Contact: Audra Jennings, The B&B Media Group, 800-927-0517 ext 104, ajennings@tbbmedia.com
NASHVILLE, Jan. 5, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ -- As 2012 dawns, the new Bible translation Common English Bible (CommonEnglishBible.com) is establishing itself on multiple websites, celebrating its second consecutive month as a best seller, creating a growing buzz among bloggers, and is twice considered by journalists as being one of the top religion stories of 2011.
BibleGateway.com, the highest ranked (according to Alexa) website in the world for Bible search activity, is now featuring the Common English Bible (Twitter @CommonEngBible -- twitter.com/CommonEngBible) in its Verse of the Day free email subscription (www.biblegateway.com/newsletters). And Patheos.com, the international online hub for faith communities, is now featuring the Common English Bible as its Daily Verse, appearing on its Library Bible Resources page (www.patheos.com/Library/Bible-Resources.html), Evangelical Portal (www.patheos.com/Religion-Portals/Evangelical.html), and Progressive Christian Portal (www.patheos.com/Religion-Portals/Progressive-Christian.html).
The free-to-search text of the Common English Bible, including the Apocrypha, is available online at the translation's website, Bible Gateway, and YouVersion. A Bible Passage Lookup widget is also available for placement on personal websites.
The Common English Bible is on the January CBA Bible Translation Best Seller list (based on actual unit sales in Christian retail stores in the United States through Dec. 3, 2011) (cbaonline.org/nm/documents/BSLs/Bible_Translations.pdf). Its debut on the list in December came after being in stores just less than three months.
More than 150 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 tour's Twitter hashtag is #CEBtour (twitter.com/#!/search/realtime/%23CEBTour). The complete tour schedule, and information about joining the tour, is available at CommonEnglishBible.com/CEB/blogtour.
And the completion of the Common English Bible after four years of translation work was named one of the top 10 religion stories of 2011 as decided by leading international religion journalists in the 30th annual Religion Newswriters Association survey (www.rna.org/news/79176/2011-Top-10-Religion-Stories-of-the-Year.htm) and by editors of the Associated Baptist Press (www.abpnews.com/content/view/7035/53/).
"There's a reason the Common English Bible is receiving such a positive and popular reception," says Paul Franklin, PhD, associate publisher. "It's probably the most literal Bible translation, built on common ground with academic rigor and denomination neutrality, which clearly communicates ancient sacred text in understandable 21st century English."
The Common English Bible is a collaboration of 120 Bible scholars and editors, 77 reading group leaders, and more than 500 average readers from around the world. The 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.
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. More than half-a-million copies of the Bible are already in print, including an edition with the Apocrypha. The Common English Bible is available for purchase online and in 20 digital formats. A Reference Bible edition and a Daily Companion devotional edition are now also available. Additionally, in 2012, Church/Pew Bibles, Gift and Award Bibles, Large Print Bibles, and Children's Bible editions will be in stores, joining the existing Thinline Bibles, Compact Thin Bibles, and Pocket-Size Bibles, bringing the total variety of Common English Bible stock-keeping units (SKUs) to more than 40.
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 1.800.927.0517 x104.
