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Now activist organizations like IJM and diplomatic ones like the Institute for Global Engagement are discovering God, as IGE founder Bob Seiple says, "on the cruel edges of the world." On the cruel edges of the world, there is no need for elaborate explanations to bring a distant biblical text closer to our lives. Rather, when we go to the cruel edges of the world, we bring our lives closer to the text. When someone like Elizabeth writes, "The Lord is the strength of my life," it is not in a manner of speaking.

We live in a society that drives publishers to create a profusion of Bibles for people who consider a profusion of options their birthright. But in the end, the Bible is not a makeup mirror, casting a flattering soft light and showing us mostly ourselves. It is a window into a larger world—Elizabeth's world—full of tragedy and hope. The world where God's Word becomes flesh. No batteries required.

Copyright © 2004 Christianity Today.Click for reprint information.

Christianity Today's Agnieszka Tennant looked at Ten Things You Should Know About the New Girls' Biblezine.

Earlier Andy Crouch columns for Christianity Today include:

Pilgrims to Nowhere | Freedom isn't much good if you don't have a sense of direction. (March 30, 2004)

Glittering Images | A profound Christian rethinking of power is overdue (Feb. 17, 2004)

Before the Deluge | All of us have a sexual orientation that bends toward the self. (Dec. 03, 2003)

Two Weddings and a Baptism | It's still impossible to predict what will advance the gospel in Hollywood. (Oct. 15, 2003)

Wrinkles in Time | Botox injections as a spiritual discipline. (Aug. 11, 2003)

Rites of Passage | Self-improvement is our culture's most durable religion. (June 6, 2003)

Christian Esperanto | We must learn other cultural tongues. (June 4, 2003)

We're Rich | But why is it so hard to admit? (Feb. 20, 2003)

Blinded by Pop Praise | To see God "high and lifted up," just open your eyes. (Dec. 17, 2002)

The Future Is P.O.D. | Multicultural voices have an edge in reaching a rapidly changing America. (October 12, 2002)

Rekindling Old Fires | We can resist technology's chilling effects on how we spend time together. (August 2, 2002)

Interstate Nation | The national highway system is a lesson in how to transform a nation. (June 21, 2002)

Amplified Versions | Worship wars come down to music and a power plug. (April 17, 2002)

Thou Shalt Be Cool | This enduring American slang leaves plenty out in the cold. (March 18, 2002)

Borrowing Against Time | We live in a fallen world. We will die. We need to face that. (Jan. 17, 2002)

Grounded | Our technologies give us an illusion of omnipresence—most of the time. (Nov. 15, 2001)

Zarathustra Shrugged | What apologetics should look like in a skeptical age. (Sept. 5, 2001)

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June 2004, Vol. 48, No. 6