How would you like to read a bible with full glossy photos? How about a bible with photos of Muhammad Ali, Princess Diana and Bono depicting messengers and other characters of the scriptures? "The Bible: Illuminated" is coming to America direct from Sweden. Swedish publisher Dag Söderberg, a former advertising executive, says his "Bible Illuminated" is breakthrough in cultural relevancy. The publisher contends that while many people are uncomfortable with traditional Bibles as we know them, his new work might cause them to read. The project started as a result of a dinner conversation between two gentlemen (Michel Gyring and Mats Rabe) who asked the question: "Why people don’t read historical texts?” They realized there was a huge opportunity to re-design or illuminate the Bible... and the rest is history.
Of course, this new "bible" is raising eyebrows and stirring some controversy.That someone would want to embellish, or even illuminate, the text of Scripture is of no surprise, remarked John E. Hurtgen, dean of the Campbellsville University school of theology. That a non-church-related institution or group would do so is welcome, but also puzzling.
I have seen many ultra-contemporary editions (of the Bible), and I am not personally a big fan of any of them, said Paul Gutjahr, an associate professor of religious studies at Indiana University.
This looks like an issue of Vogue. There’s Coca-Cola, photos of soldiers helping poor foreign children, Gandhi. Uh! Can’t have a Bible without Bono said Marissa Gluck, marketing guru (Radar Research)
While the text is advertised as the Good News Translation, approved by the American Bible Society, verses are unnumbered (similar to The Message-style) and laid out in magazine-style format, with many key passages highlighted for emphasis."Bible Illuminated" was supposed to be released in the states by October 28, 2008 but a check of numerous bookstores on the eastern seaboard including South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland and Virginia had not received the book. The book; however, is currently available on Amazon.com®.
Remarkably, the new Bible reached unprecedented sales in Sweden. Illuminated World increased the market for bibles by almost 50 percent without affecting normal bible sales according to one report.
The whole idea was to illuminate scripture for those who might not pick up the traditional copies. In this [new] work you'll not only find renown celebrities posing as biblical characters but you'll see them in different settings like post-Katrina New Orleans in the book of Revelation. So the word is... its coming to America. And you will most likely find this new bible-mag in non-traditional places that you'd find the scriptures, like news stands and hair salons.
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.
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Thanks for stopping by my blog. Great to have another brother in Christ to fellowship with. I'll stop by often. thanks, Mike
Terrace thanks for stopping by my place as well. You've got a good looking blog here. Will be back again.
do we get "I read my Bible credits" if we get this book? I love me some coca-cola ads!
-t.la