Bibles for the Rest of Us

After a recent day spent perusing blogs, websites and YouTube for information on the latest Bible translations and printings, it quickly became apparent that most of the information was heavily skewed toward conservative offerings with very little of interest to moderate or progressive Christians.  I thought it might be useful therefore to provide some more additional information on bibles that would be of use to those Christians and seekers interested in what Diana Butler Bass calls Great Command Christianity (to love god and neighbor above all else), ecumenical Christians and others in need of a quality bible.

FYI:  A very useful and non-sectarian (I believe) source for information on quality bible bindings and layout is the site www.bibledesignblog.com.

There are a bewildering variety of bible translations in English.  It was not always so.  The King James Version is of course the most venerable and the most widely available.  This year it celebrated its 400th birthday.  If you like reading Shakespeare, you will be immediately at home with the King James.  This is a great time to get a facsimile copy of the original 1611 printing and variations thereof.  This might not be a bad idea as King James has been "updated" more than once over the intervening years and not always for the better!  One plus for moderates and progressives is that the modern word "homosexual" has not infiltrated this early translation.  Not so for many later "evangelical" translations that do use this word as a way to condemn gays and lesbians. Another plus, the language used is beautiful and poetic, full of interesting anachronisms.  King James is also available with the Apocrypha and is therefore useful to ecumenical Christians.  An interesting aside is that some of the most died-in-the-wool fundamentalists swear by the King James Version, which means you'll be in interesting company should you make this your primary bible.

The Revised Standard Version and New Revised Standard Version are the successors to the King James tradition and appeared in the middle to late part of the last century.  Both are also available with the Apocrypha.  Neither negatively uses the modern term "homosexual" and should be suitable for moderate and progressive readers.  The New Revised Standard Version tends to be the gold standard version for those practicing Christianity in the Anglican/Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Congregational, and other "mainline" denominations.  Roman Catholics also use both versions extensively.  The Greek Orthodox don't tend to prefer this or most modern translations that do not rely on the Greek Septuagint translation favored in the East.  Surprisingly, it is fairly difficult to find higher-end leather bindings for these translations, although some of the best study bibles (Oxford, New Interpreters) are available in NRSV.

The Jerusalem and New Jerusalem Bibles are also highly thought of among moderate and progressive Christians for their readability and high-quality scholarship.  They derive from Roman Catholic French translations and contain the Deuterocanonical books, but not the entire Apocrypha.  Both of these are only available in just a few basic editions, but are still sought after.  These use the "translation" of God's name as Yahweh - which is a guess.  Both, particularly the former, are very readable and neither uses the modern term "homosexual" and should be suitable for moderates and progressives.

The Good News Translation is a highly readable version (one of my favorites).  Unfortunately, in the Levitical code condemnation of male-male sexuality, this version substitutes "God hates that" for "abomination."  This may sound good, but in some ways is worse - there being some great analysis out there of the word "abomination" - it really has nothing to do with God "hating" anything.  Luckily, this version doesn't use the modern term "homosexual" and should be broadly acceptable to moderates and progressives.  It's also illustrated with some of the cutest line drawings you have ever seen - all-in-all, this is a wonderful bible for reading casually.  Although available in leather, I haven't seen this version available in a high quality binding.

The Common English Bible is hot off the presses and is similar in some respect to the Good News Translation, although there are claims for greater fidelity to the text and less use of dynamic equivalence.  A version is available with the Apocrypha.  I did not notice the use of the modern "homosexual" terminology, but haven't read this entire bible as of yet.  Since this is just now coming out - my copy is a nook book - there aren't any high-quality bindings available as of yet.  Should be good for ecumenical Christians given the broad base of translators involved and may be the moderate/progressive answer to the more conservative New International Version, which reigns as the most popular translation these days.

The New English and Revised English Bibles are both Anglicized (British English) versions that are suitable for moderates and progressives.  Both, particularly the former, are very readable.  Neither is particularly available these days, although used copies can be had.

However, when you walk into a bookstore (or peruse Amazon, Powells or Barnes and Noble) you'll quickly notice that a variety of other translations are much more available than those listed above.  These include the New International Version, of which a newly revised version is just coming out now (2011); the New American Standard, the Living Bible, Today's New International Version, the New International Version Readers Edition, the New Living Translation, the New American Bible (Catholic) and the English Standard Version.  Only the last two of these offers an edition with the Apocrypha.  It is hard to generalize here, but all of these to some extent are more favored by theological conservatives - and their followers in the conservative evangelical and fundamentalist churches.  Some of these substitute the modern word "homosexuals" where it doesn't exist in the original text.  Moderates and progressives should use any of these versions without worry - if the printing is of the text only.  Many of these are packaged as study bibles, however, that take very conservative positions on matters of interest.  So be a bit wary.  On the positive side, many of these are available in some of the best selections of leather and bindings out there.

So what should you purchase if you're looking for a new bible that avoids the exclusionary theology of modern conservative Christianity AND you'd like a good looking quality leather binding?

For the original King James text, I would recommend the newly available New Cambridge Paragraph Bible.  This is one heck of a readable text setting and is available in an inexpensive Penguin paperback edition and soon in some of the highest quality bindings Cambridge offers.

For the New Revised Standard Version I would recommend the Cambridge NRSV Reference Bible with Apocrypha.  This is the highest quality binding I currently can find - R.A. Allan offers something a bit better, but without the Apocrypha.

The New Jerusalem Bible is available only in hardcover - I can't find any high quality bindings currently available (not that hardcover is necessarily a bad binding - can be great!).  Same for the older Jerusalem Bible.  There are some medium-quality bindings of the Good News Bible, but nothing to write home about.  Same for the Revised English Bible and it's predecessor, the New English Bible.  All of these deserve some quality printings - but present some opportunities for finding that perfect used Bible out there somewhere.

I hope this article can spark some discussion and help with an important decision.  Even if you're unchurched and unlikely to become a Christian, the Bible is well worth reading.  If you're a moderate or progressive Christian, you simply must have a good bible and study it well.  I guarantee you'll be astonished and you'll be much better equipped to debate your conservative brothers and sisters should the need arise.  But at the end of the day, I heartily recommend buying and reading as many versions as you can and making up your own mind as to which is "best."   Good reading!