The Youth Bible

Rating:
Summary: Our church kids love it.
Review: After previewing a LOT of Bibles to give to our church confirmation class, we chose this one because of its layout, "sidelights" (fun bits of background trivia about the passages that were new to many of our adults), and its devotional sidebars. Most of the devotionals offered in the other youth Bibles we previewed get very preachy, offering easy answers for tough questions, and taking an editorial stance that betrays the prejudices of its editors. This Bible, by contrast, offers less pat answers; it raises questions, clarifies confusing issues, and refers back to other passages. The contemporary scenarios they offer (which all the youth study Bibles do) are less simplistic. This allows the Bible to speak for itself, and invites the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. As an adult, I prefer the NRSV or NIV translations, but I first read the Bible with a modern English tranlsation, and as those go, this one is good. And our number one priority is that the kids read it. Bottom line: Our youth reviewers loved it. And the kids from LAST year's confirmation class asked if we could order copies for them!