Common English Bible Named Among Top Religion Stories of 2011

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Contact: Audra Jennings, 800-927-0517 ext 104, ajennings@tbbmedia.com; CommonEnglishBible.com/CEB/newsroom

NASHVILLE, Dec. 15, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- The completion of the new Common English Bible translation is among the top 10 religion stories of 2011 as decided by leading religion journalists in the 30th annual Religion Newswriters Association survey.

The Common English Bible Twitter @CommonEngBible is newsworthy for several reasons:

Its objective: the Common English Bible uses a natural English vocabulary to clearly and freshly communicate the ancient sacred text in a world where 9,000 new words & meaning revisions are added yearly to the English lexicon.
Its speed: the Common English Bible took only four years to accomplish -- a phenomenal feat when compared with other recent modern English Bible translations that took 10-17 years to complete.
Its efficiency: the Common English Bible was able to be completed so rapidly due to the translation process using an online project management database that permitted more than 200 collaborators (translators, editors, and field testers) to communicate immediately. The project was constructed in a workflow matrix with more than 400 overlapping parts.
Its breadth: the Common English Bible is a collaboration of 120 academic scholars and editors, 77 reading group leaders, and more than 500 average readers from around the world who joined together to clearly translate the Bible's original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek languages directly into 21st century English.
Its balance: the Common English Bible translators -- from 24 denominations in American, African, Asian, European, and Latino communities -- represent such academic institutions as Asbury Theological Seminary, Azusa Pacific University, Bethel Seminary, Denver Seminary, Princeton Theological Seminary, Seattle Pacific University, Wheaton College, Yale University, and many others.
Its understandability: The Common English Bible is written in contemporary idiom at the same reading level as the newspaper USA TODAY -- using language that's comfortable and accessible for today's English readers.
Its uniqueness: the Common English Bible is the only translation to combine highly respected ecumenical biblical scholarship necessary for serious study with field-tested responsiveness to 21st century clear communication requirements for comprehensive clarity.
Its contractions: the Common English Bible is the only translation to extensively use contractions where the text warrants an engaging conversational style (although contractions are not used in divine or poetic discourse).
Its cartography: the Common English Bible is the only translation that includes exclusive, detailed color maps from National Geographic, well known for its accurate topographical map making.
Its acceptance: the complete Bible, including an edition with the Apocrypha, released in August 2011. More than half-a-million copies of the Bible are already in print. It's also available online and in 20 digital formats. A reference Bible edition and a daily companion devotional edition are now also available.

More than 140 international bloggers are currently participating in the three-month long "Thank You-Come Again-I Promise" blog tour (from November 2011 through January 2012). The complete tour schedule, and information about joining the tour, is available at CommonEnglishBible.com/CEB/blogtour.

Visit CommonEnglishBible.com to see comparison translations, learn about the translators, get free downloads, and more.

The Common English Bible is sponsored by the Common English Bible Committee, an alliance of five publishers that serve the general market, as well as the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) (Chalice Press), Presbyterian Church (USA) (Westminster John Knox Press), Episcopal Church (Church Publishing, Inc.), United Church of Christ (The Pilgrim Press), and The United Methodist Church (Abingdon Press).

For a media review copy of the Common English Bible and to schedule an interview with Paul Franklyn, please contact Audra Jennings, ajennings@tbbmedia.com at 800.927.1517.