HOW I BECAME A BIBLE COLLECTOR,
AND YOU CAN, TOO.


well, when i first became a christian, i did the normal thing and went to buy a bible. i had seen in the paper that WAL-mart had bibles on sale, king james version and NIV, for $4.00 each. of course, I wanted the NIV like my new friends had... but I figured, for 4 bucks, why not get both? not too long after, i was given a living bible, and recieved a new revised standard version at a conference... and, looking at all these different translations, i wondered: what makes each of them different? how did they come to be? how is each interpreted?

so i went to a christian book store to see what other translations were available. I was astounded! i had thought there were two... the "hard" version and the "easy" version. and i was like a kid in a candy store... wondering, why are there so many? what makes them different? how is the new american standard different from NIV? are they literal translations? are they paraphrases? i didn't even know where to start searching! not only were there a multitude of translations, but there were a multitude of types... study bibles, devotional bibles, reference bibles, one year bibles... what makes the new open bible different from the amplified? why is that called the student bible? what makes the children's living bible different from the living? what about the new king james version? i became so interested in all the different styles and translations that i became a collector. as of now, i have over 80 bibles.

now this factor comes in: bibles cost a lot. how in the WORLD did I, a college student, end up with all of those bibles? if you want to be a serious collector without filing for bankruptcy, here are some suggestions: seek out thrift shops, garage sales and secondhand book stores, for starters. they tend to sell bibles cheap because they figure no one will want them. and ONLY buy paperback bibles... they are MUCH cheaper than the leather or hardback bibles, and most bibles come in paperback as well. some bibles come in a smaller size for a lower price. and, various churches and ministries are always giving away bibles free, but leave a couple of bucks in the offering plate as a nice gesture. now, if you must buy it from a store, don't buy them from a retail book store. Christian book distributors catalog sells them at wholesale prices. don't buy a bible that costs more than 20 bucks unless it's a REALLY good bible! and when christmas and birthdays come around, specify a certain bible you want to add to your collection, so you don't recieve another pair of underwear.

so that's all there is to it! you can have a nice, extensive bible collection if you work at it. and it's so interesting... at least, to me.

halfpint