Glitter, Crystals, and the Words of Jesus in Red

When I was in Sunday school, all the third graders received a Good News Bible, which uses a 5th-grade level English and has small line drawings. After confirmation (around 7th grade), we got regular New Revised Standard Version Bibles, which had a more sophisticated translation and no illustrations. The most flamboyant feature on them was the gold edging on the pages.

The image I had of a Bible growing up, be it Christian or Jewish, was a plain book that was easy to carry around, very readable, and sometimes found in hotels. A dignified book worthy of its contents.

I had no idea how much the Bible market has expanded beyond the standard church/synagogue Bible for simple reading and study Bibles for in-depth learning. Every time I go to Barnes and Noble, I see a new kind of "teen" Bible whose format is remarkably similar to a teen magazine, with bright graphics and speech bubbles highlighting key concepts. One comes in a pink metal case with the words "[Jesus] loves me" inscribed. Another has a plastic-covered pastel blue and green glittery cover that you can further decorate to reflect your personal spirituality. There is even the black leather-bonded Extreme Teen Bible.

While Jewish publishers offer the Jewish Bible in many versions, with variations in the English translations and commentators (i.e. classical vs. modern), the phenomenon of "teen" Bibles with casual English and a clear focus on making the word of God "cool" is not something I've seen in the Jewish world. I wonder if a Bible that focused on issues impacting teens with easy-to-read commentary would help engage the post-bar-mitzvah/pre-college demographic of Jewish young people, but I also find the thought of marketing the Bible the way one markets magazines and fashion disturbing.

What do you think?