Finally! A Bible that goes beyond Head Knowledge

This Bible is fantastic. It is big, but so are many other study Bibles. Although I might place myself in the ultra-conservative/fundamentalist box, I found myself very comfortable with this Bible (yes, even the Deuterocanonical books). I suppose I'm tired of hearing all the complaints about the NRSV. It's actually an excellent translation if people would give it a chance. I like it better than the ESV, NIV, and NASB--I do wish they had a NKJV version of this study Bible. It reads more smoothly. The gender-inclusive language is handled very delicately. It is nothing like the TNIV. Funny how some support the TNIV and speak terribly against the NRSV. As I read and learned about gender-inclusive language, I realized that a gender-inclusive translation, if done correctly, is more true to the text. People also complain about the deuterocanonical books, but an unbiased study of early church history and Scripture will clear up the uncertainty. I love the notes in this Bible. Not only do they give me good information (historical, biographical, etc), but they challenge me to actually put the text in practice--make it part of my whole being, rather than just making it a part of my head. I highly recommend this Bible, for what it's worth. I also love Richard Foster and Eugene Peterson, so I was excited to see it for that reason alone! The cover is simple--no distracting, pop-culture advertising on the cover. This is one of the most attractive Bible I've found as far as the font is concerned. It's a comfortable size, AND the pages are nice and crisp. I want to read the Bible for simply that reason alone. This is not a "hip" Bible. It is a very serious Bible. The Geneva Bible was huge (and contained the deuterocanonical/apocryphal books), so I enjoy that it is another Bible in the long stream of English Bibles that carries with it some nostalgia of yesterday.

It's ok..but

The notes are good, the material is good, but I don't know, I felt like I was still lacking something.^M

I am disappointed

I have spent a lot of time with the Renovare Spiritual Formation Bible over the past two months. I am disappointed. I bought the Bible primarily because of my appreciation of Richard Foster's previous works, especially The Celebration of Discipline. I had never spent much time with a NRSV translation before, and this translation is my main disappointment with the Renovare Bible. The National Council of Churches' energetic attempt to completely remove gender-related words and language in the NRSV has given this translation a strong "politically correct", rather than "inspirationally correct", tenor. I have had to conclude that the NRSV translation is basically dishonest with respect to the original inspirations of the Greek and Hebrew. ^M