When I was in college my Bible professor was very part
icular about Bibles. For our class, he gave us specific instructions on choosing a Bible. For the most part, I agree with his specifications. You want the Bible to invite you in. It should readily stay open when you hold it in one had, like a tablecloth hangs over a table. It needs to have a good binding. Preferably, the cover should be leather. The font must be easy to read, not too dark. The smell – well, I added that one. New Bibles even smell good.
I find in myself a desire to collect Bibles. I’m not sure why, as I actually need to be giving them away more than I do.
But you have to remember that I love books, especially Bibles.
So, I was anxious to see what this “Big Red” Holy Bible was all about. It boasts of contemporary 3-D art. I thought the boys would totally dig this Bible since they LOVED our review of THIS product. However, I was sorely disappointed. Not disappointed in God’s Word—certainly not. Disappointed because the 3-D portion of this Bible is infrequent. I was kind of expecting the Bible to resemble THIS product.
Mr. Smackdown informed me that he just didn’t find the “red” Bible very interesting. “But we could at least read it.”
To read it, you will find yourself using the International Children’s Bible translation. Now, I’m a NASB girl and the Hottie likes NKJV, but I typically read NIV to the boys. Talk about a diverse household. Certainly, the ICB version is written at a very basic level, avoiding words such as “atonement.” You could go into a deep discussion about whether it is good to change such meaningful words . . . but I’m not going there for this review.
If you want an easy translation to read to your child, I like the the ICB Bible from Tommy Nelson. But if you were planning on purchasing this Bible because of the graphics, I’d keep your money in your pocketbook. The graphics are kind of cheesy, if not creepy, and you only get 16 of them spaced evenly throughout the Bible.
I was not paid for this review, nor do I have to return the Bible to Tommy Nelson. Thankfully, they encourage honest reviews of their products.
