Rating: 
Summary: an old look at new times
Review: Whimsical, broad reaching and wandering. There seemed to be a gender bias. Besides, the old testament seems scarily linear for a tome said to be collected from diverse regions and times. You'd be better off simply comuning with God on your own terms...
Rating: 
Summary: A Bible With Something For Everyone
Review: With the pastor's words not quite reaching me that day, I decided to hit the bookstore for some good reading. I opened the burgundy leather-bound, gold-edged Nelson Study Bible boasting "Nelson's Complete Study System." Being a journalism major and an avid reader, only the juicier, action-packed sections of the Bible used to hold my attention. By the time it was all said and done, I had been at the bookstore nearly long enough for the sermon to end, and walked away with my wallet lighter, but my excitement peaked.This Bible is extremely comprehensive and objective, something that may end up being offensive or inappropriate for those used to your average Bible. The first sign of this is in the 5-page preface that reads like a college theology and history course. It addresses the progression of the King James Bible and prepares you for possible interpretations "lost" in translation along the years. It explains the influences on word choice and the motivations behind "editing" as well. In short, it prepares you to study the Bible with consideration to the human authors and recorders of the Word of God. The Nelson Study is extremely reader-friendly, and may even provide some familiarity to Internet users and newspaper readers with its format. Many pages have pull-out gray boxes with a "word focus" that goes into deeper detail of the possible meanings one may not have been aware of for "pharoah," "anointed" or "idle babblings." There are also quarter to one-third page-size tables, captioned maps, and "INDepth" boxes that often relate ancient practices for use today. The text is very well sized. Many bibles produce a choppy effect with footnote numbers or markers within the text that are almost as large as the reading text itself. The Nelson's note markers are small enough to not affect the spacing of the Word; it still reads and looks like a book. The authors have also made an attempt to keep the extensive--and I mean extensive--notes on the same page as the text being analyzed. Many bibles will be three pages behind on analysis so you'll still be reading notes on Leviticus in the early part of Numbers; this is not the case here. There are also preview pages similar to the preface, but used for every book. There are also thicker, glossy color pages that explain major doctrines and themes in the bible, as well as maps. There are timelines, Q&A sections, and outlines at the end of each book. Most impressive is the 18-page subject index runs anywhere from "Godly Living" to "Second Coming" to "Jebusites." This is followed immediately by a 195-page concordance that almost serves as a word search function. If you've heard the word "atonement" or "marvelous" or "wrath" somewhere before, and you want to know the full phrase or context, the amazingly comprehensive and exhaustive Concordance section will provide easy access. This bible truly has something for everyone, from the brand new Christian, to the theological scholar, to the casual reader. The more conservative crowd can simply ignore the supplemental material, and still enjoy the well-translated and written texts, as well as the footnotes. It's a beautiful, easy to navigate bible, that makes all others seem incomplete in the explanatory sense. Five stars as a bible, a study bible, and as a book.
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