[full disclosure: this review is built from my experiences with a review copy of Holy Bible: Mosaic sent by Tyndale House Publishers as part of their blog tour. Please feel free to read, to click, and to leave comments - Editor Keith Williams will hopefully be able to stop by in the comment section to interact, and I'll be posting later on an opportunity for you to receive a copy of this Bible as well. Stay tuned today 10/13 on Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/rickcaffeinated - for details. Thanks for your continued support - the Management]
I’ve had an opportunity the past few weeks to take part in a blog tour and today is my day to host. We’re sharing information and opinions of the new Holy Bible: Mosaic (copyright 2009, Credo Communications), and I was intrigued by the subtitle-ish statement on the cover, “Encounter Christ on every continent and in every century of Christian history”. Wow, what a huge sweeping rolling bold proclamation, and what an excellent idea to bring out just how thrilling and huge and sweeping and rollingly bold our faith is across all time around the world. Too many times, frankly, our faith is too small. Would this compilation bring some scope and depth to our faith, give it something to share with so much backstory?
MOSAIC (dictionary.com) -
1. a picture or decoration made of small, usually colored pieces of inlaid stone, glass, etc.
2. the process of producing such a picture or decoration.
3. something resembling such a picture or decoration in composition, esp. in being made up of diverse elements.
The hardcover edition I received has two main parts – the second is a pretty bare bones NLT-translation of the scriptures. And for me, that’s perfect. If there’s too many notes or articles or clarifying points in the middle of the biblical narrative, I find it way too easy to be distracted and get off track. I’m drawn more and more to plain text minimalist Bibles where the reader can fall in and out of the story without the fluff that too often fills someone else’s gaps. And the New Living Translation (NLT) is very readable, very meaningful, and very accessible for following Christ through the Word.
The main push for the Holy Bible: Mosaic is the first portion, basically a devotional arranged around the Church Calendar. The calendar has been peripheral to my own faith journey, not growing up in a more liturgical denominational background. But it work as a “tie that binds” here, bringing together as advertised writers, thinkers, faith-ers from across the ages and around the globe to speak into our day and time right now. The website is helpful for folks like me who need to know what week we’re on, and then the Bible picks up there with readings around the topic. For example, this is week 22 in the calendar, Remembering – and there are selections from Malachi 3, 1 Corinthians 11, A.W Tozer in the 20th century, John Flavel in the 17th century, Patrick of Ireland in the 4th century, and a spot for my own notes and reflections in the midst of living life in the 21st.
And that’s what this new book brings out for me, a living dialogue with the past, with other cultures, with other stories, all ultimately wrapped in and through the Word that’ doing the exact same things – bringing us all together across the span to proclaim the truth of God and His Son sent to us. The devotional portion would stand on its own, and that’ll be the way I’m planning on partaking in this book for the time being. Having the scriptures in the same binding is of great benefit, giving perspective on our widespread story by tying it together with His.
I look forward to digging more into the themes of the calendar, and am planning on using this for Advent devotionals in the upcoming Christmas season – something we’ve, again, never really participated in but that I see holds real meaning and depth for our faith as it’s lived out together.
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