Looks like major Christian book publisher Thomas Nelson is hitching a ride on the powerful Disney-esque marketing machine. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
I just think it’s…wild, weird, and smart!
Young stars like “American Idol” winner Jordin Sparks, Sean Astin of “Lord of the Rings,” (Astin’s only a few years younger than I am – does that mean I’m young, too?) curly-haired cutie Corbin Bleu of Disney’s “High School Musical,” and Emily Osment and Cody Linley of Disney’s “Hannah Montana” (which my 10-year-old niece can’t get enough of) read the New Testament in the recording “The Word of Promise: Next Generation – New Testament.”
What TN’s doing certainly isn’t new. Dramatic readings of the Bible, especially by well-known celebrities, must be hot sellers. If this product encourages more young people to “read” the Bible, I’m all for it. No doubt some of the audio Bible’s participants are Christians, though I won’t assume all are what we Bible thumpers call “born again.”
Included in the set of 20 CDs is a 75-minute “behind the scenes” DVD with interviews.
Speaking of Jordin Sparks, she earned major kudos from me after she defended “purity” rings on the Video Music Awards show. Some Brit joked about the Jonas Brothers wearing them, and Sparks (who wears one herself) reportedly said, “I just have one thing to say about promise rings. It’s not bad to wear a promise ring…because not everybody – guy or girl – wants to be a slut.” Some in the audience cheered.
