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The cover looks like any other teen magazine: Blurred fingers play an unheard riff on a guitar. Skater dudes, wearing shades, lean on their boards.

A headline on the magazine "Refuel" shouts, "GIRLS SPILL IT ALL!"

Inside is the complete New Testament, but with a twist: It's designed to appeal to teen-age boys. A preview copy offers statistics on condom use to prevent pregnancy and tips on what girls want in a Christian guy.

For centuries, the Bible has been the story that sold itself. But publishers, competing in an increasingly media-saturated climate, are turning to pop culture, and some say gimmicks, to sell the Bible to teens and young adults.

"This is a 'look-and-see' generation," said Bryce Cole, 22, of Colleyville, Texas, whose Bible study group for 20-somethings meets each Monday at a Starbucks. "If they like what they see, they pay attention."

Publishers, authors and religion professors say there is ample evidence that teens and adolescents are spiritually hungry.

Movies such as "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Matrix" spawned debates by the thousands on Web pages and in churches and books. Publishers and authors are eager to capitalize on that hunger.

But critics say that Bibles like "Refuel," with its rock 'n' roll cover, send the wrong message to youth.

Dorothy Patterson, a theology professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, said that if the Gospels look like a magazine, people will treat them as they do other magazines.

"If you put something in such a category that it can be thrown away and tossed, you have already downgraded the importance," she said.

Others say the market is at a saturation point as publishers produce dozens of Bibles targeted to specific demographic groups. Bookstore shelves are filled with Bibles for men, women, babies and people in 12-step recovery programs. One publisher contemplated a Bible for Elvis fans, Patterson said.

"We're going to get ... to the point of, here's the Bible for widowed people over 80 who live in Florida," said Arie C. Leder, professor of the Old Testament at Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Though the Bibles look new, the translations aren't necessarily. "Refuel," which hit stores in April, uses a 1978 translation of the New Testament called the New Century Version, which is considered easier to read than the King James Version. The real emphasis is on the visual presentation and the magazine-like elements that accompany the Scriptures.

The number of such Bibles is growing. A "Refuel"-style "biblezine" for women, called "Becoming," will be published in June, a spokeswoman for the magazine said. Tyndale House Publishers of Carol Stream, Ill., offers "Every Man's Bible" for "every ordinary guy -- from truck drivers to lawyers," according to the publisher's Web site.

In March, Christian publisher Zondervan released "The Discovery Study Bible," with more than 750 "culture clues," footnotes that explain ancient customs to provide insight for modern readers.

Publishers say they are taking their cues from other mass media, such as television, as they try to reach a new generation.

"Just as MTV has pulled off the boxing gloves and is being very bold and nothing is sacred, we felt like we needed a Bible that was edgy as well," said Paul Caminiti, associate publisher of Bibles at Zondervan.

There's another reason that publishers are targeting older teens and young adults: They're the trendsetters, and they have money to spend. As with fashion, music and movies, if the 18- to 45-year-old crowd buys into a vogue Bible, a big chunk of the culture will follow, said Greg Garrett, a Baylor University English professor and co-author of "The Gospel Reloaded: Exploring Spirituality and Faith in the Matrix."

But pop references have a limited shelf life, Garrett said. And even when they're well-timed, these trendy Bibles can be seen by Generations X and Y as "trying too hard to be cool," he said.

"I think right now it's 'Let's put a cool cover on it and see if anybody comes,'" Garrett said.

Teens showed up for "Refuel's" predecessor, a stylized biblezine for girls called "Revolve."

"Revolve" grew out of research showing that girls who find the Bible too intimidating love to read magazines, said Laurie Whaley, the creator of both biblezines, which are published by Transit Books, a division of Thomas Nelson.

Though Whaley declined to discuss sales figures, another Transit Books official told CNN last year that "Revolve" had sold about 30,000 copies in a month. The average Bible, the publisher said, sells 40,000 a year.

Whaley said more copies of "Refuel" were shipped to bookstores than the initial shipment of "Revolve."

"'Revolve's' success got people thinking, 'How can we engage younger people?'" Caminiti said, adding that Zondervan had already been developing its own teen-girl Bible, which was published last year.

The next generation of Bibles borrows motifs from "The Matrix," magazines and video games, reflecting a growing emphasis on the visual -- and, some say, the superficial.

"What we're observing in the culture right now is a huge shift from how much we value the written word to how much we value the visual image," said Sarah Arthur, author of "Walking with Frodo," a devotional book that explores Christianity through the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

Arthur said she's spoken with people who have seen some of the trilogy's films as many as four times.

"I began to think there's something going on with this generation, that it's more than just entertainment for them," she said. "They're hungry for more of whatever this is."

In the Bible market, as with Arthur's book, a tie-in with the culture relies on a new look but, ultimately, a very old book.

"Refuel," for instance, has a guitar player on the cover and sidebars with topics like the best way to shave a beard.

Another "Refuel" feature is "Experts answer your questions:"

"Jesus said I'm supposed to turn the other cheek. Am I really supposed to let people wallop me?"

"The Bible doesn't say you shouldn't stop someone from hitting you. It's wrong to start fights, and it's wrong to take matters into your own hands to get revenge."

A sports devotional Bible published by Zondervan looks, feels and, to a lesser extent, smells like the skin of a basketball wrapped around a book.

Bryce Cole, whose father is pastor of Hope Christian City Church in Colleyville, Texas, said "TruthQuest," by Broadman & Holman Publishers, is his Bible of choice. The format includes study guides and pull-out sections such as "Noah's Biography" that go beyond the ark, the flood and the rainbow.

"You might say I invented the process of fermentation," Noah's bio reads. "I lived on a floating zoo for 121/2 months."

Bill Leonard, dean of the divinity school at Wake Forest University and a church history professor, is concerned about the easy-to-read notes and commentary.

He wonders whether younger people, unfamiliar with the Gospels, will confuse the commentaries with the Bible's text -- especially because the commentaries are often glib, fun and eye-catching.

Consider Zondervan's teen-guy Bible "Revolution," a New International Version Bible that includes "100 of Satan's Favorite Lies." Lie No. 37: "Real men have sex every chance they get."

Lie No. 63: "Some day -- when you have enough stuff -- you'll finally be happy."

"I can see where you'd read commentary without jumping into the text and the messiness of the text," Leonard said.

Garrett, the Baylor professor, was part of a Zondervan study group in January with other authors and pastors who was asked to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of different Bibles.

One Bible he examined, "The Street Bible," rewrites Genesis through Revelation in British slang by performance artist Rob Lacey.

In that version, the part of Genesis that many people know as "In the beginning" starts off, "First off, nothing. No light, no time, no substance, no matter. Second off, God starts it all up and WHAP! Stuff everywhere!"

Publishers such as Whaley say specialized Bibles merely reflect the church of today.

"Look at the model of the church," said Whaley, of Transit Books. "They break into classes or small groups based on the point you're at in your life right now."

Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas, which has an average weekly attendance of 18,000, organizes ministry groups for preschoolers, singles, women and sports fans, to name a few.

And for every group there are subgroups: Married couples struggling to have children, for instance, can attend the church's Faith N' Fertility support ministry.

Fellowship spokesman Lawrence Swicegood said churches have created specialized ministries in order to be relevant.

Whaley said that Bibles like "Revolve" and "Refuel" are based on the same principle. They also delve into topics that pastors might not, including cloning, tattoos, suicide and divorce.

"I think the strength in both 'Revolve' and 'Refuel' is they don't shy away from really tough topics," she said.

But Patterson, the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary professor, working on a more scholarly Bible, said she sees other motives for publishers.

They are "sometimes driven by greed and by doing something new," she said.

"I don't think every crack has to have a Bible in it," she said. "I like things that are classic."