students of jesus

Yes, the numbers are staggering, a man asks for $37,000 in start-up financing and receives at total of $1,400,000 from thousands of people all over the world. Even more staggering, this business venture (and labor of love) aims to publish a new edition of the Bible—already the best-selling book in history. But the more interesting—and more important—question is, “What can we learn from this phenomenon?”

If you’re not up to speed on Bibliotheca you can start here, or check out the eight-minute video. Either way, as you review these sites ask yourself what caused a response thirty-nine times greater than the creator asked for?

The Christian marketplace already noisy and busy with Bibles. There is a never-ending flow of new Bible editions: super-thin, celebrity-endorsed, ever-hip graphics, accompanied by footnotes, endnotes, sidebars, alternate readings, and book-by-book introductions. There are Bible editions for men, women, students, student-athletes, skateboarders, quilters, and cowboys. The Bibliotheca success demonstrates the remarkable intersection of design, production, faith, and personal passion. Let’s start a discussion about the meanings of this crazy level of engagement. Here are three entry points:

• People are hungry for beauty as well as truth: Bibliotheca creator Adam Lewis Greene gave an interview to Bible Gateway. He observed, “I began to conceive of ways I could translate these scholars’ abstract ideas into concrete aesthetic expression.” Scholarship is certainly important, but perhaps we've ignored our soul's need for beauty?
• The Holy Spirit inspired large parts of the Bible as story: here’s Greene, again: “Readers are ready to enjoy the Bible as the great literary anthology that it is, rather than as a text book. The idea of the Bible as story is moving and spreading rapidly. I have been deeply affected by this movement, and Bibliotheca is my attempt to create an elegant vehicle for it.” You can come away from Bible study with principles or stories--which will you remember?
• You Version is here to stay, but so is the printed page. Here’s Greene, one more time: “No printed Bible can compete with the efficiency, economy, and portability of [on-line study tools]. We should gladly welcome these new forms, and I see it as an opportunity to re-evaluate the goals of printed Bibles . . . There are plenty of benefits to the sensory experience of a well-made book that digital mediums are as yet unable to provide.” In a world where the Bible is available everywhere, how can we carve out simple and quiet space to hear the Spirit of God in the Book, and how can print help us do so?

This is a conversation open to anyone interested in faith, design, marketing, Bible study, and the culture at large. These three observations are merely the invitation to discussion. What’s your opinion of the Bibliotheca project? Are there lessons to be learned or dangers to be avoided?

I’m looking forward to reading your comments.