Thursday, October 19, 2006

Bible Tales

I recently dug out my first Bible. It was a imitation leather-bound "Good News" version . My dad and stepmother purchased it for me when I finally decided to attend comfirmation classes. My stepmother inscribed it for me in her beautiful handwriting, and it was a great introduction to serious Bible study.

When I completed confirmation, I was presented with an utterly gorgeous New American Standard Study Bible. It had a concordance and other study tools, and I thought that I appeared to be a very serious student of the Bible with this heavy book on my arm. It has never been far from me, and its wear testifies to the 22 years that I have toted it around.

When I entered seminary, I decided that I needed to get a new Bible. The New Revised Standard version was currently all the rage, as it featured "inclusive language", a very important thing for a girl-preacher in a liberal seminary. It is a nice translation, though oddly enough, it seems to have dissapeared.

My latest purchase is a simple copy of Today's New International Version, also controversial for its "feminist" leanings, despite being the product of evangelical scholars. I read parts of it last night on the "L" (public transit train).

It's really weird reading the Bible again. But in a good way.

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