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‘Living Bible’ Is A Paraphrase Of Everyday Understandable Language
by James M. Johnston
Religion Editor
Milwaukee Sentinel
“About this time Caesar Au
gustus, the Roman emperor,
decreed that a census should be
taken throughout the nation.
(This census was taken when
Quirinius was governor of Sy
ria.)
“Everyone was required to
return to his ancestral home for
this registration. And because
Joseph was a member of the
royal line, he had to go to Be
thlehem in Judea, King David’s
ancient home—journeying here
from the Galilean village of
Nazareth. He took with him
Mary, his financee who was ob
viously pregnant by this time.
"And while they were there,
the time came for the baby to
be born; and she gave birth to
her first child, a son. She
wrapped him in a blanket and
laid him in a manger, because
there was no room for them in
the village inn.’*
Perhaps the pastor read this
version of the Nativity story
(Luke 2:1-6) at your Christmas
services last year. It is taken
from the most recent version
of the 66 Books of the Old and
New Testaments called “The
Living Bible,” which has been
in circulation for a little more
than six months.
This Bible is a departure
from the numerous other pro
ductions. It is a “thought-by
thought ” paraphrase, instead
of a “word-by-word” transla
tion, by Kenneth N. Taylor, a
Wheaton, Illinois, Bible sch
olar.
The project grew from a
proper seed a child’s ques
tion.
Taylor, a graduate of Nor
thern Baptist Theological Sem
inary, would read the Bible
regularly at home to his 10
children.
After a difficult passage, he
would usually have to paraph
rase it into simple English,
with the footnote, “That’s what
it means.”
“Then why doesn’t it say so?”
a child would ask many
times.
After a few such questions,
Taylor himself began to wonder
why the language was so diff
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If I Am Elected
Your Tax
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I WILL WORK FOR THE PEOPLE AND WITH THE PEOPLE
OF FORSYTH COUNTY AND ANY CIVIC OR CHURCH GROUP
FOR THE BETTERMENT OF OUR COUNTY. ALL BOOKS AND
RECORDS WILL BE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
icult, especially since it’s the
young whom teachers of Chris
tianity are trying to reach.
Then, about 1956, he began
to put his rephrasings on paper.
By 1962, he had finished all
the New Testament Epistles.
He tried to get them published.
This, however, was only 10
years after the publication of
the Revised Standard Version,
which had produced such a
storm over certain translations
deemed to be “modernist” in
their shadings and therefore an
undermining influence in “true
Christian teaching.”
In the forefront of these cri
ticisms during the early 1950 s
were the conservatives and
“evangelical Protestants.”
They believed that changing any
line of the King James Version
risked negating the “Word of
God,” even though the literary
masterpiece produced by the
scholars in the reign of the
first Stuart had been the
“Word” only since 16U.
As late as 1962 some evan
gelical scholars still doubted
the wisdom of “tampering”.
Four publishers turned thumbs
down on the project.
“I was crushed,” recalled
Taylor, who is no modernist.
“My whole background is res
pect for God’s Word and belief
in its inspiration and authority.
My purpose was not to ‘tamper’
with it, but to convey its real
content more accurately and
clearly. Only the Lord gave me
the courage to go ahead with
it.”
Like a religious man, he re
membered Matthew 17:20,
which, in “The Living Bible”
is "For if you had faith even as
small as a tiny mustard seed...
nothing would be impossible.”
So, on faith, he had 2,000
copies of his paraphrasings
produced privately under the
title, “Living Letters,” when a
printer extended him credit. He
handled mail orders from a
home garage in Wheaton, Illi
nois.
Orders trickled in until, in
1968, his work caught the eye
of Billy Graham, who ordered
50,000 copies for distribution.
Taylor did not stop, with such
a giant “evangelical” as Gra
ham on his side. He paraph
rased other parts of the Bible
YOUR VOTE APPRECIATED
and printed them under such tit
les as “Living Gospels,” “Li
ving Prophecies” and “Living
Psalms and Proverbs.”
The sale volume hit nine
million copies. By last Septe
mber, the entire paraphrasing
project was produced in one
1,020 page book titled “The
Living Bible.” It is in its fourth
printing with two mUlion copies
in circulation. In many big cities
it has landed on the best seller
list.
During National Bible Week,
the annual award of the
Layman’s Bible Committee
went to Taylor for his 16 years
of work.
A side epic is the growth of
Taylor’s home born publishing
firm, Tyndale House, Wheaton,
of which he is president.
Tyndale House now handles
75 other published titles and
has a multi - million - dollar
sales volume. It has an ejqjanded
$300,000 plant, more than 50 em
ployees and a branch in Eng
land named for William Tyn
dale* s colleague in Bible trans
lations, Miles Coverdale.
Taylor channels royalties
from the sale of Bibles Into a
foundation that provides trans
lations into 51 languages.
Said Graham about the com
pleted project: “In this book I
have read the age abiding tru
ths of the Scriptures with ren
ewed interest and inspiration,
as though coming to me directly
from God. “The Living Bible”
communicates the message of
Christ to our generation. Read
ing it will give a new under
standing of the Scriptures.”
Other conservative Pro
testants have also praised the
book, men like Herschel H.
Hobbs of Oklahoma City, past
president of the Southern Bap
tist Convention; RobertH. Pier
son, president of the Seventh-
Day Adventist Church; and Jos
eph H. Jackson of Chicago, pre
sident of the National Baptist
Convention, UJS.A.
These testify that the con
servatives, after seeing many a
Bible translation since the RSV
shook them up, seem to have
lost their fear of “tampering
with the Word.”
One of the objections to the
Revised Standard Version was
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BOBBY GENE GILBERT
FORSYTH COUNTY TAX COMMISSIONER
the translation in Isaiah 7:14
as . . . “Behold a young wo
man shall conceive and bear a
son, and shall call his name
Immanuel ...” This passage,
interpreted as forecasting the
birth of Jesus, was offensive to
fundamentalists and other con
servatives, because it used the
words “young woman” Instead
of “virgin,” and thus, they
thought, detracted from the di
vinity of Christ.
In “The Living Bible,” the
word is “virgin.”
Taylor’s paraphrased ver
sion contains short sentences,
short words and “plain talk”
that make for fast, sometimes
exciting prose. For instance:
“Absalom said to his men,
“Wait until Amnon gets drunk,
then, at my signal, kill himl
Don’t be afraid. I’m the one who
gives the orders around here
and this is a command. Take
courage and do it!” (2 Samuel
13:28)
“Well, look.” Nebuchad
nezzar shouted. ‘I see four
men, unbound, walking around in
the fire, and they aren’t even
hurt by the flames! And the
fourth looks like a god!”
Then Nebuchadnezzar came
as close as he could to the open
door of the flaming furnace and
yelled, ‘Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego, servants of the Most
High God! Come out! Come
here!’ So they stopped out of
the fire.” . . Daniel 3:25, 26.
“Don’t talk so much. You
keep putting your foot in your
mouth. Be sensible and turn off
the flow! When a good man
speaks, he is worth listening to,
but the words of fools are a dime
a dozen.” (Proverbs 10:20, 21.)
“A constant dripping on a
rainy day and a cranky woman
are much alike! You can no more
stop her complaints than you can
stop the wind or hold onto any
thing with oil-slick hands.”
(Proverbs 27:15,16).
Taylor, now 54 years old, was
once director of the Moody
Press, which is connected with
Chicago’s Moody Bible Insti
tute. Of the curious Taylor ch
ildren who started It all, five
have finished college, two are
now in college, and three are
in high school.
Democratic Primary - August 8, 1972
TO ALLEVIATE as many of the problems within toe office as possible
TO EXPLAIN THE REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE OFFICE OF TAX COMMISSIONER
TO EXPEDITE THE SERVICE WITHIN TOE OFFICE AND EXTEND OFFICE HOURS DURING
PEAK SEASONS
TO TREAT EACH TAXPAYER WITH RESPECT AND KINDNESS INSIDE TOE OFFICE AS
WELL AS OUTSIDE
TO MAKE TOE OFFICE OF TAX COMMISSIONER YOUR OFFICE AS WELL AS MINE IF I
AM ELECTED
TO STAY OPEN ALL DAY ON SATURDAYS
TO BETTER SERVE TOE PUBLIC OF FORSYTH COUNTY
TO STAY OPEN EXTRA HOURS THROUGH WEEK-DAYS DURING TAX AND TAG SEASON
TO STAY OPEN DURING LUNCH HOUR
TO COLLECT BACK TAXES
TO MAKE SURE THAT TOE PEOPLE OF FORSYTH COUNTY GET THEIR HOMESTEAD EXEMPTIONS *:....
BOTH SINGLE AND DOUBLE
FERGERSON’S SUPERETTE
CUMMING SUPERETTE
THE BEVERAGE SHOP
FOWLER’S STORE
BARNETT’S
THE PIONEER RESTUARANT
FOOD TOWN
THE GOLDEN PANTRY
GOODSON’S DRUG’S
HOLBROOKS SUPERETTE
BERRY’S RESTAURANT
HARDIN’S STORE
WOFFORD’S STORE
ANDREWS & HOLTZCLAW
MARTIN’S STORE
HOLCOMB’S STORE
THE FORSYTH COUNTY IS SOLD AT THE ABOVE PLACE’S
THE FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS - JUNE 22,1972
BOTTOM’S STORE
CHADWICKS STORE
J. G. GREEN’S STORE
KARR’S STORE
J.P’ HOLBROOK’S
SMALLWOOD’S STORE
CROY’S SUPRETTE
CROY’S GRO;
FREEHOME STORE
BEARDEN ’S GRO.
RALPH MOORE’S
STRICKLAND’S
BETTIS STORE
STRIPLAND GRO.
SPORTSMAN ONE STOP
HOWARD’S GRO
HURT & MOORE
PAGE 7
HT