A. The American Patriot's Bible
B. The Green Bible
C. Manga Bible
D. Pray for a Cure Bible
E. Wild About Horses Bible
F. Hungry Planet Bible
Yes, the answer is what you were afraid of. Not a one of these is too off-the-wall so as to have been turned down by the publishing houses. What does this say of publishers? What does this say of the Bible-buying public?
The problem with niche Bibles, whether based on gender, stage of life, marital status, hobby, or cause, is that they tend to skew the Bible's message toward the theme. This tends to prevent the Scriptures from speaking on their own, with their own authority.
From a lengthy and thoughtful review of a recent addition to this genre of sorts, Alan Jacobs writes:
The Green Bible presents us with a curious kind of natural theology: We start with things we know to be true from trusted sources—Al Gore, perhaps?—and then we turn to Scripture to measure it against those preexisting and reliable authorities. And what a relief to discover that God is green. Because we already know that it's good to be green—what we didn't know is whether God measures up to that standard.
Similarly, Greg Boyd critiques The American Patriot's Bible:
I have no doubt that those who contributed to the Patriot’s Bible are sincere, godly people who genuinely believe they’re doing America and the Kingdom a service by publishing this work. And had they published their particular interpretation of American history in a separate volume, I would have had much less trouble with it. What grieves me deeply is that the Patriot’s Bible fuses this interpretation with the biblical narrative in an attempt to give it divine authority. As such, this version of the Bible virtually incarnates the nationalistic idolatry that has afflicted the Church for centuries and so thoroughly compromised the beauty of the trans-national, self-sacrificial Kingdom Jesus came to bring.
As someone recently commented on this trend:
These specialty Bibles allow their owners to identify themselves by a cause they feel passionate about, not just their stage of life or color preference. But are we shaping the Bible to our lifestyle more than molding our lifestyle to the Bible?
That's a question worth pondering, no matter what you carry to church on Sunday.
[See 'em for yourself. A, B, C, D, E, F ]
4 comments:
At what point do you think a "Study Bible" becomes a "niche bible"? i.e., is the ESV Study Bible actually a "niche bible"? What about the Reformation or MacArthur Study Bibles?
i'm Baptist, not Lutheran. i just happened to be perusing the LCMS website before i posted, and accidentally entered the LCMS website as my URL. :)
Christopher,
Thanks for the question. My reply got to be so long that I put it in a new post here:
http://brucemckanna.blogspot.com/2009/07/just-bible-please-continued.html
Okay, you're a Baptist in Washington, D. C. I hope you won't think me presumptuous, but are you connected to Capitol Hill Baptist Church? Do you know my cousin Ben Wright?
Bruce,
Thanks for the thoughtful reply. Much appreciated. i am contemplating buying a new bible because i have worn the cover off my NIV (which has been my main source of study/devotion for the last 7 years) and the small type is bad on my eyes. i don't have the time to learn Greek and Hebrew, so i am trying to decide between the NIV or ESV. Either way, i don't plan to purchase a study bible largely for the reasons you've articulated.
Yes, i am a member of CHBC and very good friends with your cousin, Ben.
i've mentioned to him on more than one occasion that i've appreciated many of your comments here and on the 9Marks Church Matters blog re: gospel, grace, kingdom, mercy, etc.
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