Sunday, December 22, 2013

NIV Ragamuffin Bible

NIV Ragamuffin Bible: Meditations for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, & Brokenhearted. (Lifetime Work from  Brennan Manning). 2013. Zondervan. 1472 pages.

It would be impossible to read a Bible cover to cover for review purposes. I read Luke and Psalms. I also read the Brennan Manning bits from Genesis through Joshua. I feel this gives me an idea of what the Bible has to offer.

What makes this bible special is that it offers quotes and excerpts from the works of Brennan Manning. (His works include: The Ragamuffin Gospel, The Prodigal, Reflections for Ragamuffins, The Furious Longing of God, The Signature of Jesus, All is Grace, Abba's Child, Ruthless Trust, A Glimpse of Jesus, etc.) There are 104 devotions, 250 reflections, and 150 quotes. The devotions are several paragraphs usually--taking up two-thirds of a page. The reflections and quotes are very short, perhaps one to three sentences. The reflections and devotions are tied to particular passages of Scripture. Quotes, however, are not. There are enough devotions to cover each weekend of the year.

The Ragamuffin Bible does offer (slightly) more than a text-only Bible. But. it's still on the light side in terms of what it offers. There are no book introductions. There are no charts or maps. There isn't a concordance. There isn't a Bible reading plan. There are no character studies or where-to-find it features.  And, of course, there are no study notes. The quotes offer readers the opportunity to reflect perhaps, but, a daily devotional by Brennan Manning might be just as helpful unless a reader is in need of a NIV Bible as well.

At its best, this Bible could be said to offer readers a taste of Brennan Manning's work.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

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