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Revolve: The Complete New Testament

Revolve: The Complete New Testament

List Price: $16.99
Your Price: $11.55
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Brainwashing 101: Make it cool and glossy!
Review: Jesus was cool. The people that distort his message and want everyone to live in fear of the unknown are not. This magazine is one of the tools they will use to make you a believer. Don't live in fear. If you have doubts about religion, you are not alone.

Believe what you want, but realize you have options. There are a lot of people all over the world and inside and outside small town, USA that think differently than the "normal" and will never be punished by some menacing, "all-knowing" God... It just won't happen.

Just because your parents "raised" you Christian, (or anything else) doesn't mean that is what your are or that you have to believe it to be "good." Ever hear of freedom of religion? It applies to everyone.

Be confident.

Think for yourself.

Be yourself, not what your pastor, priest, preacher or parents want you to be.

Peace.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Fundamentalism can be trendy!
Review: Ah, the poor fundamentalists. Always 20 years behind the culture and trying soooo hard to be hip. No wonder they ditched the Old Testament. All that Biblical stuff about dashing babies against rocks and slaughtering whole tribes who believed in different god - better pretend the whole OT doesn't exist, otherwise people might wonder why on earth you'd worship such a barbaric god.

So they've written a new Bible that isn't so, you know, Bible-like.
It's, like, written in a style that, you know, teenage girls, like, can understand and stuff. And it delivers the usual right-wing junk, gussied up to look trendy.

In the next issue of Revolve:
- Animal sacrifices: burn a goat for Jesus!
- Barefoot and pregnant - inspiring stories from Christian wives
- Keep a hate journal. Help Jesus send your enemies to hell!
- Help! I'm not submissive enough!
- 10 tips for bombing an abortion clinic
- Find fulfillment by being passive and mindless

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: It applies to the world I live
Review: After reading all the reviews I noticed a trend in the comments. Those who bashed the magazine were selfish; wanting to live life their way and with no true purpose, and most importantly ignorant of what it means to lead a Christian life in today's world. Yes, you say Christian teen girls have no life, no freedom, no enjoyment in life. Well, how would you know unless you've lived it? I love my life and I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. From experience I know that God's love is more real to me when I apply his promises in the Bible to situations I face today. This magazine is an excellent way for teens, like me, to bring God's word to their every day lives.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Could things be more stupid?
Review: This just goes to show that in America, marketing is everything. And it's sad that people resort to making a buck with slick brainwashing techniques like these. It's the editorial equivalent of starting a cult. What could be more vile?

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Pros outweight cons
Review: This new version of the Bible written specifically for young women (I'd say ages 13-22) is a great evangelistic tool. I can see girls carrying this around with school books and someone asking about the "new magazine." Girls could really use those opportunities to share Christ.

The guts of the book are pretty interesting with great "Beauty Secrets" that girls can really grasp and "Blab Q and A" sections that answer questions about the tough issues girls are facing.

But I will say this: I am appalled that the publisher, Transit Books, would actually advertise their own products within the pages and on the covers of the piece. I think that's pretty tacky. The Bible is not just another book for sale and it should not be used as a PR piece.

There are a few pictures within the pages that I can understand the publisher replacing in the next issue, aka, pictures of girls in two-piece bathing suits and in shirts that show their midriffs. But I do not find them tacky or too revealing at all.

Overall, this is a good piece. The use of the pictures of real girls - rather than just cover models - and the copy seems to be uplifting and I would definitely suggest it to the high school girls that I teach at my church.

And, by the way, I'm a 25-year-old Public Relations Practitioner so I'm not too far removed from the age group or the media to know what girls need/want.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: MUST BUY
Review: I volunteer with Young Life, a Christian Organization that works with teens and introduces them to Christ. We are always looking for new and different ways of introducing Christianity to someone who is against religion. This is an amazing idea. A new way for someone to begin their walk with Christ and to help teenage girls understand what it means to be a Christian. I highly recommend this magazine!!!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Trivializing Life's Complexities
Review: Leave it to conservative Evangelicals to reduce the complex issues of life to the level of trite moralisms that simply reinforce patriarchal values of conformity and submission for women.

Fortunately, today's teen girls are probably smart enough to recognize this for what it is and avoid it like the plague.

As someone who has not only read the New Testament, but read it in the original Greek and studied it for many years, I can assure prospective buyers that the book being passed off by Nelson Bibles' as "The Complete New Testament" cannot be rightly considered a "translation" as the term is typically used. Rather, as the editor herself concedes, Revolve attempts to capture the "thoughts" of the text rather than rendering the original Greek sources into idiomatic English. While this may seem like hair-splitting, it significantly impacts the reading experience.

The reader is not left to wrestle with the complexities and ambiguities of what the writers actually wrote, but is treated with an interpretation of what the writers allegedly meant. And this interpretive filter is that of extreme conservative evangelicalism, with all of its reactionary cultural baggage masquerading as the "teachings of Jesus".

At a time in their lives when teens need to hear straight talk and truth from responsible adults, Revolve assumes the breezy discourse of vapid glamour magazines which may, in fact, be more informative and progressively pro-woman than Revolve, even as they are themselves hopelessly conflicted by their unabashed celebration of conspicuous consumption and the disabling culture of beauty that leads to serious social problems like eating disorders and low self esteem.

I urge Christians and non-Christians alike to give Revolve a wide berth and try introducing teen girls to the real thing through personal attention and by taking an interest in their lives.

...

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Brainwashing for Young Girls
Review: Don't get me wrong... I have nothing against Christianity or religion. I'm certainly in favour of anything that can help provide young girls with some stability in their lives.

But this is not the way to go about it.

I didn't think much of "Revolve" when I first heard about it, but the more I looked into it, the more disturbed I became. Never call a boy and always let him take the lead in a relationship...? That's got to be some of the worst advice I've read. I can only imagine what will happen to the girls who follow this, only to find themselves in an abusive relationship.

And what's with the "never question your parents" bit? To a certain extent (like curfew times) this is not a bad idea. However, parents can be wrong. And it's not bad to disagree with them on larger issues like politics, homosexuality or abortions. We are individuals and, as such, we should know that there is nothing wrong with making up our own minds.

This magazine is about telling girls WHAT to think, not HOW to think. It's a manual in how to turn their brains off. I'm afraid that it will do more harm than good, and it certainly isn't going to provide help to the people who need it the most.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: God speaks to all in many different ways
Review: The editors should be commended for being innovative in this new delivery of the New Testament. Any Bible (even the revered KJV) with study notes included, presents a particular publisher's point of view. Parents should read Revolve with their daughters to balance those views. I am a student of reformed feminist theology and will simply discuss with my daughters the points of the sidebars with which I have a difference of opinion. The young girls I shared this magazine with (ages 14-16)received it with great interest - and they sat down to READ IT! How often does that happen? I view Revolve as a launching point, not as the only Bible a young woman should ever read....

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Decide for yourself... check it out.
Review: .... I agree that the pictures they use don't exactly match the image they encourage, and that it may send conflicting messages about body image and "fitting in".

Something I liked about this study Bible (really, that's what it is) is that it offers answers to questions teenage girls have. I may not agree with the conservative view they offer, but I think this study Bible is a valuable resource and a good place to start discussions. It offers monthly calendars (not year-specific) which encourage readers to have an active faith life including worship, praying for persons of influence, visiting the sick and elderly, writing letters, and volunteering with poverty-relief agencies.

I hope they come out with a similar resource for teen guys. I applaud this production.


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