Bible Review: ESV Grow! Bible

ESV Grow! Bible
ISBN: 978-1433528743
Hardcover, 1600 pages
Publisher: Crossway
Retails: $27.99

About the ESV Grow! Bible (from the publisher):

[It] is designed for children ages 8-12 for the time between when they use a children’s Bible and a more advanced edition. Coupling the full ESV text with many helpful features, this is a Bible that young students can call their own.

[It] comes with all-new features to help children learn and understand God’s Word. Children will find the ESV Grow! Bible full of interesting features and parents will appreciate that their kids can explore the full Bible text themselves. A great resource to connect young readers with the beauty and majesty of God’s Word.

I’ll be honest- I thought I wouldn’t like this Bible and was going to have to give it away to someone else who has those children that are in between Bibles. You know, because my kids have been using a regular Bible since…well, that’s all they’ve used. My kids wouldn’t have a use for this Bible.

Yes, yes that is a little snobbery you detect there. But I did say I would be honest! I’ve always felt that kids aren’t *ahem* dumb and don’t need a *ahem* dumbed-down Bible. {yes, my face is feeling a wee bit flushed- pride comes before a fall}

But I decided to put aside my snobbery {thank goodness!} and actually use this Bible for a bit to see what it had to offer. I will say, with no shame, that I prefer the King James Version Bible {or even better for me- the Geneva Bible}. This new Bible is English Standard Version which really takes the language from the old Bibles and makes it modern- or as the Translation Oversight Committee says it, “as literal as possible while maintaining clear expression and literary excellence”.

First, because I am like that, I will tell you that this book smells wonderful- like a book, not chemically ink. Okay. Glad we got that out of the way. I always sniff test books {and especially Bibles- hey, no laughing!} before I read them. And no, you cannot tell a good book by its smell…or its cover.

I will tell you what I did not care for in this Bible {‘version’ aside} first and then let you know what I did like {yes, there were some things}.

It’s hardback. A Bible is going to be used. A lot. {hopefully} It needs to be flexible and portable. Most kids aren’t going to sit prim and proper at a desk or table and use this Bible that way {well, I may be wrong but I’d like to see them pull it off the shelf and get comfy in an oversized chair or in their bed}. This Bible feels like it needs to be used that way. It’s too stiff. My kids agree.

And…wait, is that all? Why yes, that is all I didn’t care for {‘version’ aside}.

And here is what I did like about it:

The illustrations are appealing but not too bright and flashy. They depict Biblical people and events, not modern day. I’m not entirely sure why that is comforting but it is. The Bible is applicable to us now but it is important to understand those who wrote and the time they lived. Having images and photos of modern day wouldn’t be beneficial {imho}.

The ‘study-Bible’ aspect of it. Throughout the Bible there are boxes with information about what is being read. There is a specific one called 4U that helps understand the applicability of the passage to the reader personally. Also each section and each book of the Bible has an introduction to help understand the writer and the audience. There is also a glossary at the end of the Bible.

Finally, the timelines and maps. That really goes with the two points I made before but I love timelines and maps when reading anything historical {and the Bible is definitely historical}. These are done very well.

Bottom-line: I actually like this Bible. I am surprised but am glad that Crossway sent it to me to review. I think hope know it will be useful to my children as we go through God’s Word.

I received this Bible free from Crossway in exchange of an honest review. No compensation was given.

Book Review: Begin

Begin: a journey through scriptures for seekers and new believers, Compiled and edited by Ken Ham and Bodie Hodge
ISBN: 978-0-89051-630-0
Publisher: Master Books
Retail: $12.99

Begin presents foundational and relevant portions of Scripture from the ESV version of the Bible, along with a powerful mix of commentary, historical information, and helpful detail that gives you an easy overview of the structure and focus of the Bible. from the back cover.

I chose to review this book through New Leaf Publishing Group from Master Books. Originally, I had chosen it because I wanted to see if it would be a good answer to skeptics of the Bible. I didn’t really find that in this book but the authors don’t say that is their goal.

The book takes the ‘seeker’ through specific books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, John, Romans and Revelation. Before each section of Bible being put in the book is a commentary relevant to the section. At the end of each chapter of the book of the Bible that is presented in ESV version of the Bible are questions geared to make one think about what is being said in the Bible. Some of the questions are quite simple (yes/no) but most are open-ended, requiring reflection.

The one thing I appreciated the most about this book is the option to ‘journal’ through the study. On almost every page the margins are lined to allow for note taking. Also at the end of each chapter, where the questions are located, is ample room for writing down the answers. There are also footnotes for the scriptures in case a word or phrase may be confusing.

Some of the reasoning put forth to try to help explain an aspect, concept, situation, etc., in the Bible is not very clear in the author’s words and personally I would find it to confuse more than enlighten. I did find it a little amusing where Paul wrote “brothers” the footnote says, “Or brothers and sisters…” I find that to be a little silly but do understand that some new believers may have trouble with the prominence of males in the Bible {or lack of prominence of women}. That is just one instance and just a personal view of it.

Another issue I have with the book is the focus of creation and a young earth. But again, I do understand that it is not a commonly held belief and coming into Christianity may challenge previously held beliefs. I just get tired of hearing about it, I guess.

I use the KJV Bible but I think that ESV may be my next choice of Bible so this book wasn’t too difficult to adjust to in that respect. If you are adamant that one version of the Bible is the ‘correct’ one then this book may not sit so well with you. Also, if you are adverse to Ken Ham’s view points, you may not like this book either.

Overall, I found the book to be okay. It would be good to have beside your Bible while you read the chosen parts discussed in this book.

***Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from NLPG in exchange for an honest review. A positive review was not required. See Disclosure/Policies.***

Book Review: Already Compromised

Already Compromised by Ken Ham & Greg Hall with Brit Beemer
ISBN: 978-0890516072
Publisher: New Leaf Publishing Group/Master Books
Retail: $13.99

If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.

How do Christian colleges stack up when it comes to teaching Biblical truths? How many actually teach what the Bible says? What impact does this have on those entering and leaving Christian colleges? Ken Ham, Greg Hall and research data from Britt Beemer give the facts in the book Already Compromised.

With the passing of time, I’m getting very close to having a student that will be looking at attending college. I really can’t keep burying my head in the sand. I requested to review this book from New Leaf Publishing and they graciously sent me a copy.

Many know who Ken Ham is (and many may know who Greg Hall is as well- I didn’t) and his affiliation with Answers in Genesis. The philosophy behind AiG is that if you can’t believe, and have faith in, the first book of the Bible (in its entirety- as written) then you will have trouble with the remainder of the Bible as well. That is why when researching Christian colleges many of the questions were dealing with belief and teachings about and from the first book of the Bible. Of course, there are other questions that veer from the book of Genesis (such as “do you believe the Bible is literally true?” and “what does your institution teach about the Bible?”) but it is interspersed throughout the book. Personally, I felt it ‘got old’ that they kept coming back to the “young earth/old earth” debate BUT I understand that it is something that is important to distinguish.

I did like a statement made by Ken Ham on page 129 in chapter 8 (The High Stakes of Good Thinking: The Age of the Earth):

I am sometimes belittled and cut down by professors at “respected” Christian universities because I don’t have the academic credentials that some of these people do. They think that because they have the credentials, they have the truth. They say, “How dare Ken Ham question us, because he is not trained in biblical languages; he didn’t go to Bible college; he didn’t go to seminary; etc.” In some ways I’m glad that I don’t have those credentials, because I might have ended up like some of them: compromising the truth clearly laid forth by Scripture in the midst of a bunch of academic mumble jumble created to accommodate secular scientific ideas.

I agree that it seems that much of the debate about Christianity is because the ‘educated’ are ‘in the know’. And the only ones. He goes on to say:

Or worse than that, they might actually believe that since they teach it, that makes it true—that they are the ones who actually determine the truth.

There is a chapter geared toward college students- chapter 10- that gives many scriptures and advice to help students stay true to their beliefs. The final chapter- chapter 11- calls for unity but not as it has been requested by many:

We are often told we should be concentrating on our unity in Christ alone. The accusations usually sound like this: “Only Christ should matter and those elements of the gospel message essential for salvation—and differing interpretations in Genesis should be acceptable and tolerated.

But this view ignores a larger question—can we separate the centrality of Christ from the authority of [God’s] Word? Surely we should agree that our unity should be centered around Christ. After all, it is only through faith in Jesus Christ that one can be saved…If the Word of God is not an authoritative document, then how can we know that the message of Jesus and the gospel is reliable?

Well, it was a lot to read (not that it is a large book but it is full of numbers and statistics) and take in. But it definitely made me think.

I received this book from New Leaf Publishing in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated in any other way.