- In the beginning was the Word but the Word alone is now
no longer enough: a new version of the Bible targeted at teenage girls
offers beauty tips and advice on boyfriends as well.
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- "Are You Dating a Godly Guy?" asks the cover
of Revolve, the Complete New Testament, beside a picture of three smiling
teenage models in fashionable summer gear.
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- Inside, the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament
are juxtaposed with items on plucking eyebrows, photographs of girls in
bikinis and boys' musings on relationships.
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- Designed to look like the magazines devoured by American
teenage girls, the book has been such a success that its publishers have
ordered a new print run of 120,000 copies to cope with the demand.
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- Faced with youngsters in focus groups complaining that
the Bible was "irrelevant" and even "freaky", Thomas
Nelson Publishers decided to produce a hipper version more in tune with
the world of today's teenagers.
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- "The Bible can be overwhelming. The Bible can be
intimidating," said Laurie Whaley, 28, who helped to edit the new
book. "We fully recognise that the Bible is difficult so we want to
help people digest it." The most radical difference from more orthodox
Bibles comes in the sidebars on teen topics accompanying the narrative
of the life of Christ.
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- "As you apply sunscreen, use that time to talk to
God," one passage suggests. "Tell him how grateful you are for
how he made you. Soon you'll be so used to talking to him, it might become
as regular and familiar as shrinking your pores." Another contains
fashion hints: "Make sure that Jesus would be pleased with what you
wear. You don't have to look frumpy, just make sure you look like a child
of God."
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- The book's advice on morality is traditional enough.
It urges against pre-marital sex. "Wait for marriage to open that
precious gift," it says. A New Testament for boys is scheduled for
next spring and that version of the scriptures may dwell more on sex, dating
and girls. Ms Whaley said: "We will be a good deal more explicit about
those subjects than we were with girls because probably a larger percentage
of male obsessions revolve around them."
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- © Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2003.
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- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/
2003/09/18/wbibl18.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/09/18/ixworld.html
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