Start! The Bible for New Believers by Greg Laurie: Published by Thomas Nelson

Start! The Bible for New Believers is designed to teach those who are new to the Christian faith to place their trust in Christ, the fundamentals of Christianity, and refresh lifelong believers on the foundations of their faith.  This Bible is designed to take the reader by the hand and lead them deeper into God’s word in an friendly conversational tone that is very understandable. Unlike other Bibles this edition never assumes that the reader knows what wording and passages mean.  The primary focus of this Bible is on basic Christian discipleship with articles and devotions on subjects including; prayer, Bible study, church involvement, sharing one’s faith, and discovering God's will. Core biblical themes are introduced at basic levels of theological sophistication and presented in very simple language.

About The Binding & Cover:
The Bible featured in this review is the paper-backed edition that has a glued binding. Although paper-backed editions will not with stand years of daily use they are the most economical.  This Bible is available in three cover options paperback, jacketed hardcover, and Leathersoft.  A New Testament Edition is also available in paperback.

What’s Inside:

 Features of this edition include:  Grow entries- which focuses on key disciplines of the Christian life.  Know articles- that focus on the core beliefs of the Christian faith. · Live messages- which focuses on various aspects of salvation. · Learn notes- which provide mini-commentaries on key passages for spiritual growth. · Topical Index to articles and Scriptures.  Secrets to Spiritual Success- from the General Editor Greg Laurie – a pastor and author who has impacted over four million people with the Gospel. This edition also has introductions to each book of the Bible.

Table of Contents

•     The Plan of Salvation
•     Secrets to Spiritual Success
•     Preface
•     Books of The Old Testament in  Canonical Order
•     Books of The New Testament in Canonical Order
•     Essentials- What Every Christian Needs to Know About God and Jesus
•     Topic Index- Scriptures and Features
•     Blank Notes for Personal Use

About the General Editor:
Greg Laurie serves as the senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship, a Calvary Chapel, in Riverside, California. He is the host of the television program “Knowing God with Greg Laurie” and of the syndicated radio program “A New Beginning.” Laurie has appeared on “ABC World News Tonight,” Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN. He also functions as a guest commentator at Worldnetdaily.com and appears regularly on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. Laurie founded Harvest Crusades which are large-scale evangelistic events attended by more than 4 million people since 1990.

About this Translation:
The New King James Version is a modern translation of the Bible commissioned in 1975 by Thomas Nelson Publishers. One hundred and thirty respected Bible scholars, church leaders, and lay Christians worked for seven years to create this translation. Their goal is a completely new, modern translation of Scripture that retains the purity and stylistic beauty of the original King James Version.

My Personal Opinion:
My thoughts of this Bible are somewhat mixed as I love the translation and page designs but not the editors notes or view points. While I see the value of this edition I also see its short comings. As an edition labeled by its editor as “Christianity 101“  this edition falls short of that title. With that said I feel many will enjoy this edition because of its strait forward approach, and common language. But personally I did not find this edition to be very helpful due to the fact that I expected more in depth notes.  

Pro’s

•     Interesting Page Design
•     Economical

 Con’s

•  The Paper: Personally I hate the paper this edition is printed on... While thin paper is a good thing when the paper is of good quality this edition has economical paper.   
•  Ghosting: This edition (the paper back edition) has a fair amount of ghosting that I personally find distracting. Ghosting is the term used when you can see the writing on the other side of the page (or the next few pages) while reading. After reading the text for a few minutes my eyes begin to ache.
•  Text:  While many readers will find 8 point type very readable, the front and paper used for this edition makes it somewhat hard to read.
•   Notes: Personally I found some of the notes in this edition helpful. But sadly I found more that were not helpful because they seemed geared towards to the editor’s view point. While this can be very helpful to some I find it distracting.   

Just because I did not find this edition to be helpful does not mean that it will not speak to you.  I recommend downloading the free sample of this edition to help you decide for yourself if this it is right Bible for you. 

The Start! Gospel of John can be download for free at
http://www.thestartbible.com./John_Download.pdf

Where to Buy:
The edition featured in this review can be purchased through following links.
Start! The Bible for New Believers - Trade Paper RedStart! The Bible for New Believers - Hardcover RedStart! The Bible for New Believers - LeatherSoft Raven BlackStart! The Bible for New Believers - LeatherSoft Raven Black  Thumb-Indexed

Start: The Bible for New Believers, New Testament Edition

Disclosure of Material Connection:
Review Time is not in any way affiliated with Thomas Nelson Publishing. The opinions I have expressed within my review are my own. This review is based on media review copy. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”