Reading This Blog Could Cost You
This site should probably come with a warning. Mark Strobel, a long-time correspondent of mine and a frequent commenter here, discovered this the hard way. Over the weekend he sent me a snapshot of the purchases he's made "under the Bertrand influence." I asked permission to post it here, and he graciously agreed.
His e-mail of explanation is so good that I'd like to quote it in full:
I've attached a picture of the Bibles purchased under your influence. From the bottom up: -- Cambridge NRSV Wide Margin in "Renaissance Faire" leather cover since it gets hard use -- Allan Goatskin NRSV -- ESV Cordovan Calfskin Classic Thinline -- Two ESV Portfolio Thinlines, one for Vanessa's work and a well-worn one for the car and various pastoral duties -- Cambridge NRSV New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs -- Oxford Book of Common Prayer/NRSV combo in Calfskin Although the book at the top of the stack was purchased long before running across your blog, it's clearly in the spirit of your writing. The leather cover on the wide margin comes from Renaissance Art. It occurs to me that your Bible Design Blog is like the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I eat from tree and see that my Bible shelves are naked.
Thanks, Mark, for sharing the collection. I can't help feeling a little like the serpent in the garden, but it's all in a good cause! (Plus, you're the one tempting me with that red one on top, and the Allan NRSV!) Consider this a warning, everyone. Prolonged exposure to this site can put a strain on your pocketbook and your bookshelves. Proceed with caution!
J. Mark Bertrand is a novelist and pastor whose writing on Bible design has helped spark a publishing revolution. Mark is the author of Rethinking Worldview: Learning to Think, Live, and Speak in This World (Crossway, 2007), as well as the novels Back on Murder, Pattern of Wounds, and Nothing to Hide—described as a “series worth getting attached to” (Christianity Today) by “a major crime fiction talent” (Weekly Standard) in the vein of Michael Connelly, Ian Rankin, and Henning Mankell.
Mark has a BA in English Literature from Union University, an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Houston, and an M.Div. from Heidelberg Theological Seminary. Through his influential Bible Design Blog, Mark has championed a new generation of readable Bibles. He is a founding member of the steering committee of the Society of Bible Craftsmanship, and chairs the Society’s Award Committee. His work was featured in the November 2021 issue of FaithLife’s Bible Study Magazine.
Mark also serves on the board of Worldview Academy, where he has been a member of the faculty of theology since 2003. Since 2017, he has been an ordained teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America. He and his wife Laurie life in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.