Review: The Ragamuffin Bible: Meditations for the Bedraggled, Beat-up & Brokenhearted

Zondervan

2013

Brennan Manning. If you have not had the opportunity to read any of his works the sidebars and devotional thoughts tucked into this NIV Bible will give you a taste of what he had to say. Sadly, he died recently.

The Ragamuffin Bible is a keeper for me. This one I like. The size, the type set, the feel is just right. I will not comment on the Biblical text itself since I am no expert in that field. I can say that I like the way it reads though. This version in dual column, paragraph style with a few explanatory notes at the bottom of the page as needed. Of course, the chapter and verse markers are maintained. If you need to have cross references, concordances and the like, a study Bible might be more to your liking. This one is for reading and pondering.

If I have done my math right, there are about 500 different bits from Brennan Manning interspersed throughout the text. Some are full page, others a sentence or two. Each is pertinent to the text that surrounds it and so far each one I’ve read helped me to think a bit deeper than I might have otherwise about the Biblical text and me.

Not much about this version to not like. The only thing for some might be the weight. But for me it isn’t an issue. So yes, I do recommend this version. I received a hardbound and really like the artwork on the cover. Fresh, clean, and colors that I like. Now there’s a reason to buy a Bible!

I received this book from the publisher via BookSneeze in exchange for this review.

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