International (MNN) ― Researchers such as George Gallup, George Barna and the Bible Literacy Project have shown a disturbing deficiency in biblical knowledge among the American public.
According to Barna Research, in 2006 48-percent of the un-churched American public agreed that the Bible is infallible (phrased "totally accurate in all of its teachings"). Twelve percent of born again Christians disagree that "the Bible is totally accurate in all of its teachings." Nearly seven out of ten born again Christians (67%) have read the Bible in the past week, compared to 35% of those who adhere to a non-Christian faith.
That's why the timing is so important on the August release of The Books of The Bible. It's a groundbreaking presentation of the Scriptures designed to accurately reflect the biblical authors' intentions. The result: a more readable Bible.
International Bible Society-Send The Light's Glenn Paauw says, "Letters end up looking more like real letters, and stories like real stories. It's about all the numbers, the chapter references, the section heading, the notes at the bottom of the page. When you take out all that stuff, you just have suddenly a feeling that you're getting closer to what the author originally had there."
The Books of The Bible took out the "additives" to help streamline the writings in context. It differs from the format of most current Bibles in significant ways: chapter and verse numbers are removed from the text; individual books are presented with the literary divisions that their authors have indicated; footnotes, section headings and other supplementary materials have been removed from the text; the books of the Bible have been placed in an order that provides more help in understanding, based on literary genre, historical circumstance and theological tradition; single books that later translations or tradition divided into two or more books are made whole again (example: Luke-Acts); and single-column setting that clearly and naturally presents the literary forms of the Bible's books.
It's a lot to change. One of the main-intended audiences for this new edition is those who have never read the Bible before. IBS-STL included introductions because research shows that the Bible is no longer the familiar book it once was.
Their research shows that the newly traditional format actually encourages the reading of short segments, rather than complete sections or whole books. Paauw is quick to stress that nothing but the organizational tools have been removed. He goes on to suggest that the organization of the chapter and verse system can be a crutch in Bible familiarity.
Take for instance, the reading of the story of the woman at the well in the book of John. "How would you refer to that if you couldn't refer to John chapter 4? You would say, 'It's toward the beginning of the Gospel,' and if you can describe it in terms of the events that have happened in John's Gospel and where this falls, you're actually finding that you're referencing the story with regard to its immediate context."
The goal is that The Books of the Bible will be the start of a lifelong journey of embracing the Scriptures and incorporating God's message of redemption into readers' lives. Click here for details.
