I asked my wife to read my recent blog entry on BibleZines. She proved my point big time. The first thing she said was: "What's the big deal, if it is just a Christian magazine" - My response. Kasey, they are not magazines, they are Bibles. Her face sunk - "you are kidding..."

Nope. She actually thought these Bibles were "Christian" youth rags; seems to be exactly what the designers of these had in mind. The bizarre messages about "Sexcess" aside, the fact that these Bibles were so camouflaged that my wife thought they were Christian knock offs of pop cultural magazines sort of proves my point.

To me these deals are over a line. Am I for nice Bible covers, colors, even new color printing technology for the inside of Bibles...absolutely. I don't want to carry around scrolls or parchment. But this seems like a capitulation to a message and method which does not arise from the Biblical Narrative. I wrote this in the comments of the previous post and wanted to pull it out here as I close:

To me these seem a bit different than a Bible with notes. What I see on the covers of these "Bibles" is a capitulation to the values, message, and image of Americanism.
Look for a second at the "pink one"
2 min makeovers to transform your life? How is this from the biblical narrative? Now, I don't know what these make-overs are, but just the way that it is spewed on the cover of this "Bible" is extremely problematic.
Now, look at the green one. Why did they pick a beautiful model, with perfect high cheek bones to represent young women. It is following "the image" that women's magazines use. Complete with a "what guys are really thinking" headline. Why didn't they use a homely looking girl who is awkward looking? This is a bit sickening to me to be honest and I am not a prude when it comes to pop culture.
I believe in using the forms of culture to communicate a biblical message - I do not think it wise to communicate non-biblical messages in pop cultural forms.
Again, I am not against Bibles with notes, even trendy designs, colors etc. and I share the desire to get people into the Scriptures. I guess I see this as using forms which are designed to mimic messages which I find very far from the biblical narrative and worldview. Is it not grotesque to compare 1 John 1:9 to getting white deodorant streaks out of a shirt? How has this not trivialized in some way the sacrifice of the gospel.