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"Study" Bibles
Posted on Saturday, June 28, 2008 at 10:47 AM by Jason Barker
Early in this blog I wrote an article about some of the problems with many (but not all) so-called "study Bibles." I stated in that article, "The most significant problem is that these niche study Bibles are in fact seldom truly study Bibles: they are simply the biblical text surrounded by - and too frequently, suffocated by - silly pop culture references and self-help snippets."
I thought of this point when I saw a list of "Unique Bibles," including such titles as the TruGlo Bible (which glows in the dark) and the Battlezone Bible (with a scarred metal cover).
In my previous article I noted some key differences between these types of "study Bibles" and a legitimate study Bible like the Orthodox Study Bible:
This is not to condemn the entire concept of study Bibles: my point is to criticize squeezing the Bible into a niche. The Orthodox Study Bible, for example, avoids the perils of the niche-targeted study Bibles by giving general study notes about the biblical text that are applicable to all Christians, rather than "helpful hints" that are at best only loosely related to the text (if at all related), and also are limiting the audience of the text to - for example - girls aged thirteen to sixteen in the year 2007 (and, in the Biblezine genre, literally only the year 2007).
I also pointed out some of the differences between such "study Bibles" and the Bible studies I create:
First, there is a significant difference between providing an external set of commentaries and application articles about the Bible (as the Department of Youth Ministry does with our Bible studies), and packaging a set of cultural ephemera with the biblical text in a single volume and calling it the Bible (as the Biblezines and niche study Bibles do).
Secondly, the focus of our Bible studies is always on the biblical text. The majority of the articles in each Bible study are on the text itself: textual commentary, explanations of biblical terminology, historical background, etc. In addition, the articles are grouped into three clearly-defined categories: the biblical text and commentaries; articles about life application and Orthodox faith and practice; and overview materials (summaries, handouts, and quizzes). Thus, as helpful as I hope my life application articles will be in assisting youth in applying the principles brought out in the biblical text to their lives, I never want the reader to believe that my application articles are in any way on a par with the biblical text, or believe that one of my life application articles is a complete summary of everything they need to know about the biblical text.
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