Giving the Bible As a Gift: find My 2019 Guide at First Things
Here’s a thought for Christmas gift-giving: put a new Bible under the tree. This guide should give you some ideas.
First Things asked me to give readers some ideas for giving the Bible as a gift this Christmas, updating the list I made for them in 2012. This time I focused on two themes: (a) reader’s editions and (b) interesting design. If you’re looking for inspiration, you can check out my thoughts on the First Things blog:
CHRISTMAS GUIDE TO BUYING A BIBLE: 2019 EDITION
Or click the image below:
You can read the original 2012 list here. I also wrote a 2015 supplement that is worth checking out here. All of the recommendation are worth considering. As you can imagine, with so many fantastic options available, it wasn’t easy to narrow down the list. Have I left out any of your favorites? If so, I would love to hear about it in the comments.
The Logic of Gifts
Let me say a word about the logic of gift-giving, which I could only touch upon in the list. The best gifts, to my mind, are the ones you delight in receiving but would never be able to justify giving yourself. The obstacle to getting it yourself might be financial — there are Bibles you might love to have, but would never be able to spend so much on — but there are other considerations. For example, a lot of people might baulk at purchasing an edition without chapter and verse numbers because it seems impractical, too specialized. Or they talk themselves out of a nicely-bound edition because they would only abuse it: “The luxury would be wasted on me.” Another, more Bible-specific factor, has to do with translations. You might admire something like Bibliotheca, which I put at the top of my list, but be reluctant to commit since the translation is not one you use.
A gift is an opportunity to disrupt that utilitarian logic. There is always a touch of the lavish in gifts, a hint of excess. Gifts are always susceptible to criticism in this regard. They are unnecessary, wasteful, gratuitous. Some high-minded kill-joy is always on hand to suggest that the gift could have been sold and the proceeds donated to a worthy cause (see John 12.5). Yet it is precisely this air of indulgence — let’s face it, of grace — that lends beauty to the reception of such a gift.
The Bible (any Bible) makes a wonderful gift. My suggestion is to consider the formats, editions, and translations that the recipient might not ordinarily consider, or feel able to justify. And don’t be afraid, in giving the gift, to point out that all our human gift-giving is only a type and shadow of a greater gift that the Bible (any Bible) proclaims.
