The NIV Bible is for everyone and to prove it Zondervan will make a version for you. The version differences? You’ll get a different cover and a bunch of topically sorted comments/devotions. Do you enjoy the outdoors? Got you covered: NIV Outdoorsman Bible. Are you a young girl? NIV Faithgirlz! Bible. Teen? NIV Teen Study Bible. Teen guy? NIV Revolution: The Bible for Teen Guys. Married? NIV Couples’ Devotional Bible. What if someone in your family is in the military? Even that: NIV New Testament – Military Family (with Psalms). And a million more.

NIV College Devotional Bible
Zondervan
February 2013

I’m not against the Bible being printed as many times as possible; quite the contrary! I am concerned about the over-specialization that we’ve seen in the last decade or so. When you print all these Bibles at some point you have to think you’ve run out of great things to say and you move in to the mediocre then the lame things to say.

This version is definitely in the mediocre (bordering lame) side of the so-called devotional spectrum. Many of these devotionals don’t actually work to encourage, engage, teach but instead they simply exist. Consider Why Ask Why? on p 563, which talks about suffering and Job. It is a conversation between a husband and wife about why she got cancer. The man finishes with, “I think if God was going to give you cancer because of something you did, he’d have the decency to let you know what it was.” A question that misses the point of Job and sounds more like Job’s friends than Job or God. What does the devotional do with this issue? It simply asks “Why does God allow good people to suffer?” then asks – but does not answer – “Why is the previous question so hard to answer – especially for Christians?” Great question Zondervan! Why don’t YOU answer it?

When I was in college I wanted answers to tough questions not reiterations of my pre-existing questions. I think this version misses the mark.

Scott Asher is the Editor-in-Chief of BookGateway.com. His personal blog is AshertopiA – a land flowing with milk and honey… and a lot of sticky people where he turns real life into stupid cartoons, writes on Christianity, Zombies, and whatever else he wants and posts Bible studies from his classes at church.

This book was provided by the publisher as a review copy.