Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, August 5, 1995 TAG: 9508080011
SECTION: RELIGION PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAVID BRIGGS ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
These are the sort of news days most tabloids can only dream of. But for a new paper that gets its stories from the Bible, there is no shortage of fascinating accounts of the good and evil in humankind.
The paper is called God's Word Now, and its aim is to take a book that is imposing to many readers and put it into an appealing format - a newspaper.
Purists may sneer at the liberties it takes in its translations - The Ten Commandments become the Top Ten Rules for Happy Living, for example - but the publishing executive who came up with the idea said it is in keeping with early Christian tradition of presenting the faith in understandable language.
``People just don't know where to start in that big book called the Bible,'' says Doris Rikkers, vice president and publisher of the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based World Publishing.
God's Word Now, she says, is designed ``really to entertain and to educate to a point that people look at the Bible again ... and say, `My goodness, this is the Bible.'''
The 32-page, magazine-style paper, which contains short articles, bold headlines and generous use of color and graphics, was launched in July at the Christian Booksellers Association convention in Denver.
It is being sold in Christian bookstores for $3.95; its initial printing was 50,000 copies.
There are three issues planned for next year. If the paper is received well, Rikker says, future issues could take the reader through the entire Bible.
The paper uses the new God's Word translation of the Bible, which attempts to translate the Scriptures into contemporary English that would be understood on an elementary-grade reading level.
In the centerfold, the Ten Commandments are simplified to the point of such rules as ``Never murder, never steal and never commit adultery.''
The bulk of the paper reprints dramatic biblical accounts in a bold layout under catchy headlines.
For example, the account in I Kings of Solomon's handling of a dispute between two women who both claim to be a child's mother is called ``The Baby `S' Case.''
And the story of King David's betrayal of Uriah the Hittite is promoted on the front page under the headline, ``Palace Scandal: Murder and Cover-up Exposed.''
Rikkers compares the Bible newspaper undertaking to Ken Burns' Public Broadcasting Service documentary on the Civil War.
She said Burns brought the Civil War to life by an imaginative use of excerpts from historic drawings and documents.
The ultimate question she would ask is: If Jesus or the apostle Paul were here today, how would they reach the masses?
Her answer is that they would use ordinary English and the popular media.
She said the reaction was positive at the booksellers' convention, with one prison minister telling her that the newspaper was ideal for his work because it's hard to get many young prisoners to pick up the Bible.
``This they will read,'' the minister said.
by CNB