Saturday, August 23, 2014

Bible Review: The NIV Spiritual Renewal Study Bible

The Spiritual Renewal Study Bible provides plenty of extra commentary, including footnotes that seem to serve as reminders and explanations of passages rather than academic exploration.

Spiritual keys, split into seven parts for each testament, seem more geared toward those looking for a self-help book, focusing on leaving the past behind, forgiving each other and surrender to God. The "self-help" feel doesn't come across so much in the "key devotionals" so much as in the editors' introduction to and explanation for them. I suppose this fits what I know of editor Stephen Arterburn's specialities, though. I don't know much about editor David Stoop.

The remaining extra content includes profiles of people in the Bible and lessons from their lives; books of the Bible introductions that focus on "Spiritual Renewal Themes" and provide essential facts, as well as outlines of the books' content; and spiritual discipline devotionals (great reminders of the Biblical support for activities such as prayer, study, worship, repentance and more).

I did find at least one minor instance of modern-day sensibilities sneaking into the content, but it wasn't a deal-breaker, and the devotionals do not appear to delve into any controversial issues.

The content is laid out well with pleasant fonts, and it set up in such a way that readers can easily use the Bible for daily devotionals. It's not a Bible for deep study, but it's a good resource if you're looking for something to help you start acting in your faith.

* Disclaimer: I received this Bible for free in exchange for my honest review of it.

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