That's very unfortunate. The "Good News Bible" is a Bible paraphrase. Imagine if instead of
You got:"Bhikkhus, all is burning. And what is the all that is burning?
"The eye is burning, forms are burning, eye-consciousness is burning, eye-contact is burning, also whatever is felt as pleasant or painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant that arises with eye-contact for its indispensable condition, that too is burning. Burning with what? Burning with the fire of lust, with the fire of hate, with the fire of delusion. I say it is burning with birth, aging and death, with sorrows, with lamentations, with pains, with griefs, with despairs.
"The ear is burning, sounds are burning...
"The nose is burning, odors are burning...
"The tongue is burning, flavors are burning...
"The body is burning, tangibles are burning...
"The mind is burning, ideas are burning, mind-consciousness is burning, mind-contact is burning, also whatever is felt as pleasant or painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant that arises with mind-contact for its indispensable condition, that too is burning. Burning with what? Burning with the fire of lust, with the fire of hate, with the fire of delusion. I say it is burning with birth, aging and death, with sorrows, with lamentations, with pains, with griefs, with despairs.
(The Good News Suttas)It's all on fire. It's all painful. It's all worthless. Don't mind it. Reject it. It's all lust, all hate, all delusion. All the senses, from birth to death -- it's all on fire. It's enough to make you despair.
Or imagine if instead of
You gotIn the Name of Allah—the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful. All praise is for Allah—Lord of all worlds, the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful, Master of the Day of Judgment. You we worship and You we ask for help. Guide us along the Straight Path, the Path of those You have blessed—not those You are displeased with, or those who are astray.
(The Good News Koran)You are named Allah, and are super. You are the most at everything it is good to be the most at. We love you. Please help us and be our friend, not our enemy, because we want to be your friends, not your enemies.
I would hope that they would at least get the children reading actual scripture.
I think the connection to Theravada is self-explanatory, but if someone grumbles I supposed I can point out how some translations from the 1800s were mere paraphrases.