Review: Rooted: The NIV Bible for Men

Bible Gateway has given me the opportunity to review Zondervan Bibles' Rooted: NIV Bible for Men. I have to tell you that I received a copy for free as a member of Bible Gateway Blogger Grid, and I have to tell you this can be purchased through FaithGateway where the hardcover edition I received is currently on sale for $34.99, or on Amazon. All of the legalities out of the way, let's get started.

As I said, I reviewed a hardcover edition, not exactly a personal fave. I do have a hardcover I keep in my office, strictly for study and reference (the NKJV Evangelical Study Bible), but for trucking back and forth to worship or Bible studies, a softcover is my personal preference. This is the New International Version, also not my preference, but I won't belabor that point. 

Personally, I think this is targeted toward younger men or men relatively new in the faith. The language is sort of Hey Dude! and the additional articles don't seem to provide much depth when it comes to character studies ("Get to Know" the men of the Bible) or "Knowing God," a series of blurbs meant to draw men toward knowing better the God they worship and serve. I think reverence is primary when it comes to knowing our Father, and I just didn't get that from these articles. If I was going to encourage anyone to know who God is, it would not be through a lens of "what that means to me as recipient," but in terms of God as He is to be worshipped and feared. That being said, the Myth/ Truth articles are interesting. Based on one hundred men and their experiences, these comparisons address issues like Parenting, Sexual temptation, Money, Friends --what culture says (Myth) versus what Scripture says (Truth). However, with regard to the indexing of these commentaries, the "How to Use" at the front of the Bible lists only twenty-five of the articles and page numbers (though there are one hundred scattered throughout the text) and there seems to be little rhyme or reason to their order. The Scriptures linked to these articles are also a bit unusual to the topic. For instance, the Myth/ Truth of Money is addressed in Deuteronomy 11, a passage about loving and obeying the Lord, and again in Luke 2, when twelve-year-old Jesus is found in the temple. Additionally, those pieces are listed in the index in reverse order, the Luke article first, and the Deuteronomy article second. Maybe I'm missing something.

Other add-ons include "Think About" prompts and "Rooted: Questions for Growth." Now these I can almost get my teeth into --a little more meat on the bone in these helps. There are Think Abouts on all sorts of topics: Abandonment, Caring for Others, Community, Gambling, Grief, Leadership, and like the Rooted questions, they correspond to the Scriptures with which they are linked. Sadly, once again, there is a humanistic bent to some of the questions. For instance, two of the Rooted Questions accompanying Psalm 139:7-12, ask:

What might cause you to change your environment (work, home, city, etc.)?

Why is it important to know that wherever you go, God is there?

If this is targeted toward making strong, leading men of God, shouldn't questions be framed around God calling men to move in unusual or uncomfortable directions, not men choosing or "being forced by circumstances" to change their environment? I read into this, If your boss wants to demote you, God will rubber stamp your resignation. Whatever you choose God's on board. Maybe it's just me.

There are no words in red or maps in the back if you're into all of that. There are short intros to each Book of the Bible; there's a presentation page, a dust cover on the hardcover edition, and a satin bookmark. The pages are thin, so be mindful when writing, highlighting, or turning with those fat fingers. There's a Table of Weights and Measures, a Subject Index which directs the reader to all those additional commentaries and articles; there are four different reading plans and three helpful articles on spiritual discipline at the very back: Being a Mentor/ Finding a Mentor, Seek 'N Hide, an article about the importance of Bible memorization, and Lasting Change: How to Experience Growth in the Spiritual Life.

Lastly, and maybe most importantly, a man's point of view. I think you can tell by now, I am not particularly a fan, but I wanted a man to check this out and give me his opinion. My husband, who pulls no punches when asked his thoughts, gave me his first impressions: it reminded him of a low-cost, mass-produced high school textbook. And, without any prompting from me whatsoever, he focused on the Rooted questions and suggested they might be useful. So that's that. I hope this helps, and don't forget to use BibleGateway for all your study needs.