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35-816: The Trinitarian Bible Society members separated from the British and Foreign Bible Society , itself founded in 1804, due to two controversies: The arguments came into the open during the Annual Meeting in May 1831 of the Society. The membership voted six to one to retain the ecumenical status quo. On 7 December 1831, over two thousand people gathered in Exeter Hall in London to form the Trinitarian Bible Society, explicitly endorsing

70-736: A Bible in Bala, Gwynedd . BFBS was not the first Bible Society in the world. The first organisation in Britain to be called "The Bible Society" was founded in 1779: it still exists and is called the Naval & Military Bible Society. The first BFBS translation project was the Gospel of John into Mohawk for Canada in 1804. In the British Isles BFBS reprinted Bibles in Welsh, Scots Gaelic and Manx Gaelic first produced by

105-606: A group of people including William Wilberforce and Thomas Charles to encourage the "wider circulation and use" of the Scriptures. Bibles published by the BFBS have on their front page as publisher's name the BFBS's name translated into the text's language, e.g. "Société biblique britannique et étrangère" on Louis Segond 's French Bible or "Brita kaj Alilanda Biblia Societo" on the Esperanto bible compiled from L. L. Zamenhof 's papers after

140-539: A new imprint, Lutterworth Press , was formed, under which most of the society's subsequent publications appeared. In 1935, the society merged with the Christian Literature Society for India and Africa, later also incorporating the Christian Literature Society for China in 1941. The resulting entity was the United Society for Christian Literature, which, as of 2006, was continuing its mission, largely in

175-415: A sharp increase in the society's income. This shift was the subject of some criticism both within and outside the organization. Subscribers to the society raised concerns that their contributions were being used to subsidize books which were aimed at a middle-class audience and priced out of reach of the working-class families that represented the previous targets of the society's evangelical efforts. In 1825,

210-557: A sizeable publishing house, with more than 60 employees and a catalogue of more than 4,000 works in 110 languages. The earliest periodicals published by the society were Child's Companion; or, Sunday scholar's reward and Tract Magazine; or Christian Miscellany . Both debuted in 1824, and were issued monthly at a price of 1 penny , the former aimed at Sunday school students, and the latter at their parents. They had monthly sales of 28,250 and 17,000, respectively. The society's books were mostly small but did include larger works such as

245-560: A treasurer, a secretary, and ten committee members, with members required to "[subscribe] half a guinea or upwards annually". Its initial membership was drawn from the London Missionary Society, and included: At its formation, the society had support from bishops, including Shute Barrington (Durham) and Beilby Porteus (London). Founders of the RTS would go on to found the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1804. Initially,

280-483: Is delivered on the ground through the close relationship they have with each of their fellow Bible Societies. Religious Tract Society The Religious Tract Society was a British evangelical Christian organization founded in 1799 and known for publishing a variety of popular religious and quasi-religious texts in the 19th century. The society engaged in charity as well as commercial enterprise, publishing books and periodicals for profit. Periodicals published by

315-629: Is to translate and disseminate worldwide Bibles in languages other than English. The translation of Bibles into non-English languages is based on the Hebrew Masoretic Text and Greek New Testament edition of the Textus Receptus compiled by F. H. A. Scrivener and published in 1894. The Society sells copies of the King James Version of the Bible, as well as Scriptures in other languages, to

350-719: The King James Only movement , due to its exclusive sales of the KJV Bible in English and number of articles defending the KJV and against other modern versions such as the NASB, NIV, ESV, and NKJV. However, the Society stated "The Trinitarian Bible Society does not believe the Authorised Version to be a perfect translation, only that it is the best available translation in the English language." Also

385-604: The SPCK . The first Romani translation was the Gospel of Luke into the Caló language of Iberia. A report in the 13 November 1824 edition of the Buffalo Emporium and General Advertiser (NY) , stated that the BFBS "since its establishment, has distributed 1,723,251 Bibles, and 2,529,114 Testaments — making a total of 4,252,365." From the early days, the Society sought to be ecumenical and non-sectarian. The Controversy in 1825–26 about

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420-496: The Trinitarian position , and rejecting the apocryphal books. Ultra-dispensationalist E. W. Bullinger was clerical secretary of the Society from 1867 until his death in 1913. Activities during his secretariat include: The Society provides Bibles and Christian literature (from a historically Reformed perspective) to the world. They have chapters in many countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Brazil. Their primary function

455-457: The 15 March 1879 edition of The Gazette (Montreal) , noted that the total circulation by the BFBS "has been 82,000,000...during the last seventy-five years" (since 1804). By 1909 it had issued 215,000,000 copies of the Bible. During World War One the Bible Society distributed more than nine million copies of Scripture, in over 80 languages, to combatants and prisoners of war on all sides of

490-810: The Apocrypha and the Metrical Psalms resulted in the secession of the Glasgow and Edinburgh Bible Societies, which later formed what is now the Scottish Bible Society . This and another similar 1831 controversy about Unitarians holding significant Society offices resulted in a minority separating to form the Trinitarian Bible Society . The Bible Society extended its work to England, India, Europe and beyond. Protestant communities in many European countries (such as Croatia and Albania ) date back to

525-495: The Bible in 1,431 languages. At that time it was distributing 173 million copies each year. The Society is working to circulate the Scriptures across the world, in the church and through the culture. The strategy of the Bible Society centres on Bible availability, accessibility and credibility - what it calls the 'lifecycle' of the Bible. These strategic approaches encompass all of its activity: translation, production, distribution, literacy, engagement and advocacy. To these aims

560-534: The RTS included Boy's Own Paper , Girl's Own Paper and The Leisure Hour . In 1935, it merged into what is today the United Society for Christian Literature. The idea for the society came from the Congregationalist minister George Burder , who raised the idea while meeting with the London Missionary Society (founded in 1795) in May 1799. It was formally established on 10 May 1799, having

595-405: The Society was the original publisher of translations the Bible into several contemporary languages, among which Louis Segond 's French Bible (1910) and L. L. Zamenhof 's Bible in Esperanto (1926). The Bible Society has by far the largest collection of Bibles in the world, with about 39,000 items. It includes its Chinese Collection which is the largest collection of Chinese Scriptures anywhere in

630-546: The Statenvertaling where it differs from the KJV (at least from its main text rather than marginal rendering). Unlike others in the King James Only movement, the Society claims, "The supernatural power involved in the process of inspiration, and in the result of inspiration, was exerted only in the original production of the sixty-six Canonical books of the Bible (2 Peter 1:20-21; 2 Peter 3:15-16)." "Translations from

665-500: The allegation is belied by the fact that the Society sells foreign translations, for instance the Dutch Statenvertaling , which do not precisely agree with the KJV in the translation of every phrase; examples in the case of the Statenvertaling include alternative translations of non-identical meaning which were relegated by the KJV translators to a marginal note; sometimes the English language NKJV has an equivalent rendering to

700-466: The challenge. They printed New Testaments bound in khaki, stamped with a cross, for distribution via the Red Cross among sick and wounded soldiers, sailors and prisoners of war. On average between 6–7,000 volumes were sent out every working day for fighting men, the sick and wounded, the prisoners of war, exiles and refugees. That's over four copies distributed each minute, day and night, for the duration of

735-454: The decline to an increase in competition, and a decline in the influence of Christian evangelism and in the demand for religious literature. As the society entered the 20th century, its operations contracted. It reduced the funding it provided for foreign missionary work, and in 1930 reorganized all its operations into a single building. In the inter-war period, tract circulation had declined to one million, its lowest level since 1806. In 1932,

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770-656: The established churches of England and Scotland; however, it excluded Roman Catholics and Unitarians. For the first 25 years of the society's existence, its main activity was the publication and distribution of religious tracts. The first RTS tract was David Bogue's An Address to Christians, Recommending the Distribution of Cheap Religious Tracts , which listed seven recommendations for writing effective religious tracts, including that they be "plain", "striking", "entertaining", and "adapted to various situations and conditions" of its audience. These principles would tracts written in

805-525: The following century. In its first year, the society had a catalogue of 34 distinct tracts, and printed 200,000 copies. Its output increased over the years, and by 1820 its catalogue included 279 tracts, and it was printing more than 5 million annually. From 1814, the society began publishing some tracts specifically for children. In the 1820s and 1830s, the society began commercially publishing bound books and periodicals for adults and children, shifting away from its previous focus on tracts, and leading to

840-434: The general public. These Scriptures are printed by the Society itself. They also sell or give away Scripture-based Christian literature, such as tracts and children's items in English and other languages. The Society produces a magazine, The Quarterly Record , and sponsors meetings during which the Society's work and issues surrounding translation and text are discussed. The Trinitarian Bible Society has been associated with

875-515: The latter's death. The British and Foreign Bible Society dates back to 1804 when a group of Christians, associated with the Religious Tract Society , sought to address the problem of a lack of affordable Bibles in Welsh for Welsh-speaking Christians. Many young girls had walked long distances to Thomas Charles to get copies of the Bible. Later the story was told of one of them – a young girl called Mary Jones who walked over 20 miles to get

910-407: The multi-volume Devotional Commentary and the massive Analytical Concordance to the Bible of Robert Young . In the 1840s, the society distributed 23 million books to working class households. From the 1860s, the Society began publishing novels aimed at women and children, providing a platform for a new generation of women writers, including Rosa Nouchette Carey . The society also published

945-473: The notable novel, Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan. They reproduced Pilgrim's Progress, in many formats including; penny parts, Sunday School prize additions, and cheap abridgments. Income from the sale of the society's books and periodicals went into a decline in the 1890s. A report issued by the society attributed this to a "general depression [which] has severely affected the book trade", though no such depression existed. Historian Aileen Fyfe attributes

980-511: The original languages are likewise to be considered the written Word of God in so far as these translations are accurate as to the form and content of the Original." "Translations made since New Testament times must use words chosen by uninspired men to translate God's words. For this reason no translation of the Word of God can have an absolute or definitive status. The final appeal must always be to

1015-620: The original languages, in the Traditional Hebrew and Greek texts." British and Foreign Bible Society The British and Foreign Bible Society , often known in England and Wales as simply the Bible Society , is a non-denominational Christian Bible society with charity status whose purpose is to make the Bible available throughout the world. The Society was formed on 7 March 1804 by

1050-515: The society formally separated the accounting for its charitable and commercial work into what they termed a "Benevolent Fund" and "Trade Fund" in order to give greater transparency around how subscription funds were used. Beginning in 1835, the Trade Fund became entirely self-sufficient, with some profits from commercial publishing flowing into the Benevolent Fund. By the 1840s, the RTS had become

1085-452: The society's only stated goal was the production and distribution across Britain of religious tracts —short pamphlets explaining the principles of the Christian religion, with the aim of spreading salvation to the masses. The society was interdenominational, including members belonging to most branches of Protestantism in Britain (such as Congregationalists, Baptists, and Quakers), as well as

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1120-440: The war. Translation work never stopped – between August 1914 and November 1918, the Bible Society printed Scriptures in 34 new languages and dialects. This meant on average there was one new version every seven weeks during the whole period of war. For many years the headquarters of the society was in London; in 1972 its address was 146, Queen Victoria Street, E.C.4. By 1972 it had published or distributed whole Bibles or parts of

1155-453: The war. The Bible Society managed this despite immense challenges – supply shortages, rising paper costs, paper rationing, submarine blockades and the sinking of merchant shipping. Even greater than these physical difficulties was the emotional toll – former colleagues suddenly found themselves fighting on opposing sides. Bible salesmen throughout Europe were conscripted or volunteered into their respective armies. The Bible Society responded to

1190-478: The work of nineteenth-century BFBS Bible salesmen. Auxiliary branches were set up all over the world, which later became Bible Societies in their own right, and today operate in co-operation as part of the United Bible Societies . The Bible Society is a non-denominational Christian network which works to translate, revise, print, and distribute affordable Bibles in England and Wales. A newspaper article in

1225-465: The world. Since the society's move to Swindon in 1985 the library has been located in the library of the University of Cambridge . The Society's mission is global. Its work is organised into two categories: domestic and international. The Society is part of an international fellowship of over 140 Bible Societies around the world, known as the United Bible Societies . Its entire international programme

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