NIV Bible

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Bible
Review: I have not read this entire version yet, but so far I can only rate it excellent. The commentary and introductory essays are very good, and it's set up to help new Bible readers. I don't hesitate to recommend it to both Protestants and Catholics.

Rating:
Summary: In Response to Kevin_S
Review: I share most of your thoughts on religion, appreciate your perspective, and have just two points for you:

1) Your comments are belittled their own "grandiloquence"

2) A quote: It is conceivable that religion may be morally useful without being intellectually sustainable. -- John Stuart Mill

Perhaps you should spend your time examining your own happiness rather than decrying the means by which others derive theirs?



Rating:
Summary: Plain and Simple Word of God.
Review: I was given a copy of the NIV Witness Edition Bible as a college freshman, because I had no Bible to call my own. I was philosophically and spiritually unsure, and generally felt just a vague connection to Christianity through my Catholic roots.

It was this book that slowly, painstakingly brought me to God. It wasn't an overnight boom, you're there conversion...more of a slow turning upward, a gradual creation of light. Since I became immersed in the issue of Bible translations, I've grown to love other Bibles (especially the NKJV), but my NIV Witness Edition Bible, with its beat-up paperback cover, remains a very special one to me. If you wish to get a gift for somebody in need of spiritual uplifting, the Bible may be just the thing...I submit that this humble paperback, solid in its dimensions and with almost no embellishment on the Scripture inside, is a thing that just might change somebody else's life.

Rating:
Summary: Plain and Simple Word of God.
Review: I was given a copy of the NIV Witness Edition Bible as a college freshman, because I had no Bible to call my own. I was philosophically and spiritually unsure, and generally felt just a vague connection to Christianity through my Catholic roots.

It was this book that slowly, painstakingly brought me to God. It wasn't an overnight boom, you're there conversion...more of a slow turning upward, a gradual creation of light. Since I became immersed in the issue of Bible translations, I've grown to love other Bibles (especially the NKJV), but my NIV Witness Edition Bible, with its beat-up paperback cover, remains a very special one to me. If you wish to get a gift for somebody in need of spiritual uplifting, the Bible may be just the thing...I submit that this humble paperback, solid in its dimensions and with almost no embellishment on the Scripture inside, is a thing that just might change somebody else's life.

Rating:
Summary: The joys of comparison shopping
Review: Shopping for a Bible is, in some ways, more complicated than shopping for a car. (And the Bible, in theory at least, is supposed to transport you a lot farther.) So many competing translations, so many different "features". (Would you believe metal covers?) I looked at literally dozens of different products before settling on this slow-but-steady-selling edition and I'm perfectly satisfied.

Before we get to the contentious issue of translation, there's an even more fundamental matter to consider - the physical manufacture of the book. All the "slim" and "compact" volumes are a bad joke - paper so thin you can read both sides at once, and print so miniscule that I defy you to get through ten chapters without getting a splitting headache. The perfect editions for people who want to bestow, own, or be seen owning a Bible but have no expectation of it ever being read. (That's okay. God loves you too.) You can ignore the paperbacks too, unless you've gotten the Good News courtesy of a stretch in one of our penal institutions and are really short of money. The hardcovers are just a little more expensive in most cases, will last ten times as long, and are ten times more pleasant to use. Eliminate all the ones with poor fonts and inadequate margins and you've seriously narrowed the field. This edition doesn't engage in the tacky (but popular) practice of printing the words of Jesus in red, but if you're afraid you'll lose track of them otherwise, you could always mark the pages with a red highlighter and draw arrows labelled "Over Here!"

As for the translations, arguing their respective merits and demerits is as fun (and unsettleable) as picking All-Time sports teams, but unless you're fluent in Koine Greek - in which case you need to get out more - the only important question is whether it reads well enough that you'll actually want to read the blessed thing. (The theological disagreements that arise are so trivial when you really get down to it that it's hard to imagine even God caring about them much. I mean none of the translations out there read: "No one comes to the Father if he's a Presbyterian.") And on that score, the Good News Translation trumps all others, in my considered opinion. I suppose The Message is even easier to read, if you can stomach the idea of Jesus sounding like a used-car salesman with a *really* great deal. But among the serious translations, this is the only one that doesn't have the weird verbal contortions and spasms that scream "I'm translated!" (The best-selling NIV seems to suffer from Tourette's Syndrome, by comparison.) This is real honest-to-God (so to speak) English and it's a pleasure. Put it this way: the NIV has the overwhelming market share [Windows] but the GNT has the superior operating system [Mac].

I can imagine the Proud (shame on you!) bristling at the informative subject headings and the somewhat childish line drawings (unmistakably redolent of the 70s, when they were made, but effective in their simple-minded way) but personally speaking I rather enjoy these pedagogic booster seats.

Rating:
Summary: Passable, but Barely
Review: This edition also could be called the cheapskate's Bible. I spent a lot of time with this book and developed a certain emotional attachment, but from an objective perspective, it is not even close to the best version to buy. The footnotes are virtually nonexistent and when things are footed it is generally of very little assistence. The NIV of course has a bit of a bias toward mainline Protestant Christianity since they are the ones who produced this translation. There are no introductions to the varioius books, either. The "helpful" articles are little more than standard propagandistic fare. For the best bet, check out the Oxford Revised English Bible instead. It has great notes that actually give some insight into Biblical thought. The only reason I own this Bible is because it was given to me for free, and though I admit that owning this Bible is better than owning no Bible at all, it's not much better.

Rating:
Summary: 66 Books in 1? Cant be bad!
Review: This is a collection of stories and chronologies spanning from Whence Time Began, through to the End of Days, and has all the ingredients which have made it a best seller world wide.

You have kings and kidnapping, adultery and angels, and proof that one man Can make a difference! I suspect that in many years time when the DVD comes out complete with the extra gospels edited out at the council of Hippo in 393, and four alternative endings to coincide with the differing way things can be interpreted, one of which will no doubt include the original ending of the gospels in which there was no resurrection, just an empty tomb, it will break a fair few sales records across the globe.

Certainly this book captures the imagination. Like every good book, the reader becomes involved with the text and it stirs their emotions to a point where it becomes possible to immerse yourself completely. It has developed quite a cult following all over the world, and the regularity of festivals which originate from biblical events is truly mind-blowing.

Like a good film, it has also become extremely quotable, to the point where most people will know exactly what you are referring to after you've reeled off a few lines.

The only real let down is the ending, where things descend into the realms of dungeons and dragons, and although the whole of the last book is pretty much agreed on by scholars to be a metaphor, it just takes away that area of believability which had been built up from the beginning, but... all in all, it makes for a read quite like no other you'll pick up for a very long time!


Rating:
Summary: Good Place to Start
Review: When I was first looking for a Bible, I found SEVERAL! They come in different sizes, colors, with different features, not to mention (NIV, NKJV, NCV, etc.)

I was looking for a new Bible since my old one was an NCV (New Children's Version).

I like how the NIV is presented because how the text is written is less confusing. Compare a couple of passages from a King James Version Bible and an NIV, and you'll see what I mean.

However, some church's use different Bibles. The church I go to uses the NIV for Scripture, so I can follow along words for words. You may want to check with your church to see what Bible they are using.

Also, you may want to check them out and see which one you like best. I like the NIV because it is easier for me to understand. My sister prefers her NKJV.

If you aren't sure in the beginning, but want a Bible, get an inexpensive one. You can usually find them for $5 or less. If you decide that you want a different version or your church uses a different version, you didn't spend $30 on a Bible.

Have a great day!