The BMB is an NIV translation, so that's a small plus for it. I was looking for a more modern translation, but this will do. All of the Bibles in this house are KJV translations, and I'm not sure why. As a kid, I thought that this was the original and therefore most authentic translation and using a modern translation was a cop-out to avoid the work it took to slog through all of the thees and thous and thines in the KJV and if you were going to take the easy way out on the translation you'd probably take the easy way out on the commandments and you would invariably GO TO HELL. This...makes no sense. I don't think that my church overtly taught this; the pastor was old-fashioned and used KJV, but I do not recall any specific statements against other translations. I guess it was something that my juvenile mind extrapolated. "Pastor is good; pastor uses KJV; KJV is good; everything else is bad." That's some faulty logic there, folks. I've been considering buying a new translation for several reasons. For one, the thees and thous sound poetic and lovely, but at the end of the day, I just don't want to slog through old English text. I want to focus on the content, not the translation. For another, since I grew up with KJV, it's easy to gloss over verses when I'm reading. "Yeah, yeah, I've read this before; let's get a move on so I can meet my quota to read through the entire Bible in a year (or, on my current toddler-controlled schedule, a decade). A different translation would force me to slow down and think about what I'm reading, thus encouraging an actual study that allows me to glean things from the text I've never considered before.
There are 52 study guide sections in the BMB, each consisting of a 1-minute, 5-minute, and 10-minute study option. These...these are really great. If I know that I have five minutes before the kids wake up, I'm not that motivated to delve into the Bible; how can I focus on something meaty in just five minutes? These short, directed studies are just the ticket. Each section also has a "word to take with you today" that is related to the study topics. I like this, too; I may not have room in my addled brain for a whole passage or even a single verse, but I can surely squeeze in a word that I can use a touchstone for the larger ideas covered in the studies.
The one-minute studies start with a short verse, then have a short passage to read that connects that study to everyday life (often, it appears, everyday life as a mother). There is also a passage of relevant scripture listed below the one-minute study. The five-minute study is Reflect and Pray study. There are a series of questions to think and pray about that are related to the one-minute study. Beyond that is the ten-minute study, which directs the reader to the back for more passages related to a given topic. The first few ten-minute studies, for example, are a series of subsections under a heading called God is.... Each of these has a flagship verse and three more passages to read. The first one is "Coming Again," the second is"Compassionate," and the list continues in alphabetical order. The next major heading is Family Ties, with such subsections as "Acceptance" and "Communication." Again, these seem like great little snippets that will allow me to read and study the Bible with purpose in the few minutes I can carve out for myself during the week.
Also at the back are some pages with more five-minute Reflect and Pray studies. The first heading here is Reflect and Pray on authentic living, with sections such as "Beauty," "Character," "Comfort," and "Confidence." Again, yay for focus and purpose in just a few minutes!
I just noticed the last two pages before the maps in the back. (I always loved the maps as a kid. No idea why, but they were fascinating.) There is a page called 5 Minutes Reading About Jesus and a page called 5 Minutes Reading About the Women of the Bible. I look forward to getting into these when I have time, too.
Overall, my initial reaction is very positive. This really does seem geared toward ladies with very little time for in-depth, thorough Bible studies at home. I look forward to getting started!
"using a modern translation was a cop-out to avoid the work it took to slog through all of the thees and thous and thines" -- I had the same thought growing up! I think it's because all I knew was the NRSV, so that must be the "right" one.
ReplyDeleteAs for the maps...oh, the maps. I had my confirmation Bible (also 1988) confiscated during Sunday School for mindlessly staring at the maps. Incidentally, they became a lot more fascinating when we learned about the fertile crescent in elementary school.