Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

The Semi-Official Blog of Zack Hunt

Home
Progressive Christian
The 10 Least Necessary Bibles Ever Published

The 10 Least Necessary Bibles Ever Published

Last updated on: January 12, 2015 at 12:17 pm by Zack Hunt

The 10 Least Necessary Bibles Ever Published 2015-01-12T12:17:57-06:00 Zack Hunt

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

There is, quite literally and quite unfortunately, a Bible for every occasion under the sun.

Though I do believe that certain types of study Bibles can be very helpful, the special edition Bible phenomenon is both unnecessary and increasingly more ridiculous. Maybe you’re buying what they’re selling, but personally I’m not convinced whatsoever by the idea that a Bible for NASCAR fans will make NASCAR fans who don’t already read the Bible (or even those that do) anymore likely to read the Bible just because there is a picture of a stock car on the cover.

If I’m being completely honest, I think slapping pop culture on the cover of a Bible is nothing more than a cheap and tacky money grab, one that we would all be better off without.

But, perhaps, the most mind-bottling part of this tragic publishing trend is the fact that you can’t fully appreciate the depths of special edition absurdity until you do a little digging (or, in my case, until you have a friend link you to a few and then find yourself clicking further and further down the rabbit hole just to see how ridiculous things will get).

So, to help you fully appreciate just how far the Bible publishing industry has fallen, here are, in no particular order, the 10 least necessary Bibles ever published.

10. Duck Commander Faith and Family Bible

biblehardcover

Perhaps no special edition Bible exemplifies the obvious money grab more than this thing. Sure, the guys on Duck Dynasty love Jesus and have their own thoughts about the Christian faith, but this Bible would not exist were it not for the fact that, at least a year or two ago, anything with Ducky Dynasty slapped on it was an easy chance to turn a quick buck.

9. Stock Car Racing Bible

stock car bible

I wasn’t kidding about a NASCAR Bible. Although, clearly the folks who published this gem weren’t able to acquire the NASCAR licensing rights and had to go with the generic “Stock Car Racing” title. Which just makes a terrible gimmick even worse.

8. Engaged Couples’ Bible

engagedcouples

I’m not sure how helpful gender or group specific Bibles are in general, but having once been one half of an engaged couple, I can say with some authority that especially as a Christian engaged couple who already own multiple Bibles, the last thing an engaged couple needs is a special edition Bible. You know what would be a lot more helpful? A set of glasses…or plates….or laundry detergent….or literally anything else.

7. The Klingon Bible

klingon (Credit: MorganRLewis, DeviantArt)

Technically, you could argue this one is more about the translation than the special edition-ness, but in this particular case, you can’t really separate the two. But what makes this Bible truly awesome are the angry Amazon commenters raging about the imperfect translation of a completely fictional language.

6. The Zombie Bible

Given the recent obsession with everything zombie related, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that this thing exists. Essentially, it was a group effort to add zombies to biblical stories whenever possible. I say “was” because thankfully this effort seems to have been finally put to rest.

5. The Manga Bible

Screen Shot 2015-01-12 at 10.54.12 AM

Anime ruined the animation style of my beloved 80s cartoons. So, maybe I’m just bitter, but I hope this thing doesn’t sell a single copy.

4. The Hockey Bible

hockey bible

This one is just lazy. Seriously, there is nothing that makes this Bible a hockey Bible for hockey fans other than the ice skate on the cover.

3. God’s Glory Bible

god'sglory

God is not glorified by a Bible draped in the American flag. God is grieved and sheds more than a few tears that God’s holy book has been transformed into something too tacky even for truck stop.

2. The American Patriot’s Bible

americanpatriots

Speaking of Bible’s that make God cry, if this one doesn’t bring a tear to the divine eye, then it at least cause one incredible eye roll.

1. A Story Of God And All Of Us

story of god

I said in the beginning that these were in no particular order, but this has got to be by far the most ridiculous, unnecessary, and absurd special edition Bible ever published. Yes, technically it’s not a Bible. It’s the novelization of the Bible based on a movie based on the Bible….but that just makes it so, so much worse.

Well, these are my top 10 least necessary Bibles, but I’m guessing you know of some more. Share them with me in the comments.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

January 8, 2015

Even Masterpieces Have Their Critics

Next Post

January 19, 2015 How I Spent My January Vacation

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Book Review Classifieds Commentary Fundie Friday Funny Pictures Music Video News Prophecy Technology Televangelist Throwback Thursday Tract Tuesday Tracts Uncategorized Videos

Select a Month June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 August 2018 June 2018 May 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 September 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz