NCC, HarperSanFrancisco unveil 'Go-Anywhere Bible,' new Bible publishing relationship
New York City, February 27, 2007--The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC) and HarperSanFrancisco, an imprint of HARPERCOLLINS Publishers, today announced the launch of the "Go-Anywhere Bible." This new collection of Bibles is published in a convenient size and attractive design intended to make the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Bible more accessible to today's readers.
The "Go-Anywhere Bible" is the first in a series of Bibles to be published under a new agreement with HarperSanFrancisco. The NCC has selected HarperSanFrancisco to be the sole manager of commercial licenses for print and electronic editions of the NRSV and the Revised Standard Version (RSV) of the Bible.
"'The Go-Anywhere Bible' is perfect for today's reader," said Mark Tauber, Vice President and Deputy Publisher at HarperSanFrancisco. "It is just one of many new NRSV products that we are publishing under our new relationship with the NCC." The "Go-Anywhere Bible" will be available in major book stores across the country today, including Borders and Barnes and Noble. NRSV.net, a new online resource launched just last week.
"Countless congregations read, hear, study and consult this important translation," said the Rev. Michael Livingston, NCC president and executive director of the International Council of Community Churches, one the NCC's 35 member communions. "The NCC is confident that HarperSanFrancisco, with the experience of publishing quality religious books by respected authors, will help expand the availability of the NRSV to more people in more places," said Livingston.
The NCC president began a news conference in the Orthodox Room of the Interchurch Center here by honoring the memory of Dr. Bruce Metzger, a member of both the RSV and NRSV translation teams, who died Feb. 13. The Rev. Livingston was a student of Metzger's at Princeton Theological Seminary.
The NRSV is widely recognized as the world's most trusted, most accepted and most accurate translation of scriptures available in English. Both the NRSV and RSV have incorporated much new scholarship derived since the 20th century discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The RSV was the first serious, scholarly effort to translate the Bible from the original texts since the 1611 Authorized Version also known as the King James Bible.
"This is an extraordinary translation," said Father Timothy MacDonald, associate director of the Graymoor Ecumenical and Interreligious Institute. "It is most faithful to the original texts," said Fr. MacDonald, whose religious order, the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement, does ecumenical work in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council. "I can't imagine teaching theology or doing serious Bible study without the NRSV," said Fr. MacDonald. Father MacDonald said he believes the NRSV is in use in nearly every accredited seminary, school of theology and university religion program across the nation and around the world.
"The NRSV made a serious study of the original biblical languages' use of gender and reflected the preeminent scholarship available at the time," said the Rev. Dr. Eileen Lindner, NCC's deputy general secretary for research and planning. "The NRSV is a meaningful standard that honors the witness of women as well as men," said Dr. Lindner.
"In the Episcopal Church I can tell you this has been the most popular translation for use in lectionaries, prayer books and other liturgical resources that incorporate Holy Scripture," said Frank Tedeschi, executive editor, Church Publishing Inc. "The NRSV has been incorporated into hundreds of resources since it was first published in 1989. You'll find it used in curricula, worship books, devotional materials, lectionary-based products," Tedeschi said.
"You might say the NRSV was slightly ahead of its time," said Dr. Randall Bailey, professor of the Hebrew Bible at the Interdenominational Theological Center, Atlanta, and chair of the NCC's Bible Translation and Utilization Committee. "This translation made serious attempt at the use of gender and other aspects directly from the original texts," he said. "We hope our new publishing arrangement will make the NRSV a household staple for Christians across the nation who are interested in the most literal translation of the Bible available in English."
About the National Council of Churches The NRSV and RSV translations of the Bible are owned by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, the leading force for ecumenical cooperation among Christians in the United States. The NCC's member faith groups represent a wide spectrum of Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, historic African American and Living Peace churches and include 45 million persons in more than 100,000 local congregations across the nation. For more information about the NCC, visit the web site at www.councilofchurches.org
About HARPERCOLLINS
HARPERCOLLINS is one of the leading English-language publishers in the world and is a subsidiary of News Corporation (NYSE: NWS, NWS.A; ASX: NWS, NWSLV). Headquartered in New York, the company has publishing groups in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australasia. Its publishing groups include the HarperCollins General Books Group, HarperCollins Children's Books Group, Zondervan, HarperCollins UK, HarperCollins Canada, HarperCollins Australia/New Zealand and HarperCollins India. www.harpercollins.com.
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Media contacts: Helena Brantley, HarperSanFrancisco, 415.477.4407, Helena.Brantley@HARPERCOLLINS.com. Dan Webster, NCC News, 212.870.2252, NCCnews@ncccusa.org.