Do You Find the Bible to be Boring?
Even though I have been a voracious reader throughout my life, I had trouble getting into the Bible. Right after I made the decision to follow Christ, I came across the audio Bible. The timing couldn’t have been better, because I was working in a job that required tremendous repetition, so listening to the Bible while I worked wouldn’t impact my work in a negative manner.
My only problem was that audio versions of the Bible seemed to lack in quality to many audio books. I even found a dramatized version by Zondervan, but there were points when it was almost too cheesy to listen. If you are a person who has had trouble with focus, have trouble reading, or just like to listen to God’s word when you’re on the go, I came across an exciting new release. The Word of Promise is a dramatic audio version with a very talented cast.
including:
- Jim Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ, Deja vu) - Jesus
- Michael York (Romeo & Juliet, Austin Powers) - Narrator
- Academy Award winner Richard Dreyfuss (Mr. Holland’s Opus, The Goodbye Girl) - Quotes from Moses
- Academy Award winner Marisa Tomei (My Cousin Vinny, What Women Want) - Mary Magdalene
- Golden Globe winner Stacy Keach (Prison Break, Hemingway) - Paul
- Academy Award and Golden Globe winner Lou Gossett, Jr (An Officer and a Gentleman, Roots) - John
- Terence Stamp (Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Superman II) - Voice of God
- Kimberly Williams-Paisley (According to Jim, Father of the Bride) - Mary, Mother of Jesus
- Golden Globe and Tony Award nominee, Lou Diamond Phillips (La Bamba, Young Guns) - Mark
- John Heard (Prison Break, Home Alone) - Matthew
- Ernie Hudson (Miss Congeniality, Ghostbusters) - Peter
- TV Guide’s TV’s 25 Greatest Teen Idols honoree Luke Perry (Beverly Hills 90210, Jeremiah) - Judas & Stephen
- John Schneider (Smallville, Dukes of Hazzard) - James
- Chris McDonald (Happy Gilmore, Quiz Show) - Luke
- Plus 120ish other voice actors
About time! Release is in early October, 2007. I went ahead and pre-ordered and will give you all an update with a review. Only $32, too. For 20 hours of professional audio, that’s a great deal.
Hi Matt,
Thanks for the great review of The Word of Promise. I wanted to let you know there is an official website http://www.TheWordofPromise.com. The site is live today but many of the features will be unvieled at the same time the product is released to stores - so by October 1st. Thought this might be useful for you and those reading this great review.
Thanks for your help
Rodney
I suspect that whatever medium you use, you’ll get sick of it in the end. It is just human nature.
I am impressed by your site. I can’t wait until I have a little more time to truly dive into it. It seems like I might be able to find some useful inbo for me. It just isn’t easy for me to do some things to help with my own walk. We are looking forward to seeing you all in the next month.
Hi Joe,
It certainly is human nature to get sick of God’s word - very good point. A person who does not believe in God would have no interest in reading the Bible for long. How about the new nature we are given if someone accepts Christ as their savior?
I don’t know of too many people who have seriously read the Bible and not either come to believe in God or have grown closer to God. I’ve heard of professors and such that teach the Bible but are agnostics or atheists, but I don’t know any personally. I also know atheists who say they were Christians but changed their mind - when I hear their personal story about leaving Christianity, They never talk about having a personal relationship with God, which is the essence of Christianity. I hear about them participating in the common routine of Christianity and then deciding the routine meant nothing. They’re right - “the routine” does mean nothing. Look at the history of the Jewish people back in the old testament. They had all kinds of ritual and routine that was given by God to protect them but they turned around and substituted the easy-to-define routine for a relationship with their God. Throughout the Old Testament they suffered, repented and came back to God, fell away, suffered, came back to God. etc.
(Note that the suffering was not necessarily punishment By God, but rather a by-product of not being with the creator of the universe who could warn us from such problems before they cause what we understand as punishment - shepherd and the sheep.)
I was at my Celebrate Recovery group talking about feeling spiritually empty just last night. I found my relationship with God to be stale and empty lately. That’s because I was putting “zero” effort into the relationship and using God only as a “magic genie” when I would do my routine prayers - when I wake up, before meals, and before reading the Bible.
It’s easy to get into a routine because it’s safe. We like to know what is coming up next, and the thought of “jumping in over my head with God” where I am totally dependent on him is a very scary proposition. I think that’s why people leave the Bible on the shelf - not because it is boring, but because what it asks is difficult to accept.
Hi Laura,
Likewise… looking forward to seeing you all, too. We have our EKU onesie all ready for the big game