Trendy Bibles for Teens

What do you think of Bibles with covers like those of trendy-magazines?

Religious publishers Thomas Nelson Inc. and Zondervan have introduced Bibles for average teenagers to the market.

Thomas Nelson Inc. has produced "Revolve" for girls and "Refuel" for boys. These New Testament Bibles don't look much different from normal trendy magazines when we just look at their covers.

"Revolve"'s cover shows three girls with catchy phrases, " Are You Dating a Godly Guy?" and "Beauty Secrets You've Never Heard Before." This New Century Version of the New Testament for girls also contains advice columns which give answers to teenagers' questions and quizzes."Refuel", with a snowboarder on the cover, includes articles about emotions, sexuality, and sports.

According to Laurie Whaley, a spokeswoman at Thomas Nelson Inc, it had inquired into teenagers' tastes about the Bible, and made Bibles according to it.

Another religious publisher Zondervan has published "True Images" for girls, and "Revolution" for boys. One is covered in lavender suede like paper, and the other in black rubber. Both of them have articles on dating, self-esteem and so forth.

Some showed their welcome to these new-styled Bibles. For example, Daniel Brown, a pastor for junior high school students at the Community Bible Church in San Diego, said in an interview with New York Times that "True Images", and "Revolution" helped "hyper-media-fed" teenagers to read the Bible. He claimed that the Bible had not changed but had just been made applicable to teenagers' lives immediately in a biblical way.

However, others show their concerns. Martin E. Marty, an emeritus professor at the University of Chicago Divinity School said that marketing the Bible to youth culture could be a good way to introduce Christianity to teenagers but he did not forget to mention its danger in an interview with New York Times.

"The sacred Scripture loses its sense of greatness," he said. "Religion is born of awe -- not one that terrifies you but puts you into perspective. For the Bible to be taken in full seriousness, it needs some of that."

Also, Jeff Johnson, director of Children's Ministries at the Grace Episcopal Church in New York City, said in an interview, "the Bible shows us how to form a relationship with God. The Bible is a theological tool, not a barameter for our social needs."