Word of Promise Next Generation New Testament Dramatic Audio Bible Review

When I had the opportunity to review this product, I was really excited. An audio bible for kids voiced by stars from Disney like Corbin Bleu, Cody Linley and Alyson Stoner. My first question was could all these kids be Christians and if so, how cool is that? (Keep reading to the end for the answer!)

I got the cds almost a year ago, popped it into my cd player in the car, and was disappointed to learn they were in MP3 format which my cd player couldn’t read. Neither could the other players in my house. Thus began the problem of actually listening to the audio bible. The next thing I did was download it to my ZUNE which wasn’t an easy task since I’m somewhat ZUNE challenged. But I managed to listen to the audio enough to get a feel for the cd.

At first it was hard to get used to hearing such young bible characters, but after all it was aimed at pre-teens and teens. The voices of the characters, especially Jesus, often lulled me into a tranquil state, which I would be great to listen to before bed. Other reviewers on Amazon mentioned that some of the emotions were mismatched. I agree. When Jesus should have been angry, he had the same tone and that some word usage such as “sexual relations” (talking about Mary and Joseph) seemed inappropriate if the product was geared toward the younger crowd ages 8-12, though recommended age was not mentioned on this cd.

I wish I could have listened to the entire cd and given a more precise opinion and review, but a quarter of the ways through the cd my ZUNE battery died and as fate would have it, I lost the cable needed to charge it. I thought I needed to get a review up before it got off my radar all together, and I did listen to enough of the cd to offer my thoughts.

I had hoped this would be a great cd for my kids to listen to but the MP3 format was a problem, and they didn’t seem interested or captivated after listening to it once. Though it is supposed to be a dramatization, I think it’s more accurately described as an audio book of the Bible with some sound affects, music backgrounds, and famous actors reading the text.

By far, my favorite part of this audio collection was the “Behind the Scenes” DVD. The director shared his vision for the audio Bible and the actors shared their feelings in being asked to join this project and their experiences as it was being recorded. I was very impressed to learn that those interviewed had some real faith experiences and commitments and while no one came out and said “I’m a Christian” you could tell some of them grew up in faith, had grown closer to God during this project, and were excited to participate in a project so close to their hearts.

I loved this aspect of the collection so much, our family used it for our devotions. Since my children are into theatre and some of them have aspirations of working with Disney some day, it was a great lesson in teaching the kids that you can still have faith and be in Hollywood and that there were other kids who were living their dream and serving God. It opened the doors for more discussions on Hollywood and faith and the difficulties that Christians face.

So overall, I’d give this product a positive rating with the cast being the biggest draw to kids.