Michael Marsee Interview

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Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston.

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No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ based on the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the apostle

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Paul said, but we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

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In short, if you like smooth, watered down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn't for you.

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By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we're called by the divine trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her king.

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We're here to take your calls as well. Here's our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth. Welcome to No Compromise Radio ministry.

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My name is Mike Abendroth. Every day of the week, we try to do something different. Mondays, we have a taped sermon from Bethlehem Bible Church.

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Tuesdays, we have Pastor Steve in the studio. We talk about issues in the local church, and on Wednesdays, we talk about books.

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If you go to our website, nocompromiseradio .com, you'll see there's two kinds of books that we look at.

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Number one, page turners, that is to say books that we like, we endorse, we'd like you to read on a regular basis, and what we call burners.

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We have books that you should burn. Bad books do serve a purpose, and those purposes might include burning.

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Of course, figuratively, I don't wanna get caught up in King James only kind of burning other Bible versions, and today, we have a unique Bible, a

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Bible that you might not be able to even burn. I don't know. We'll soon talk to one of the makers, or inventors of this book,

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The Waterproof Bible. Online, I have Michael. Michael, how are you today? I'm doing well.

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Michael, how do you pronounce your last name? Is it Mar -see, or is that right? Correct, you got it,

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Mar -see. All right, I saw The Waterproof Bible on Tim Challey's website and thought,

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I have to get a hold of one of those things, and so I emailed you, and you kindly sent me one. Tell me the origin and background of The Waterproof Bible.

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Well, The Waterproof Bible actually was just released October 1st. It's something we've been working on for,

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I guess intentionally, for about five years, and the idea for The Waterproof Bible came about 10 years ago.

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I was leading mountaintop worship services out here in Vail, Colorado, at the Skia area, and 1996, 97 was a very, very good snow year for me, but a very bad

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Bible year. A very bad Bible year? What just happened, the Bibles were getting destroyed on top of the mountain, or what?

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Exactly, so it was outside, and every Sunday, big, large flakes of snow would be falling, and I would open up the

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Bible to read some scripture, and the snowflakes would just essentially melt right on the page, and causing the pages to stick together and to easily tear out, and so frustrated,

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I just sort of built into becoming frustrated at having a

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Bible that I couldn't really use outdoors, and began to think that there are probably other people that have had similar experiences, whether it be outdoors, or maybe spilling coffee, or accidentally ripping a page out, and I began to think about how the

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Word of Life should be made for life, and conveniently, it's printed on really thin pages of paper, which makes it very manageable to carry around, and we've been buying

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Bibles and carrying Bibles like that for a very, very long time, but the technology with using plastic, being able to make thin pages of plastic would allow us to make

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Bibles that are the same size, or similar size, and it would last a lot, lot longer, so that's where the thought first began, that maybe we can make a

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Bible that lasts longer, that don't get thrown away, that don't get left home, because they don't wanna be ruined, and I had trail maps that were made out of plastic material, and that's sort of what our first attempt at making a waterproof

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Bible looked like, it was actually more like a trail map that came in six volumes that made up the

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New Testament, and then as we learned and grew, we were able to now have a

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Bible that is bound like any other Bible, it looked just like any other Bible on a bookshelf, but it's actually very, very much more durable than any other paper

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Bible, and should last for a really long time, and if I'm frustrated on top of Vail Mountain, and I can't imagine people that are given

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Bibles in third world countries and how long, or not how long, how short of a time they must last, and how wonderful it'd be to create a

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Bible that would be practical for everyday use here, and also very needed in third world villages.

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It's such a great idea, I am a pastor who believes in baptism after salvation, and so we immerse people, and Michael, I have a

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Bible that I use all the time, it's called my Baptismal Bible, and you should see the way the ink from the

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Indy ink on the onion skin paper is just all blotted out in certain passages that I talk about baptism all the time,

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I have my own Baptism Bible, but it needs to be replaced now with the Waterproof Bible. Absolutely.

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Yeah, there's a lot of different stories, baptism, just little kids, little mothers that have little kids that grab ahold of their

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Bible and end up either chewing on it or ripping a page out, to just all different kinds of circumstances and stories that we're hearing now that we're showing these

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Bibles at some of the youth conferences, and apologetic conferences, and things like that, but everybody seems to have a story of a

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Bible that they've either left behind or either have gotten a little wet and wrinkly, and it's just sort of missing a few pages, so everybody seems to be really very excited to now be able to have a

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Bible that they can just, sort of, it gets dirty with them, and then they can just wash it off and use it for a really long time.

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Well, I love the idea, waterproofbible .com. Here's my story, Michael. I have a young man here at the church named

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Peter, and I said, Peter, here's what we do. When I ask you to do this, you just follow along.

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So I put the Waterproof Bible inside a big pitcher, a big water pitcher full of water. I jammed it down in there, and nobody knew it was a

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Waterproof Bible. I had quite a little congregation, a little audience around me in the kitchen of the church. I put it in there.

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I then took some of the water that was in with the Bible and poured it into a cup, gave it to this young man named

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Peter. He drank it, and then he started quoting John 3 .16. Oh, that's hilarious.

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I haven't heard that, that's the first. That's really funny. That is my story, you know, and I love coffee, and I never thought about sitting there drinking

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Starbucks or Pete's Coffee, reading the Bible, and if you spill, what do you do? Just wipe it right off, right?

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Absolutely, and you know, people also often ask, well, can you highlight or write in it?

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And the answer is yes, and you can just use a regular ballpoint pen.

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You can underline or write little notes, and those little Bible dry highlighters work really wonderful, because they mark on there dry, and after it's been marked and highlighted, you can still spill something on it and wipe it off, and that ballpoint pen will stay on there.

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So, you know, there's even people that enjoy reading the

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Waterproof Bible in the bathtub, because it's the only quiet time they get, and you know, so there's a lot of different applications.

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You know, we originally started it because we spent a lot of time in the outdoors, but now there are a lot of people that are loving it, because, you know, and they don't really spend a lot of time in the outdoors.

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It's just, you know, something that fits their lifestyle, and, you know, they can throw it in a bag when they go on a mission trip, or to camp in the summertime, and just a lot of different applications.

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So we're really excited, and one person said that Moses would have just loved to carry this off the mountain versus the stone tablets.

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It'd be a little bit more portable, but less awkward than scrolls. Hey, now tell me about this

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Bible. How long could you leave it underwater before it would be ruined? Well, we had a gentleman that purchased the outdoor

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Bible, the first one that came out, and that was the one that was in the six map -like volumes.

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And he took a volume of that, and it's all the same material and the same ink, put it in an algae bottle full of water, and he left it in there for an entire year.

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And after that year, he opened it up and dried it off, and he said it was good as new.

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There was no smearing. There's no mold because there isn't any pores for the mold to grow in.

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And so essentially, it looked just like when he got it. Well, that's cool. I'm sitting here holding right now the waterproof

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Bible, Old and New Testament. This one has the front, it says, no, the back, it says, be inspired anywhere.

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And I like that. We're a big surfing family at the Abendroth household, and what's missing is kind of a punch at the top that I could string it through the leash, and you could actually take it out in your surfboard.

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What do you think of that idea? I think it's great. Maybe you could try using a drill bit, and see what happens, and let us know.

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How's the response been so far? I notice you've been getting a lot of press with secular and Christian organizations.

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How's it going so far? Oh, it's going really well. People are really shocked by it.

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When we set up a display with it, sort of like a little waterfall running down on top of it.

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I saw that on your website, that little sprinkler thing, right? Yeah, people usually walk by, and they make a

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U -turn and come back to it, and just get so excited, because it's something they've thought of in the past, how they wish they had a

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Bible that was waterproof, and again, hear the story about how they've ruined a

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Bible, and how excited they are. We've just been so surprised, and just humbled by the way it's blessed so many people.

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And in the military, you know, a lot of places where the military are, it's not necessarily wet, but it is very dirty, and dusty, and windy.

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And so this Bible does a really great job. You know, they can just wipe the dust off, and the pages don't tear very easy.

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And for the military, we've received a lot of letters from people that are serving our country that just have been really blessed by this

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Bible. And we're gonna be, on our website, we have a program called

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BOGO, buy one, give one. And for every Bible that's purchased on our website, we're gonna give one away to someone who needs one.

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The first campaign that we're working with is with the 410

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Bridge. And they have a project called Christmas in Kenya. And they've gone around to the few villages that they're serving, and asked, you know, what they could use for Christmas.

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A couple of the villages have churches that they don't have very many Bibles. And the

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Bibles they do have are very worn and torn, and they requested the need for Bibles.

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So we're gonna partner with the 410 Bridge, and use that BOGO program to give waterproof

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Bibles to some of these villages in Kenya and their churches, so that they can have Bibles in their church that's gonna last a lot longer than they've ever had.

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So we continually just hear the blessings, and we're excited about where this is gonna go, and just hopefully open up the

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Bible to a lot of people, and just bring new excitement to young kids. You know, it's definitely a little bit of a novelty, how you can have some fun with it.

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And I don't think there's anything wrong with having fun with God's Word, and getting kids excited about, you know, hopefully they won't forget their

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Bible so much. You know, if they have a waterproof Bible, it may be just something exciting that they'll remember, and they'll share with their friends.

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And I think the Bible should be a book that lasts longer than all the other books on your shelf.

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So I don't know, we're really excited, and have a lot of, right now we have the

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King James and the NIV translation, and the King James and NIV's available in the

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New Testament, and then the Complete Bible's available right now in the NIV. And as we grow, you know, we definitely want to offer as many translations as we can, and, you know, so that people can be blessed.

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Well, I think that's a great idea. The ESV, English Standard Translation, the parent company

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Crossway Good News Publishers, I think they do a wonderful job trying to get the Bible in the hands of people.

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And so I think the sooner you get it in the ESV, the better. But in the meantime, I just think it's a great idea. Back to your point where the

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Bible shouldn't be boring, the presentation of the Bible shouldn't be boring. I think the concept of God and His word, how could it be boring?

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And then now it's in a format where people can carry it wherever they need to go. Do you think you might ever have like a pocket

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New Testament or something like that for some of the people overseas or missionaries or military?

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Yeah, right now, you know, just the New Testament that we have is small enough to fit in a cargo pocket for the military, but the whole

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Bible in a pocket size is going to be definitely a few years out. There are some prototypes and, you know, even thinner plastic paper that, you know, we can put together and eventually we'll have it as thin as the

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Bible pages. But the technology of that needs to catch up and, you know, just the feasibility of putting that together is, you know,

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I definitely see it on the horizon, but it's gonna be five to 10 years before that becomes affordable and a possibility of doing that.

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Are the people that have Bible covers, they sell Bible covers, are they mad at you because now with this durable

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Bible, you might not need a Bible cover? You know, I haven't come across any of those folks yet and I don't think so.

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I don't think that overnight everybody's gonna go and just, you know, let go of their paper

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Bible and transition completely to a waterproof Bible. I know a lot of us have a lot of notes in our paper

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Bible and we're gonna definitely, you know, cherish that and that's gonna be a big part of our lives. But the average

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American that has a Bible has like three or four at least.

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And so this may be a Bible that they add to that collection that, you know, slowly gets integrated into their life, you know, as they begin to write and highlight in it.

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So I don't think that the people that make Bible covers have to worry too much. I think that there's definitely still a market for, you know, paper

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Bibles and covers to protect them. But I think this will definitely be a good addition to people who already have

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Bibles. Now, what if I went off the deep end and I said, I'm gonna try to burn this Bible. I know it's kind of dirt -proof and waterproof.

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What happens if you light a match to it? What would happen? You know, it's really funny if we get this question all the time.

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And my response is, do we need to talk about something? I mean, is there a story behind this?

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And, but no, it's definitely not gonna really just catch fire like a paper

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Bible will, which is good news. I guess if you have like a torch against it, it'd probably start to melt.

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But I don't know, I guess if you kept it wet, you wouldn't have any problems at all, but.

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Well, I noticed I haven't had. No, I'm sorry to interrupt. I was just gonna say, I haven't put my waterproof

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Bible in water for about a week, but when I open it up, there's still a little bit of moisture in the pages. And so maybe that would help it to be flame retardant.

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Yeah, you know, the moisture is gonna keep it, keep it flame retardant. We, you know, some people have also asked, you know, well, what about the heat?

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You know, it's just, it's made from plastic. Will it melt together? And we've had them in the Middle East and some really hot temperatures and hot places for a few years now.

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And haven't had any problems with that. It's also been through a ranger training school twice.

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We've taken both the map version and this new waterproof Bible bound version through ranger training school.

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And they absolutely just love it, held up great. So we've definitely, and I've even had it on top of Mount Washington.

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I hiked up there about, I guess, almost two months ago. And the day that I was on top of Mount Washington, the wind was 83 miles an hour and opened up the

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Bible and didn't spend much time up there, but the pages didn't rip out. And, you know, it was just pretty exciting to be able to see, you know, the different extreme places that this

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Bible can go and be, you know, just not be ruined. Well, I saw the video on your waterproofbible .com

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site. We're talking now to Michael Marcy, who is one of the inventors, I guess you could say, of the waterproof

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Bible. That video of Mount Washington was impressive with the sound and everything else. And of course, that's right in our backyard here for Massachusetts and New Hampshire and Vermonters.

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I guess it was a typical day up there, wind 83 miles an hour and just overcast and rain.

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And it was quite different than out here in Colorado. We get about 300

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Ks of sun and definitely not the extreme weather that you get out there on top of Mount Washington.

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But in that, there was just this wonderful beauty. And, you know, the people that I was with, we got to camp out and, you know, just sort of share

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God's Word with each other and make it a part of our trip, which I would think that most people would definitely leave a

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Bible behind on that summit. Absolutely. What do you tell people if they say, well, this is just kind of a gimmick?

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Well, you know, you're going to have that with any sort of change. You know, when someone's just had a paper

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Bible for their whole life, you know, and it's just, you sort of accept that it has limitations and you live within those.

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And, you know, so something new may come across as your first thought is, well, this might be a gimmick, you know, what's this all about?

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But in the end, you know, the facts are that this waterproof Bible is going to last much, much longer and you can take it more places without damaging it.

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And it's more rugged and durable. And I don't think anybody's going to argue that creating God, making a

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Bible that, you know, with God's Word that's more durable is going to be a bad thing. So, you know, at the beginning, there was a few, we've heard, you know, a few of those comments, but I think we're hearing it less and less now that, you know, people have a story that they can relate to of when they damaged a

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Bible or when they have a Bible that is damaged and they just can't throw it away, but they don't use it, you know, or they did throw a

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Bible away and it felt so horrible about that. And now that, you know, this isn't the, you know, end all, be all, and, you know, if there is, you know, if you try to tear it apart, you're going to be able to, but, you know, the fact that we can, you know, give these out to people that, you know, go in conditions that go through Bibles really quickly or just, you know, leave

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Bibles behind, and, you know, people that really love the Bible, I don't think they're going to think it's a gimmick.

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I think that's true. Any way we can get the Bible into the hands of people, whether they're traveling for baptisms, for canoe trips, something like that,

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I think it's a great idea. I think it's wonderful for the military. How about this? Are you Protestant or are you

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Catholic? I'm Protestant. Okay, and then did you have any kind of problems in your mind, thinking, well, should we make the

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Catholic Bible? What if we make the Catholic Bible? What was your rationale regarding that? Oh, well, no,

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I've, you know, through God has led me and what's on my heart is to get the

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Bible out there and, you know, in whatever way possible, and I think it'd be great to have a

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Catholic Bible in this format as well. You know, we've worked with different Bible societies to have it printed in different languages.

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We're currently printing it in German right now and have a couple others in the works. And, you know, if somebody came along that was a publisher or someone who already had, you know, the permission for a

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Catholic Bible and knew about that process, you know, I'd love to help them along in that.

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And, you know, that's just not, you know, not within our capability right now, because right now it's just myself and my business partner,

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Bobby, and his wife, Anna, and God, and that's sort of our company. So we're sort of limited on, you know, what we can do and our resources and really just stay focused on what

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God has laid right and right in our own sight and our own hearts.

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And so we're gonna keep, you know, printing, you know, the translations as we get permission and as we grow and people start requesting different translations and that sort of thing.

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Well, good answer. This is the Bible in my hand called the Waterproof Bible. It's the regular size,

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Michael, but it's a little heavier. What would the cost be for some of these Bibles? I know if you buy one that you'll give one, but if somebody wanted to order one of these from waterproofbible .com,

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how much would it cost them for a full Bible? They're $39 .95, and that's for the full

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Bible, and $24 .95 for the New Testament, and that's, you know, across the board if you get, you know, camouflage or different colors.

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We have a blue cover and a pink cover and also a camouflage cover in the full

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Bible, and then in New Testament, we have a camouflage and blue cover. So those are all $39 .95

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and $24 .95, and you're right, when you buy one, we allocate one that's gonna be given to someone who needs one, and for Christmas, it's gonna be people that are in these villages in Kenya.

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Well, that is a great Christmas idea. I'm only mad, Michael, at you because you sent Tim Challey six and then you only sent me two, so that's my only problem at all with the waterproofbible .com.

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We got a little in trouble for sending too many out that first time, and I'm really sorry, but you could always go online and get a couple more.

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Oh, I know I could. Give a couple away. Well, we're talking to Michael Marcy from waterproofbible .com.

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If you'd like to order a Bible, you can go to waterproofbible .com, R -W -W -W -B -A -R -D -I -N -M -A -R -S -E -E .com.

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You can find waterproof Bibles there. I think it's a great idea. With No Compromise Radio, we want people to read their

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Bibles, and if that means taking an extra Bible that is waterproof, I think the gimmick is not necessarily a gimmick.

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It's just very pragmatic in the good sense of the term. It is useful. It is helpful. I think we'll grab a few and sell them at the church here.

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Everyone that I've shown these Bibles, Michael, have said, that is a great idea because you're right.

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It's not gonna replace their normal study Bible, and that's not your intention, but it will help them read the

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Bible, backpacking, surfing. I don't know about that drill bit story, but I like the idea, and I thank you very much for being on the show,

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No Compromise Radio. This is Mike Abendroth and Michael. God bless you and your efforts to sell more of God's Word and get it in the hands of the people, especially overseas.

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Thank you. All right, God bless you. Mike Abendroth at NoCompromiseRadio .com. We'll see you tomorrow.

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No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston.

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Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life -transforming power of God's Word through verse -by -verse exposition of the sacred text.

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Please come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 1015 and in the evening at six. We're right on Route 110 in West Boylston.

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You can check us out online at bbchurch .org or by phone at 508 -835 -3400.

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The thoughts and opinions expressed on No Compromise Radio do not necessarily reflect those of WVNE, its staff or management.