For God's Sake - Teens open their wallets for a new breed of pop-culture Bible.

Fortune ^ | 11/14/03

[areafiftyone]

Today's hottest-selling Bible has some pretty unusual cover lines. "Are You Dating a Godly Guy? (And Other Quizzes)." "Beauty Secrets You've Never Heard Before!" "200+ Blab Q&A's." Called Revolve, what looks like a glossy teen magazine is actually the complete New Testament, sprinkled with photos of fresh-faced teens and sidebars (mostly about makeup, kissing, and how to apply the Bible to everyday life). A box demystifying Thessalonians notes that "everyone was stoked when Jesus walked the earth"; to clarify Matthew 7:14, a passage reads, "Jesus isn't telling you to be a doormat." Since Revolve, which is aimed at 13- to 16-year-old girls, hit shelves in July, it has sold 150,000 copies at $14.99 apiece, making it the most popular Bible sold in Christian bookstores, according to the Evangelical Christian Publisher's Association. Thomas Nelson, Revolve's 200-year-old Nashville publisher, expects to sell nearly twice that amount by Christmas and to release new versions every 18 months or so. (In comparison, the company's average Bible sells around 40,000 copies a year).

All sorts of publishers are suddenly finding religion in teen Bibles. In October, Zondervan, a Bible publisher based in Grand Rapids, released Revolution: The Bible for Teen Guys and True Images: The Bible for Teen Girls. In July, Nav Press, a Christian publisher in Colorado Springs, debuted The Message: Remix, a version of the Bible in contemporary language. And a boys' version of Revolve is due in spring 2004. Says Kate Etue, head of Thomas Nelson's teen division: "The Christian-book industry needs this segment; otherwise, in a few years they won't have anyone shopping in their stores."

Bible sales are hard to track, but according to the Association of American Publishers, through the first nine months of 2003, religious book sales were up 32% from the same period last year. Barnes & Noble won't release numbers but says Revolve has generated unprecedented interest. "Normally we don't sell a lot of teen Bibles, but Revolve has sold a huge number," says a spokeswoman.

For decades publishers have slapped eye-catching covers on regular Bibles to try to market to teens, but "no one was creating a book teens would actually want to pick up," says Gabe Filkey, a publisher at Nav Press. "Teens told us the Bible is too big, intimidating, and freaky," says Laurie Whaley, 28, co-creator and spokesperson for Revolve. Whaley, who comes from a long line of pastors, earned her MBA and then joined Thomas Nelson five years ago. After teens in focus groups told her they read magazines, she persuaded the publisher to mimic that style, recruiting women in their 20s who worked with Christian youth groups to write the sidebars.

The Bibles are part of a larger trend in Christian commerce of "broadening the message." Just as teens responded to Christian musicians like Creed who look and sound like rock stars, many would rather buy Bibles that don't look like Bibles. "Hollywood is so mainstream it defines our culture and our decisions," says Paul Caminiti, a publisher at Zondervan. "You've got to speak in the language of Hollywood yet give a very different message." Hey, whatever gets the kids stoked.

[Egon]

There was a revolution a while back when the first illustrated (comic-book) Bible came out. I spent many hours devouring that version.

I guess, putting aside possible doctrinal differences, I think this is cool.

[theFIRMbss]

> The Bibles are part of a larger trend in Christian commerce of "broadening the message."

[areafiftyone]

I think this is cool.

So do I. :-)

[Richard Kimball]

We give these out to the kids. they love them. I'll have to check out Revolve.

BTW, the champion of all comic Biblical material is here.

Everybody makes fun of them, but I know a lot of people who start thinking after they read one of them.

[JenB]

I had something similar when I was 8. When I was 16, my parents gave me a Bible that had theological notes instead of pretty pictures.

If it gets them to read the Bible, it's good, but... I dunno, comic book Bibles strike me as weird.

[areafiftyone]

Well they are a little wierd but teenagers like that sort of thing - I did when I was younger.

[afraidfortherepublic]

This sounds great. They should make a version for adults too.

[joesnuffy]

Milk first
then meat

[goldstategop]

hehehe... keep the salacious stuff out of the Good Book... and yes, it has material that makes nuns blush.

[HarleyD]

I don't wish to cast stones on a tool that may lead one to the Lord Jesus but as I was reading this I was reminded of an article in USA Today several weeks ago. The article said that in a recent poll 95% claim to believe in God with 50% saying they're "born again". I'm sure there are some Epistopalians who believe they are.

For one to say that carrying a traditional Bible is "freaky" makes me question the commitment. Remember, "I am not ashamed of the gospel. It is the power of God for salvation...". I'm not ashamed to carry my Bible no matter how freaky it looks.

[stuartcr]

Why is she smiling?

[areafiftyone]

There is nothing wrong with carrying a bible. I see lots of people reading the bibles on the subways. It gives comfort and strength to alot of people. KEEP CARRYING IT!! :-)

[martin_fierro]

I always liked the stick figures in this Bible.

[huck von finn]

I could not refrain from pinging you to this one!

[martin_fierro]

There is nothing wrong with carrying a bible.

Ditto that.

I have a free Palm-OS version KJV Bible to share with anyone who wants it.

[huck von finn]

Just as teens responded to Christian musicians like Creed who look and sound like rock stars, many would rather buy Bibles that don't look like Bibles.

I only hope that these teens go to college and take a course on the real Bible there--preferably a course taught by a rabbi.

[areafiftyone]

Shucks I don't have a palm. But I did purchase a new bible in the St. Patricks Cathedral store a month ago.

[July 4th]

What an interesting site, complete with Catholic-bashing:

[Cicero]

I must say that the statement that Mary "admitted" her sinfulness in Luke 2:22-24 strikes me as moronic. Joseph, Mary, and the youthful Jesus were observant Jews, as Luke makes clear. They obeyed the laws. For example, the regularly went up to Jerusalem to observe the Passover.

There are no signs in the gospels that Jesus questioned strict observation of all the laws until He assumed His public life and became independent of his parents. The law said that women should be "purified" a certain number of days after childbirth. So Mary neither confesses nor denies being sinful when she fulfills the required ritual. They also follow the law saying that a sacrifice must be made at the Temple to redeem a first-born son. Here's the relevant passage cited by this bigoted site, with notes, in the NIV translation:

22When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"[1] ), 24and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."[2]


Footnotes


2:23 Exodus 13:2,12
2:24 Lev. 12:8