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By 1997, 40 million copies of The Living Bible had been sold. The Living Bible was the best-selling book in the U.S. The Living Bible was a best-seller in the early 1970s, largely due to the accessibility of its modern language, which made passages understandable to those with weak reading skills, or no previous background in Bible study. The added words "A Thought-For-Thought Translation" in the subtitle of the title page are not unique to Catholic editions, they are also in the later printings of the Protestant editions, even though the Bible is a paraphrase. The Catholic Living Bible does not use the word "paraphrased" on the front cover instead it places the word on the title page, underneath which is written "A Thought-For-Thought Translation". There is also The Catholic Living Bible, which holds an imprimatur from the Catholic Church and contains the Deuterocanonical books as well as an introduction entitled "Why Read The Bible?" by Pope John Paul II. Over the next year he distributed 600,000 copies of Living Letters. He was impressed with its easy readability, and he asked for permission to print 50,000 paperback copies of Living Letters for use in his evangelistic crusades. In 1962 Billy Graham received a copy of Living Letters – a paraphrase of the New Testament epistles and the first portion of what later became The Living Bible – while recuperating in a hospital in Hawaii. Youth-oriented Protestant groups such as Youth for Christ and Young Life accepted it readily. The Living Bible was well received in many Evangelical circles. So I did, and read the chapter to the family that evening with exciting results-they knew the answers to all the questions I asked! Reception It suddenly occurred to me one afternoon that I should write out the reading for that evening thought by thought, rather than doing it on the spot during our devotional time. I would paraphrase it for them and give them the thought. All too often I would ask questions to be sure the children understood, and they would shrug their shoulders-they didn't know what the passage was talking about. Our family devotions were tough going because of the difficulty we had understanding the King James Version, which we were then using, or the Revised Standard Version, which we used later. The children were one of the chief inspirations for producing the Living Bible. Taylor died on June 10, 2005, from heart failure.In a 1979 interview by Harold Myra in an issue of Christianity Today, Taylor explained the inspiration for preparing The Living Bible: This edition, titled The Book, was featured in People magazine. Taylor finished the entire Bible in contemporary language and published it as The Living Bible in 1971.Ī special edition of Taylor's Living Bible was published in 1984 in conjunction with a marketing campaign sponsored by the Christian Broadcasting Network. His Bible paraphrase was successful enough to allow him to leave Moody Press and work exclusively at Tyndale. He published the New Testament epistles under the title Living Letters at his own expense in 1962. Taylor followed this volume with Stories for the Children's Hour and Devotions for the Children's Hour (both also published by Moody).Īfter these books were published Taylor began working on an ambitious project-the Bible in a paraphrased and easy-to-read modern language. This book has now sold more than 1.5 million copies. They were eventually published by Moody Press in a book called The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes.
#THE LIVING BIBLE ENCYCLOPEDIA IN STORY AND PICTURES SERIES#
Taylor developed a series of Bible stories with pictures for his own children to read. During that time he assisted with distribution of Christian literature in Mexico. In 1947 he moved to Moody Bible Institute, where he served as Director of Moody Press (now called Moody Publishing) until 1963. Taylor worked briefly with Clyde Dennis, founder of Good News Publishers, on translating Gospel tracts and distributing them overseas. He was a long-time member of College Church in Wheaton. Taylor moved back to Wheaton, began working at the magazine, and finished his theological degree at Northern Baptist Seminary. During the course of his studies he was offered the position of editor for HIS Magazine, headquartered in Chicago. He graduated from high school in 1934 from Beaverton High School in Beaverton, OR and enrolled in Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. His parents were George and Charlotte Huff Taylor. Kenneth Nathaniel Taylor (– June 10, 2005) was an American publisher and author, better known as the creator of The Living Bible and the founder of Tyndale House, a Christian publishing company, and Living Bibles International.