Pre-Review - The Bible Illuminated

I am thrilled to be able to preview an exciting new project for you - The Bible Illuminated. I was thrilled to be able to participate, and am happy to share it with all of you.

We've all seen bibles before - in bookstores there are often shelves full of them, each looking basically the same, none terribly eye-catching. Honestly, if we don't have a specific reason to purchase one, a bible is not a book we would normally pick up for fun. We own one because it is part of our faith, or because we were given one as a child, but it's not generally a book we enjoy for its interesting aesthetic value. The publishers of The Bible Illuminated are out to change all that.

The book is, in its most literal sense, an illustrated New Testament. What makes it unique is the choice of illustrations. The picture above is the cover photo. Not your typical biblical illustration. The publishers have taken a series of striking contemporary images and used them to illustrate centuries-old bible verses. Additionally, the text is not broken into chapter and verse, so the appearance is much more that of a novel than a traditional bible. I have not yet been able to get my hands on an actual copy- I was able to view the book online, and my print copy is headed to me in the mail. I am very interested to see the book in real life - I hope it lives up to the expectations I have based on the version I've seen. I feel like I can say, even without seeing the final version, that this project has the potential to change the way people read the bible.


Here are a few more images from The Bible Illuminated:




This image is illustrating a passage from the book of Philipians - "It does not matter! I am happy about it - just so Christ is preached in every way possible, whether from wrong or right motives."









This is from the book of Matthew - "She will have a son, and you will name him Jesus - because he will save his people from their sins."










From Revelation - "For the Devil has come down to you, and he is filled with rage, because he knows that he has only a little time left."












From Romans - "For is was by hope that we were saved; but if we see what we hope for, then it is not really hope. For who of us hopes for something we see?"










As I said, I cannot wait to get my hands on the real-life copy - I expect it to be amazing. I'm grateful to Lisa Roe for the opportunity to participate in this project, and I will be writing more about it in a few weeks. The Bible Illuminated is available for purchase today, so if you are interested, check it out!