The Bible was the very first book printed on Gutenberg's press way back in 1455, and it remains the most-read book in the world, having sold at least 4 billion copies in the last fifty years. Whatever your religion, it's hard to deny the tremendous influence of these magnificent stories of faith and love, betrayal and revenge, disaster and triumph. But the Bible's text is notoriously difficult for modern readers to decipher, so we decided to retell the very best Bible stories through a modern lens. The story of Creation as a work flowchart...Samson and Delilah as a romance novella...the birth of Jesus as an event e-Card...the apocalyptic visions of Revelation as the script of an action movie...and so on. By amplifying the heart of each story in modern formats designed to appeal to today's readers, this magazine aims to breathe new life into one of the greatest books ever written.
Welcome to the mystery!
Part I: The Old Testament
The Creation Story • In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth. We thought the best way to represent this might be to use a workflow-style diagram.
The Garden of Eden • Adam and Eve’s temptation in the Garden, culminating in their forced departure, felt best represented by a typical host/guest conversation in an online lodging app.
Noah’s Ark • As Noah led his family and flocks into the Ark, it must have been a huge spectacle. We wanted to capture the moment with network-TV-style parade banter.
The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah • Sinful towns destroyed by the wrath of God? Sounds like it would take an archaeology dig to uncover the details.
The Rise of Joseph • From humble desert beginnings to the Pharaoh’s chambers, we imagine Joseph telling his story as an election campaign for the job of Egypt’s second-in-command.
The Epic Story of Moses • The Ten Commandments, the parting of the Red Sea, the Promised Land: Only a TV historical miniseries could fully cover the amazing life of Moses.
The Walls of Jericho • We felt the story of how faith led to Jericho’s fall was best accomplished with an OSHA-style structural incident report trying to explain what happened.
Samson and Delilah • The tragic tale of the hero Samson and his treachery at the hands of the lovely Delilah makes the perfect romantic novella. The pitch might go something like this…
The Story of Ruth • We decided to tell the morality-play stories of Ruth and Esther in the form of fan reviews of an imaginary TV show—the Heroic Housewives of Mesopotamia. (Part I of II)
David and Goliath • Can a scrappy upstart take on a supersized champion? David vs Goliath has been the go-to sports metaphor for so long we decided to take it to its logical conclusion…
Three and ½ Kings • Faith, power, lust, betrayal: The stories captured in the Bible’s books of the Kings sounded to us like a Game of Thrones-style TV show. Here’s the pitch.
The Story of Esther • We decided to tell the morality-play stories of Ruth and Esther in the form of fan reviews of an imaginary TV show—the Heroic Housewives of Mesopotamia. (Part II of II)
The Trials of Job • We felt that Job’s incredible story of personal suffering, perseverence, and unyielding faith was best represented as an excerpt from a personal blog.
Psalms • This book of hymns, or songs in praise of God’s work, remind us of the inspirational art and poetic excerpts that Pinterest and Instagram devotees produce for their pages.
Proverbs • With a focus on values and conduct, from working hard to appreciating wisdom, Proverbs seemed to us most like modern motivational posters.
The Song of Songs • This quirky love story between a maiden and a goatherd may be allegorical, but it’s certainly steamy—for a modern equivalent we chose...