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I saw a post from my brother Toby on the new Bible Bookshelf Forum (and by the way, I'm not using Christian lingo here, Toby really is my brother) in which he expressed his interest in The Action Bible, a comic book-style Bible published in 2010. I have The Action Bible in my collection, and I do think it's pretty well done. The art is substantially more exciting than the art in the older Picture Bible, published in 1978. But I think, much as in the case with Bible-zines, there are pros and cons to the idea of the Bible in comic book form. So here's a list of pros and cons, off the top of my head: I will say this in favor of The Action Bible: unlike the Bible-zines (about which I've blogged quite a bit in the past), it is published in a sturdy hardcover, so it doesn't come off as a disposable product. That has always been one of my biggest problems with the Bible-zines: you pay $15 or so for a New Testament in magazine form, and you have to throw it away and get the new one a year or so later. The Bible becomes a disposable product. The Action Bible seems to be designed as something to keep, perhaps on the same shelf as your other Bibles. Still, I have a problem with this popular notion that the Bible is so intimidating, so complex. Yes, it's a big book, and it does take some concentration to study it. But there's a stereotype that's being fostered, even by Bible publishers, that the Bible has always sounded like Shakespeare..."so buy our Bible, it's in modern language!" Bibles in easy-to-read, everyday language have been around for several decades now. (In fact, there's even a Bible version called the Easy to Read Version.) I am uncomfortable with the notion that the Bible needs to be "dumbed down" in order to be understood by the average person. Do comic book Bibles and Bible-zines continue to feed that idea? I think so. So the question I leave you with is this: how do we, as parents and church leaders, encourage young people to engage with Scripture? Not an easy question to answer.
3 Comments
Thanks for your review. I recently purchased this for my 12 yr old son. He's read some soft cover Bibles and Bible Apps. He absolutely loves it. He said, "Every time I read this book I feel like I'm winning!" He hasn't put it down yet. He did ask why the verses didn't have the book names and numbers. I was happy he noticed! Thank you for expressing your concerns, I will do my best to keep him in the Word.
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2/19/2014 12:00:00 am
I'm sure I would have loved The Action Bible when I was 12, too! (I remember getting little weekly Bible comics in Sunday School when I was a kid...) I think the tricky bit is figuring out, as parents, how to get our kids to gradually move "from milk to meat," to borrow from Scripture. (1 Cor. 3:2) What I mentioned in the post about Bible-zines holds for comic book Bibles as well, I believe. When Bible-zines first came out, they were for teens. Then they released new ones for young professionals. Now they actually have Bible-zines for seniors, no kidding. When do people actually start to read the Bible? I think the apps you mentioned could be a crucial step in that process.
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Cory, thank you for your reply. I think you have an informative book idea here. There is a process gap. I find so many Christians who know they need to read the Word but are intimidated & overwhelmed by the Bible. Maybe they need an easy to read, engaging, hand-holding, how to guide - a starting point - to walk them through the progression of it all. Perhaps, you're on to something more here. God bless. Leave a Reply. |
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