with the world. The Bible Illuminated, if nothing else, will provoke you and make you want to show it others, question it, talk about what it's doing and why. It stands to be a shared Bible, a Bible that prompts exchanges, which is surely part of what the Bible aims to be.

--Patton Dodd

The Green Bible

Take that, red-letter Bibles: HarperOne’s new Green Bible is a green-letter edition, highlighting the 1000-plus moments in Scripture that give comfort to the environmentalist set. Reading for those green words, one is reminded of how much God loves his creation--"The heavens are yours, the earth also...you have founded them" (Psalm 89:11)--and of how the End of All Things means “a new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1). Indeed, one is reminded just how much of the Bible is about all of God’s created world, from glorious beginning to glorious end. The book is a wonder to hold with its cotton/linen cover (though I’d have given higher points for hemp) and gorgeous recycled paper that has the feel of silk. It also contains instructive essays from religious environmentalists such as Desmond Tutu, Brian McLaren, Ellen Bernstein, and N.T. Wright.

--Patton Dodd

The Bible Experience

Samuel Jackson as God, Blair Underwood as Jesus, and Bishop T.D. Jakes as the Holy Spirit form an unlikely trinity indeed. But then, this is no likely adaptation of the Bible. This is The Bible Experience, the best-selling audio Bible featuring nearly 200 of today’s top black entertainers. The Bible Experience was created to fill the diversity gap of audio Bibles in the marketplace and bring the scriptures to life in the homes and hearts of people who can fully identify with big names like Denzel Washington, Angela Basset, Donnie McClurkin and Juanita Bynum. This audio Bible not only illuminates the scriptures, but it also provides musical and spoken word interludes designed to help listeners to pause, reflect and worship. The Bible Experience brings new meaning to Paul’s words: “faith comes from hearing.”

--Nicole Symmonds

The Apologetics Study Bible

Have you ever wondered why you believe what you do, or if what you believe is true? Maybe you want help defending your beliefs in the face of relativism? The Apologetics Study Bible was created to arm believers with all the resources they need to defend their faith. Writen in in the Holman Christian Standard translation, this Bible is chock full of questions and articles about faith and science, essays from popular apologetic thinkers like Ravi Zacharias, Chuck Colson and Albert Mohler, profiles of historic defenders of the faith, study notes on problem passages in the Bible, and red-letter text denoting the words of Jesus. After spending a little time with this big book, believers should be able to defend their faith in the darkest of alleys.

--Nicole Symmonds

The Books of the Bible

The Books of the Bible is not the first modern attempt at publishing a chapter- and verse-less Bible, but it might be the boldest. Project director Glenn Paauw and his team not only ditched what they call “additives” from the scriptural text; they also switched the order of books we’re accustomed to in order to suggest the fungibility of the Genesis-to-Malachai, Matthew-to-Revelation lineup. They hope this new presentation will encourage reading and re-reading, and thus new biblical experiences. Indeed, the Books of the Bible is about reading in a more classical, literary sense: this is a Bible that begs to accompany you to your favorite chair and be read in long, deep gulps. In an essay for Beliefnet, Paauw explained that part of the impetus for this Bible is the problem of Bible literacy: If Bible knowledge is at an all-time low, he says, perhaps that’s because we’ve added so much junk that gets in the way of the story. The Books of the Bible argues that the Bible should not be understood as a collection of verses, but a collection of stories well told.

--Patton Dodd

The Peoples' Bible

In the marketplace of religion, there always seems to be room for a re-interpretation of themes, particularly on issues of race. The argument over Jesus' ethnicity has been around for years—and it probably will not go away anytime soon. Given that, it’s not surprising that a Bible such as The Peoples’ Bible would hit the shelves in favor of adding a little bit of color to the scriptures. The Peoples’ Bible seeks to “highlight the role of culture in shaping the Bible and the way people read it.” It accomplishes this by providing essays about culture, ethnicity, and identity in biblical times and adding contributions from seminarians, teachers, theologians and editors from every ethnicity. This New Revised Standard Version of the Bible also includes a 16-page gallery of culturally diverse art.

--Nicole Symmonds

The Chronological Study Bible

We’ve seen the Bible transposed into a normal book, sans chapters and verses. We’ve seen it recreated as a high-brow glossy magazine. Now, Thomas Nelson gives us the Chronological Study Bible. The CSB is the only Bible to present the scriptures in the order of events as they happened. For the first time, readers can explore “the historical dimensions of the biblical message” and gain a better understanding of how chronology can bring scripture to life. Study notes help the reader understand the context and arrangement, daily notes explain how people lived in biblical times, full-color illustrations bring nebulous details to life, and time panels and charts show the flow of biblical history. But reader be warned: this New King James version of the Bible is for reading the Bible as history—not the version to rush to when you need to find an on-time word.

--Nicole Symmonds

The Manga Bible

You probably won’t find this on Billy Graham’s bookshelf, but it might just be on Stephen Baldwin’s. Conceived by two British brothers, the Manga Bible is completely re-imagined for those who prefer the cartoonish side of Scripture. As a graphic novel drawn in manga style (exaggerated Japanese-style illustrations), this Bible is for those looking to grow spiritually while remaining hip, casual, and modern. Illustrated by Ajinbayo Akinsiku , AKA Siku, you’ll find lots of panels chock-a-block with classic Old and New Testament action and well-toned characters that include a subtly sensuous Eve and a chiseled Jesus. Sprinkled throughout are also bite-sized versions of Job and Jonah’s stories as well as Jesus’ parables. With dialogue written by Akin Akinsiku, formal sentences such as “Repent for the kingdom of God is near” intertwine with the more informal “He’s a nutter!” At first, the Manga Bible almost seems too radical, but once you get past all the edgy pictures and crammed speech bubbles, you’ll see the Bible in a fresh and stylish new light.

--Sherry Huang

The NLT Study Bible

Brace yourself: the New Living Translation Study Bible boasts that it is “scholarship-focused, with laser-like intensity” that ”unleashes the awesome power of the written word of God.” Sounds intense indeed. The NLT Study Bible is a whirring text compact with notes, essays, book outlines, timelines, charts, diagrams, cross-references, and suggestions for further reading. It’s also a web site—password-protected for those who purchase the Bible—where readers can find a full online version, a Bible Care Guide, a blog, and community groups built around this Bible’s unique helps. If the Books of the Bible is additives-free, the NLT Study Bible is a smoothie with extra shots of everything—soy, wheatgrass, ginseng, ginkgo balboa, whey protein. You name it, it’s in there.

--Patton Dodd