Pimp up that Bible !

Just came across a rather curious brief on Mypitch.com from a client called Bible Illuminated. Basically it looks like a desperate attempt to make the old book more relevant to the modern culture - consumerism!
Strategy: To redesign it and pimp up with modern images.

Here's the winner of the pitch, who came up with an idea for a new Bible Illuminated audio book - iPod Cross:



It looks kind of interesting and weird but I don't think that design in itself is going to solve the problem or make any substantial difference. In fact, I believe it is a counter productive move to tie up the old spiritual teachings to something as flimsy and whimsical as modern pop culture. Strategically it is rather naive. It won't solve the problem and it won't make new "recruits" and it won't do any justice to Jesus teachings either!

I understand that the people behind this campaign want to make the Bible more relevant to modern life, but this approach is not the solution and seriously misses the zeitgeist (rapidly increasing disappointment with mainstream materialistic culture). So why on earth would you want to jump on this bandwagon that is heading towards the blind alley anyway?

What would be the solution? In my opinion, if you want to make Christianity more relevant to modern society, action would speak louder than words (or design gimmicks!) For example, focusing on solving world poverty, environmental problems, speaking loudly against politics of war, supporting those who fight against injustice (even if they belong to a different faith, like Palestinians!), etc.

This commands respect and attention and should be brought forth, not the tacky gimmicks.