“Did Jesus say anything about recycling? Did God care what we do with the earth? These are the existing conversations that are emerging that I think 'The Green Bible' contributes to.”

Rev. Jeremy Smith

The epigraph to The Green Bible is from the Book of Genesis: "God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good" (1:31).

Two new Bibles targeting a young, hip — even secular — audience are hitting bookstores. One is a slick, illustrated version of the New Testament; the other is an environmentally friendly edition that takes advantage of the popularity of the green movement.

 “This is a way to make [the Bible] as available as any other magazine.”

Dag Soderberg

A Peek Inside 'The Book'

First, the flashy coffee-table Bible: Dag Soderberg, a secular Swedish advertising executive wondered why so few people actually read the "good book," so he set out to make it more appealing, with glossy photos and magazine packaging. The resulting publication is an illustrated version of the New Testament called Bible Illuminated: The Book.

"A coffee-table magazine is read by the many everyday, everywhere," explains Soderberg. "This is a way to make [the Bible] as available as any other magazine."

If you didn't know this was a Bible you might think The Book was a "goth" magazine, or perhaps something you'd find in a doctor's office. The front cover is a close-up of a translucent green eye, caked with black makeup and staring eerily from the page. On the back is a photo of a faceless figure wearing a black hooded sweat shirt.

Inside, photos of celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Bono and John Lennon are interspersed with pictures of heroic figures like Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King, Jr. A veil-covered African woman holding a young child illustrates the story of Mary and Jesus. Images taken from the news — both jarring and poignant — radiate a message of social justice.

United Methodist minister and Hacking Christianity blogger Jeremy Smith says The Book is meant to provoke discussion.

Smith points to the series of images that run in conjunction with a quote from the Book of Revelation. The quote reads: "The whole earth was amazed and followed the beast ..." The photographs show post-Katrina New Orleans, a four-page spread of an animal slaughterhouse in Nigeria and, finally, a picture of a man pumping gas.

"They are interpreting this with some very political and edgy and — honestly — some disorienting imagery," says Smith.

Though skeptical when he first heard about the book, Smith says he found many of the images compelling. But equally compelling, he says, is another new Bible that takes a completely different approach.

The Green Book

With its beige cloth cover, embossed with a picture of a green tree, The Green Bible is the embodiment of simplicity. Inside, passages that refer to the environment are highlighted in green.

Smith says the book catches people's attention: "I took it to a Bible study and set it down on the table and people looked at it and said, 'What is that?'"

Mark Tauber, the senior vice president at HarperOne, which publishes The Green Bible, says that the book is important in both form and function.

"The actual form of the Bible, we think, is a green product," he says, noting that the entire book is made of recyclable materials. "Then in function, it performs the function of helping people be better stewards, if you will."

Smith points out that while The Book seeks to begin a conversation, The Green Bible wants "to add to the conversation."

"Did Jesus say anything about recycling? Did God care what we do with the earth? These are the existing conversations that are emerging that I think The Green Bible contributes to," says Smith.

The book is drawing attention in secular venues, including the Earth First Web site, where bloggers offered unusual praise, which Tauber paraphrases as: "Those crazy wacko religious people ... if you have to believe there is something beyond this life, this is probably a good Bible for you to read."

"It was this backhanded compliment from people not known for being so friendly to people of faith," says Tauber.

Both The Green Bible and The Book are aimed at the young. But Soderberg says that when the illuminated Bible was published in Sweden, it appealed beyond its target audience. In fact, he says, the publisher expanded the market by almost 50 percent in a year.

And Soderberg says there is no question that a new conversation about the Bible is under way in a lot of unexpected places.

He says he's seen people in offices that are very strict talking about the Bible, "because everybody flips through this magazine. ... That's cool."

And an illuminated version of the Old Testament is in the works. Soderberg says it will be published in the U.S. in the spring of 2009 — just in time for Easter.

Bible Illuminated: The Book New Testament (Paperback)
by Forlaget Illuminated Sweden (Corporate Author)

Who created The Book?

The company that created The Book is called Illuminated World. The co-founder and creative visionary for the Bible Illuminated is Dag Söderberg, former CEO of one of the largest advertising firms in Scandinavia. Dag's passion for photography and innovative design helped with the creative direction of such a huge undertaking. What is the goal of publishing The Book?

There is no religious mission behind The Book. We believe that its success will be driven by the fact that this is not coming from any specific faith, religion or church. We are from many faiths, backgrounds, and beliefs; ultimately we are trying to create something for the many and not just for the few. The goal is to drive an emotional reaction and get people to think, discuss and share. It's meant to trigger bigger moral questions that will in turn help people to understand the common heritage between all religions through the Bible's text. We hope people will find the images, design and layout intriguing—intriguing enough to talk about the actual stories in the Bible and what the morals and lessons mean to them. The more you know, the more you can participate in discussions about the world and understand the bigger picture.

What does The Book look like?

Bible Illuminated:The Book looks like a high-end magazine. It presents the New Testament as it's never been seen before in full-color, glossy format, illustrated throughout with striking, sometimes provocative, contemporary photographs. It is meant to be comfortable and easy to flip through and used as you would use any Bible. There are no verses and the text runs with columns and paragraphs just like in a magazine.

Who is Illuminated World trying to reach with The Book?

The Book is meant for anyone and everyone. It is for people who currently own a Bible but never read it, people who don't own a Bible or would never even consider picking it up, as well as people who currently read or use the Bible, but want to experience this new, innovative design. He loves art and finding unique ways to present traditional things in a non-traditional way, a part of his advertising background that definitely shaped The Book and ultimately its look and feel. From the Publisher
Erwin McManus
"What do you get when you integrate a passion for the Scriptures with a passion for those who have never read it...you get the Bible Illuminated. What would it look like if you blended the ancient text of the Scripture with a boldly contemporary and artistic style...Bible Illuminated. For years Bible makers have been creatively packaging the Bible to enhance the experience of people of faith who treasure the Scriptures. Bible Illuminated beautifully presents the content of the Bible as an art form that can be appreciated and enjoyed by those who are not likely to be carrying one. Bible Illuminated feels and looks like it belongs on the tables of every cosmopolitan coffee shop and artisan hang out. Finally a Bible that looks like the city!" - Erwin McManus, Pastor and Author, most recently of Wide Awake: The Future is Waiting Within You, published by Thomas Nelson

J.P. Moreland
"It is impossible to understand the flow of Western culture and the development of its best institutions without grasping the Bible. Judged by its impact, historical importance and power to transform lives and cultures, the Bible simply towers over any other written document. It is no accident that it is the first book to be burned when a totalitarian regime arises. And the contents of the Bible contain a rich blend of spiritual, moral and practical insight, along with the wisdom needed to live a flourishing life. Indeed, for millions upon millions, including myself, the Bible is more than a mere human document--it is the very Word of God to humanity. For all these reasons, and many, many more, it is good when people read and reflect on the Bible. The Bible Illuminated provides a fresh opportunity to recognize the knowledge about reality. It brings the Bible to ordinary folk in a readable form and an attractive format." - J.P. Moreland, Distinguished Prof. of Philosophy, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University.

Jim Watts
"Though the look and feel of The Book: New Testament amply fulfills my expectations of the aesthetic and production values that an ad executive brings to Bible publishing, the title of the two-volume series, The Bible Illuminated, places the work within a very old tradition. Once you start looking for it, the heritage of medieval illuminated manuscripts can be recognized in various ways, such as the use of incipit pages and the use of boxed verses or yellow highlights for emphases. Despite appearances, then, The Book: New Testament does not attempt a radical aesthetic innovation in bible publishing but rather consciously updates an ancient and venerable tradition with new production values and methods." - Jim Watts, Professor and Director of Graduate Studies. Department of Religion, Syracuse University His vision from the beginning was to re-brand the Bible for a consumer audience but remain true to the text (which is why The Book uses the standard Good News Translation).

My opinion is that this is a good thing. In the 1st place the good thing is that the text was not changed. The format indeed is more attractive to young people to read it. There were a few earlier attempts to put The Bible in fresh format.

When it will be in English and if it will be affordable I’ll buy it.

The concept originated with a general philosophical dinner table discussion between Michel Gyring and Mats Rabe in Stockholm, Sweden. The conversation, which led to several other discussions with key individuals, asked the question “Why people don’t read historical texts” and they began pondering if the traditional format or design turned people off. They realized there was a huge opportunity to re-design or illuminate these types of old texts. This was the beginning of Illuminated World (formerly Förlaget Illuminated Sweden, AB.)

The team, led by Dag Soderberg, first published an innovative and unique new bible version entitled “The Illuminated Bible: The Book” in two volumes – New Testament and Old Testament in Sweden, during spring and fall of 2007 respectively.

Remarkably, the new Illuminated Bible reached unprecedented sales in Sweden. Illuminated World increased the market for bibles by almost 50 percent without affecting normal bible sales.

Today, Illuminated World is financed and managed by a Swedish consortium, chaired by Dag Söderberg, former CEO of one of the largest advertising firms in Europe and Jan Carlzon, former CEO of Scandinavian Airlines and author of global management bestseller; The Moments of Truth (1987). The group has published an English-language version being released into 2008, the first of many projects around the world.

Two new Bibles targeting a young, hip — even secular — audience are hitting bookstores.

Facts about The Book - Bible Illuminated (Gamla Testamentet):

* contains the exact, unedited text from the Old Testament in the most recent update of the Swedish Bible from 2000.
* was conceived and designed to be accessible, neutral, ethical and aesthetic.
* includes 450 pages, with photographs, in magazine format.
* has had 30,000 copies printed (there are about 70,000 traditional Bibles sold in Sweden annually).
* targets an urban middle class aged 25-50 years.
* is planned to be translated into English and to have a New Testament sequel.
* is available in Sweden from major bookstores as well as from the official website for The Book.

What is The Book? It’s the normal Bible in Swedish, but with a new modern design, that has pictures.

Who came with this idea? Dag Saderberg, a man with a background in advertising. He says Most people have issues with the Bible. They have never gotten into it. They don’t find it accessible. But it’s our history, our heritage. And for most of us, we relate to it more than we think. Religious or not, it shapes much of our moral codes. The Book project seeks to eliminate this inaccessibility by presenting the Old Testament in magazine format. There are millions of magazines sold every month across Europe, so this format is familiar to many people. It’s closer to the way people read today. People prefer a text that is journalistic laid out: split into articles, with headlines, quote boxes, pictures and captions. This way they can more easily pick the parts they’re interested in reading.

Swedish Adman Has Good News of Great Joy, Marketed to All People

If Thomas Nelson created its "Revolve" edition of the New Testament five years ago because their market research showed "he only thing [teenage girls] read is fashion magazines," at first look Swedish advertising executive Dag Söderberg seems to be operating on the assumption that adult reading habits aren't much different. He's stripped the books of their chapter and verse headings to present them as straightforward stories, illustrated with glossy photographs that comment with varying degrees of irony on selected verses. The title spread for the Book of Revelation, for example, quotes Rev. 1:7 ("Look, he is coming on the clouds...!"), while a verse from Romans 14 about how a person with faith can eat anything, but the person who is weak in faith eats only vegetables is illustrated by an attractive hand model working a cooked bird.
swedish-bible-revelation.jpg

Söderberg's Bible Illuminated: The Book was released in two volumes (one for each Testament) in Sweden last year, and is said to have expanded that mostly secular nation's Bible sales by 50 percent—which would appear to validate his intention to get the Bible into the hands of people who are too turned off by contemporary religion to consider reading it. ("The text is older than the churches," he says in a promotional video. "The text is really our history, our heritage.") An English-language edition of the New Testament, using the American Bible Society's modern "Good News" translation, is coming to the U.S. market this fall, with the distributors at Midpoint Trade Books anticipating a first printing of 200,000 copies—further backed by a $500,000 marketing plan that includes a PR firm whose usual clients include resort hotels and casinos. And, while Söderberg's stated mission has been non-religious, it's said that talks are underway with "a major evangelical figure" to act as a spokesman for the book, aimed at cushioning criticism from evangelical circles of the book's glossy photo layouts.

The Green Bible [review]

There are probably two types of bibles: those that want to start a conversation, and those that want to add to the conversation.

* My previous review on the Bible Illuminated was obviously the former as the book tries to draw people in via unconventional forms and means.
* This bible, The Green Bible, is probably part of the latter.

Essentially, The Green Bible takes a cue from the red-letter KJVs (the ones with the words of Christ in red) and puts all the words that deal with environmental topics or creation care in green. It colors them if they fall into one of four criteria. Passages that show:

1. how God and Jesus are involved with Creation.
2. how all elements (land, water, plants, humans, animals, etc) are interdependent
3. how nature responds to God.
4. how we are called to care for creation.

I'll admit that my first impressions were negative. I am weary of these types of color-coded bibles. The redline KJVs often highlight the Messianic texts in the Old Testament, to my annoyance. But more importantly, one of my first bibles in college was The Five Gospels where the Jesus Seminar went through the Gospels and color-coded them based on how close they were to the original words of Jesus. This sort of thoughtful yet arbitrary color-coding did not make a strong impression on me (except how much of John is second-generation).

All that said, here's some joys and concerns.

Joys
There's some excellent "extras" found in the essays at the front of the text. Barbara Brown Taylor's treatment of cattle and humans in the Creation story is hilarious and poignant. Gordon Aeschliman connects creation care with poverty initiatives. Brian McLaren talks about human sin taking precedence over Creation being Good and traces the extra-biblical notion of this Creation being disregarded.

Better yet is the "green trails" at the end which trace certain elements of Creation texts through Scripture: There are study and question guides on six topics, such as Creation as "Good," being connected to Creation, the impact of human sin, and creation care as justice. I essentially got six bible studies that I can get really excited about for $20...a bargain!

Concerns
Some of the texts highlighted are done because "they show Jesus or God interacting with nature." However, as eco-ethicist Marla Marcum told me, not all those passages are meant to be centered on how God or Jesus interact with nature, but simply to show the power of God. The ways how JC and God interact with Creation are not meant to be lessons of how we should, but rather exemplifications of the power of God. Take heed!

Conclusion
While not as revolutionary as the Bible Illuminated, The Green Bible is not meant to be so. It is meant as a tool for personal or group study, and has many practical impacts. It is meant to add to the conversation to answer the questions of "what did Jesus have to say about recycling" and traces biblical themes in response.

Bible Illuminated: The Book New Testament by Illuminated World

# Publisher: Illuminated World
# Pub. Date: October 2008
# ISBN-13: 9789197669443

A homeless man walking. A soldier preparing for combat. A mother nursing her newborn child. Never before has a publisher illuminated the Bible with such an array of striking, even provocative contemporary photographs. Wrapped in a arresting cover. The Bible Illuminated: The Book, New Testament presents the Bible in a full-color, glossy magazine format, set in running text with no verses, inviting readers to step into the Bible and experience it in a whole new way. The Book, using the Good News Translation as approved by the American Bible Society, will introduce believers and non-believers to a culturally relevant, accessible Bible and will encourage dialogue between people from all walks of life.

When was the last time you picked it up and read it?

November 04, 2008: I have been blessed in my life to be able to read the Bible several times over in several different translations and you know what? It's a great book. If you haven't read it you should give it a try! There is a reason it is the most popular book in the world you know :)

This month I was given the amazing opportunity to preview a new Bible version- Bible Illuminated. Honestly I think it is easily the most incredible version I have EVER seen.

The photos are incredible- just looking at them gave me VERY strong emotions and then to have them paired with the Word of God was just intense. It truly had me captivated.

The Bible Illuminated would make an excellent Christmas gift too.

Bible Illuminated: The Book New Testament by Karen Day

NewTestament.jpg

No matter your religious beliefs, one thing we can probably all agree on is how laborious it is to read the Bible. A Swedish outfit called Illuminated World hopes to change that notion by creating Bible Illuminated, a relevant version of the historical book. Set in magazine format, the New Testament publication includes the same time-honored stories paired with photos that conceptualize how they relate to our modern day problems.

One of the best examples of how they've made the Bible hip is the book of Mark, whose theme surrounds God sending a messenger to open the way and portrays Jesus as a man of action. Between the stories of Jesus healing a paralyzed man or healing a boy with an evil spirit are today's goodwill ambassadors, such as Al Gore, Angelina Jolie, Bono, and Bill Gates, who have worked hard to raise awareness of the problems in Africa or teach us about the effects of global warming and pollution.

With a goal to drive an emotional reaction and get people to think, rather than verses there is running text over a provocative image, forcing you to understand we can all still relate to the classic stories. Like in the book of Romans, where we are reminded about the importance of not judging others, with a photo of a woman pulling the leg off of a cooked duck.
ali.jpgMark.jpg Bible001001.jpg

Originally in Swedish, the English version is now available at Amazon or Powell's and the Old Testament is in the works.