Secrecy, lawsuits, and technological advances are part of a news item some have called “the greatest achievement of the past 1,000 years.”
This isn’t a recent story of spy satellites or computer programmes. It’s the story behind Johannes Guttenberg’s first ever printing press—in 1455. Guttenberg had tried to keep his invention top secret until it was completed, but a lawsuit by heirs of one of his investors revealed what he was working on.
His press was a technological marvel that would make possible the mass printing of literature. When Guttenberg finished his press, the first book he printed was the Bible. That single event would make the Bible by far the most widely distributed book in the world.
Why has this one book attracted so much attention?
Why was it Guttenberg’s first choice?
And why are millions still printed every year?
It’s simple—-the Bible is a supernatural book, the written revelation of God to man. God inspired it and He preserves it.
When I was a child the only version of the Bible that we had was the KIng James version. Then a few decades ago I got the New International Version. When I became a member of the Methodist Church I was given the New Living Translation and I also use the Good News Bible.
These are just a few of many different translations but they all carry the same message and guidance for how we should live. Many books can inform, but only the Bible can transform.
Thanks be to God for His Word.
God bless, Anna.
