A veiled woman and child illustrate the story of Mary and Jesus in Bible Illuminated.

Just heard this story on NPR’s Morning Edition in the car this morning: “Two New Bibles Present a Hip, Eco-Friendly Gospel.”

The first is Bible Illuminated: The Book, a coffee-table book of the New Testament with stunning contemporary photography. The second is The Green Bible, literally a “green” Bible (made of recycled materials) that highlights  “environmental” passages in (what else?) green.

Of course, these two “new” Bibles aren’t really new translations. More like new ways to present the biblical text in a provocative, engaging way. What I think the story illustrates is how the Bible (1) is perhaps the single most interpreted text in western literature, and (2) continues to inspire countless incarnations of itself in culture and the marketplace. With all these countless variations, it is still the world’s best-seller.

As for me, I believe I’ll add Bible Illuminated to my…

Reinhold Niebuhr

This week NPR’s Morning Edition has run back-to-back interviews with Newsweek editor Jon Meacham discussing the memoirs of Barack Obama and John McCain. The idea is to get beyond sound bites and offer an analysis of the major people and events that have shaped the two men, at least according to their own published work.

The fascinating conclusion is that this country’s two major-party presidential candidates have both been strongly influenced by the same theologian, Reinhold Niebuhr.

My initial question is about the way it seems that Niebuhr was seized upon as a hidden, explanatory link between the characters of Obama and McCain. Is this just another example of an almost obsessive fascination with the interplay of politics and religion during this election cycle? Or is something else going on here?

In one sense, there’s nothing surprising about finding references to Reinhold Niebuhr in the writings of both candidates. Niebuhr is generally regarded as one…