Abstract
The purpose of this article is to provide a critical review of The Financial Stewardship Bible(FSB), which was published by American Bible Society in collaboration with a non-profit organization, Compass-Finances God’s Way. FSB uses The Contemporary English Version(CEV) translation and highlights in green color over 2,000 verses, which offer perspectives on money and principles of how to handle it. This Bible includes “The Core”, which consists of a 40-day Bible Study, a small group discussion guide, and other resources such as a topical index, in the middle of the book. Accordingly, this review discusses: 1) the adaptation of CEV; 2) the selection of the verses that relate to stewardship; and 3) the texts and themes included in “The Core.” Since financial matters are a widespread concern for most people today, the use of CEV seems to be a wise decision, considering its accessibility and readability. While highlighting verses related to money and possessions may help people easily find biblical texts dealing with financial issues such as earning, spending, debt, and retirement, the selection itself has limitations in that it lacks consistency. FSB also selects a majority of verses from texts in the form of discourse rather than from narrative passages. Thus it appears that Proverbs has the highest percentage of pertinent verses. Moreover, the Bible Study material also approaches the topics of stewardship as a personal matter, excluding biblical texts and themes that address communal and social concerns about money, possessions, and economic justice. Readers would benefit from reading and using FSB since it affirms that God cares for their lives no matter how serious their financial straits and encourages them to trust in God’s provision. Yet a theologically holistic perspective on stewardship, which takes care of all resources God has given us, could overcome an individualist and consumerist tendency in dealing with this important topic of handling finances in faith.
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