Has the bible publishing industry gone out of control?
I received a CBD catalog today and here is just a portion of the bibles for sale out there.
NLT Every Man's Bible
NKJV Hugs Bible for Women
The Everyday Life Bible Amplified Edition-Joyce Meyer
The NIV Grandmother's Bible
NIV Celebrate Recovery Bible-Saddleback Church
The Official NCV Duct Tape Bible
NIV Mom's Devotional Bible
NIV Power of a Praying Woman Devotional Bible
Duct Tape Bible???????
Official?????
This is just a sampling.
If you go online you'll find many, many more.
Is it just me, or has the bible industry just become another industry to make more and more money?
What do you guys think of this?
I think it is a cheapening of God's Word.
There's a lot of money in Christianity. There's even more in Bibles. It's sad. The most bought book and the least read and worst applied book.
I think it is a statement about our times. Everybody wants their own version of Christianity. Jesus and me and how I live. I got the CBD Bible Catalog the other day...just nearly wept at the sheer volume and opulence of these Bibles and how so many Christians in the world will never have one.
I agree this is out of control and is nothing more than marketing ploys to sell to any and all niches.
As Media Center Director, I want to provide a good selection of study Bibles, but it becomes difficult to sift through the stuff. When has variety become repetition?
You have hit the proverbial nail on the proverbial head!
While we bash bible publishers, let's remember that they are only answering to what the market demands.
I noticed the same thing in my recent CBD catalogs.
I missed the Duct Tape Bible though.
I put the editors and publishers of some of these Bibles in the same class as the hustlers on TV using the Christian Religion to enrich themselves.
And the church feeds that with every version of worship service known to man, contemporary, traditional, cowboy, biker, rock and roll, and who knows
how many others.
I know that publishers can't give their products away.
But wasn't there a time when bibles we considered sacred?
What is going on today is merely worldy marketing schemes for nothing more than big profits.
I read recently about a new Thomas Nelson NIV Bible that was hand written by various people as the publisher took their bus (there's no telling what that cost) all around the nation and got people to hand write portions of scripture.
That is just goofy and to me shows a lack of respect for God's holy word because it's obviously the brain child of some marketing exec hired to boost profits for Thomas Nelson.
it is true that there is a lot of money in the christiam scheme of things in this world. just to name what the Bible has to say about this greed.
Revelations chapter 18;3. For the nations have drank of the wine of the wrath of her forniication , and the Kings of earth have committed fornication with her and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
That's right. I'm finding it interesting that some of those who think it's okay to market worship in a manner that appeals to the various tastes of certain groups are in this thread appalled when the same tactics are used to market the Bible.
About the NCV Duct Tape Bible, from the CBD website...
Okay, that might be a little cheesy, but if I knew a handyman who needed a new bible, I might buy one as a gift. Kind of like an inside joke.
However, I do agree that it seems like there's a Bible for every group and sub-group out there. Back in the early 90's I worked at Family Bookstores (yeah, I know it's Family Christian Stores now), and it got to the point where the sheer volume of stuff that was sold under the guise of Christianity was sickening. It's been about 15 years since I left there, and on the few occasions I do go into one, it's sad to see that nothing has changed.
JD voiced about the same thing.I disagree.These publishers do not have to go after such specialized niches in the market.It's too absurd.It seems as if it's all from a comedic parody.But sadly it's reality.I've thrown up my figurative hands more than oncer to say :"Enough!" ( I have literal hands too.)
Another thing.I wish Bibles being marketed for kids would leave out all the nonsense.When I weas a child I would not have been attracted by all the wild colors and general silliness.But then again,when I was a boy the Bible publishers were not up to these kinds of marketing ploys.