| Bible Society brings Scriptures alive to engage a new century of readers By Rev. Raymond T. Moreland  Since 1810, the Maryland Bible Society has been a partner with Bible societies in the United States and around the world. For more than 193 years the work of the society has been to translate, publish and distribute the Bible to all people everywhere. From the beginning of the Bible society movement, the mission of all Bible societies has been to provide Gods Word in a language and form that is easy to read and understand in the heart-language of people everywhere. The society also provides Bibles or New Testaments at the lowest possible cost for the greatest distribution. Believe it or not, the United States has a saturation problem with the Scripture as well as a tremendous need. On the one hand, 96 percent of Americans have at least one or more copies of the Bible in their homes and, according to Gallup polls, most Americans believe that God inspired the Bible. But paradoxically, only 27 percent of those who have a Bible read it maybe once a week. This displays a tremendous irony in a society that has the Bible and at the same time really only gives the Scriptures a passing nod. The irony is compounded by what George Gallup calls the major problem facing the Christian community in this new century biblical illiteracy. And this, in turn, is made worse by the fact that more than 90 million Americans are functionally illiterate. Bible societies are confronted with both literacy and biblical illiteracy. This is the reason that the American Bible Society, founded in 1816 by the state and regional Bible societies, is turning more and more to the need for Scripture engagement, reading and studying of Gods Word rather than just indiscriminate distribution of Scripture. This challenge is magnified by the fact that today a person can get any of the 15 prominent English translations in media and Internet form rather than a purely printed form. Recently, at a meeting of the National Church Advisory Council of the American Bible Society in New York City, I heard Eugene Habecker, president of the American Bible Society, say that the Christian community must rediscover its unity of mission around the Bible. He affirmed that he and his colleagues believe that the Bible can speak for itself and that, in spite of doctrinal differences in denominations and groups, the Bible is still a powerful life-changing instrument as it has been for over 20 centuries. Although translation, publishing and distribution will always be the hallmark of any Bible Society, including the Maryland Bible Society, the movement is heading in a new direction with a new vision of providing this life-changing Word in new forms. At that same meeting, the Rev. Leonard Sweet of Drew University said that the Bible must once again become an EPIC in the Christian community. Sweet went on to explain that E stands for experiential the Word must become alive and active in the lives of people through their daily experiences; P means that the Word must become participatory sharing in the life-changing power of the Word; I stands for Image the need for a revival of expressions of the Word to meet changing times such as setting the Scriptures to contemporary music and the use of Christian rap music and high tech resources. Finally, C stands for connectivity the Word must help us build relationships among all people. This is the key for making the written Word incarnate in our flesh and blood experience and relationships in life. Even though the King James Version is still the most popular translation, the New International Version is a rival, along with the 1995 Contemporary English Version of the Bible. It is estimated that because of the rapid changes in the English language there will be a need for a new English translation at least every 20 years. So the work of Bible societies will continue to be translation, publishing, and distribution; but the work is challenging us to help people use the Word in ways that stretch the stereotypical giving away of Bibles and New Testaments. Merely putting a Bible in the hands of a person is no guarantee that the Word will become active and alive in peoples hearts and minds. Thats why the story of the Ethiopian official and Philip (in Acts, chapter 8) is important. The Ethiopian was reading the book of the prophet Isaiah out loud and Philip asked him, Do you understand what you are reading? The official answered, How can I understand unless someone helps me? So Philip sat down beside him and explained the good news about Jesus. This makes the Bible alive in the experience of people; it helps them participate in the Word; it opens their hearts to the great images of Gods love and grace and it enables persons to connect to one another in life-changing moments with transformation of heart and spirit. The Rev. Raymond T. Moreland is executive director of the Maryland Bible Society, located at 9 E. Franklin St. in Baltimore. For more information see www.marylandbible.org . | 
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