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Evidently the Bible is the most widely distributed book.

YoursTrue

Faith-confidence in what we hope for (Hebrews 11)
"According to Guinness World Records as of 1995, the Bible is the best selling book yet written with an estimated 5 billion copies sold and distributed. Sales estimates for other printed religious texts include at least 800 million copies for the Qur'an and 190 million copies for the Book of Mormon."
 

Eddi

Agnostic
Premium Member
"According to Guinness World Records as of 1995, the Bible is the best selling book yet written with an estimated 5 billion copies sold and distributed. Sales estimates for other printed religious texts include at least 800 million copies for the Qur'an and 190 million copies for the Book of Mormon."
So?????????

Is that supposed to speak for its varacity?

Or add to its authority?????????
 

YoursTrue

Faith-confidence in what we hope for (Hebrews 11)
So?????????
Is that supposed to speak for its varacity?
Or add to its authority?????????
It is generally considered to be composed of 66 books, or sections, starting with Genesis and ending with Revelation, sometimes called Apocalypse.
I can relate to the fact that I had a Bible but did not know much about it. I would try to read it, but did not understand it.
 
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Aupmanyav

Be your own guru
"According to Guinness World Records as of 1995, the Bible is the best selling book yet written with an estimated 5 billion copies sold and distributed. Sales estimates for other printed religious texts include at least 800 million copies for the Qur'an and 190 million copies for the Book of Mormon."
So?
It is generally considered to be composed of 66 books, or sections, starting with Genesis and ending with Revelation, sometimes called Apocalypse.
I can relate to the fact that I had a Bible but did not know much about it. I would try to read it, but did not understand it.
Ah! It is a collection of stories.
That speaks for your power of understanding. I do not expect you to understand science.
 

Eddi

Agnostic
Premium Member
It is generally considered to be composed of 66 books, or sections, starting with Genesis and ending with Revelation, sometimes called Apocalypse.
I can relate to the fact that I had a Bible but did not know much about it. I would try to read it, but did not understand it.
OK..................
 

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
"According to Guinness World Records as of 1995, the Bible is the best selling book yet written with an estimated 5 billion copies sold and distributed. Sales estimates for other printed religious texts include at least 800 million copies for the Qur'an and 190 million copies for the Book of Mormon."
I blame the Gideons.
 

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
So?????????

Is that supposed to speak for its varacity?

Or add to its authority?????????
The claim obviously is fudged. Most of the Bibles that are touted as the biggest selling and most distributed are actually bought in mass bulk by people who distributed them to others like missionaries and religious organizations and groups.

It's not like a general population is rushing to the bookstore to buy the Bible.
 

YoursTrue

Faith-confidence in what we hope for (Hebrews 11)
The claim obviously is fudged. Most of the Bibles that are touted as the biggest selling and most distributed are actually bought in mass bulk by people who distributed them to others like missionaries and religious organizations and groups.

It's not like a general population is rushing to the bookstore to buy the Bible.
Nevertheless it's well distributed.
 

Rival

se Dex me saut.
Staff member
Premium Member
It is generally considered to be composed of 66 books,
I really, really wish this bias would go away.

Catholicism is the largest denomination and their Bible has 73 books.

The Anglican Bible has 80.

The Orthodox Bible has the 73 Catholic books +.

I would please ask you to stop peddling this 66 myth. A minority of Christians have the 66 book Bible.
 

Jayhawker Soule

-- untitled --
Premium Member
I really, really wish this bias would go away.

Catholicism is the largest denomination and their Bible has 73 books.

The Anglican Bible has 80.

The Orthodox Bible has the 73 Catholic books +.

I would please ask you to stop peddling this 66 myth. A minority of Christians have the 66 book Bible.
The Masoretic Text has a mere 24. :( But let's allow @YoursTrue his standard of truth.

Still, we all know that there's more than one truth. So, just to make sure that @YoursTrue and others have all of their bases covered, we should note:

Writer James Chapman created a list of the most read books in the world based on the number of copies each book sold over the last 50 years.​
He found that the Bible far outsold any other book, with a whopping 3.9 billion copies sold over the last 50 years. "Quotations from the Works of Mao Tse-tung" came in second with 820 million copies sold, and "Harry Potter" came in third with 400 million copies sold. [source]​

So, to comrade @YoursTrue and others, God bless, and "don’t let the Muggles get you down.”
 

Rival

se Dex me saut.
Staff member
Premium Member
The Masoretic Text has a mere 24. :( But let's allow @YoursTrue his standard of truth.

Still, we all know that there's more than one truth. So, just to make sure that @YoursTrue and others have all of their bases covered, we should note:

Writer James Chapman created a list of the most read books in the world based on the number of copies each book sold over the last 50 years.​
He found that the Bible far outsold any other book, with a whopping 3.9 billion copies sold over the last 50 years. "Quotations from the Works of Mao Tse-tung" came in second with 820 million copies sold, and "Harry Potter" came in third with 400 million copies sold. [source]​

So, to comrade @YoursTrue and others, God bless, and "don’t let the Muggles get you down.”
On a more meta-level, I'm concerned about the bias towards books, when many people in non-Western nations are illiterate and may be Christian or Muslim, Dharmic etc. and are not relying on texts for their beliefs or moral structures etc. It strikes me as a brazen Western bias to suggest amounts of books sold means something in the real world, where we see the texts of the Bible and Quran, for instance, being inaccessible to so many people. This is not a problem, as being illiterate was the norm for thousands of years and the idea of the Sacred Book is much too overused imo. Living traditions and cultures have far more real world value as to how folks actually live their lives. An illiterate Muslim is no less a Muslim.

(Not intended to argue with you... just a peeve I have).
 

Jayhawker Soule

-- untitled --
Premium Member
(Not intended to argue with you... just a peeve I have).
I think you make a valuable observation.

My pet peeve is well expressed by the MLK quote:

Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”​

That "many people in non-Western nations are illiterate" warrants recognition but not indifference. Illiteracy is a societal failure, for which the rich and empowered literate bear a good deal of culpability.
 
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9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
Nevertheless it's well distributed.

To proselytizers.

So it's "well distributed" in the same sense that Wal-Mart flyers are "well-distributed"... and for similar purposes.

What do you think the conversion ratio is? On average, how many Bibles handed out do you think it takes to gain one convert?

I mean, I've personally got 2 Bibles - one from the Gideons, one a gift from someone else - and I'm sure not a Christian. The only reason I keep them (on my shelf next to my Quran translation and my Book of Mormon) is that I don't like the idea of throwing out books.
 
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Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
I really, really wish this bias would go away.

Catholicism is the largest denomination and their Bible has 73 books.

The Anglican Bible has 80.

The Orthodox Bible has the 73 Catholic books +.

I would please ask you to stop peddling this 66 myth. A minority of Christians have the 66 book Bible.
When I was a Christian I was very interested in the Apocryphal texts that were around, and regarded them as the same as the Biblical books commonly used in general.
 

Kenny

Face to face with my Father
Premium Member
It is generally considered to be composed of 66 books, or sections, starting with Genesis and ending with Revelation, sometimes called Apocalypse.
I can relate to the fact that I had a Bible but did not know much about it. I would try to read it, but did not understand it.
That is what happened to me too! The understanding of the scripture of '1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.' came to light after I gave my life to Jesus and became, what Jesus said, “born-again”.

As my spirit was birthed again by God’s Holy Spirit, the understanding now was easy because it was Spirit to spirit - we spoke the same language (so to speak).
 

YoursTrue

Faith-confidence in what we hope for (Hebrews 11)
That is what happened to me too! The understanding of the scripture of '1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.' came to light after I gave my life to Jesus and became, what Jesus said, “born-again”.

As my spirit was birthed again by God’s Holy Spirit, the understanding now was easy because it was Spirit to spirit - we spoke the same language (so to speak).
I can understand that, Kenny. My life changed (oh, by the way, I'm not perfect -- yet) like leaving one room (forever) and going into real freedom (life with blessings and guidance from God). I'll give you one illustration. Years ago I was seeing a mental therapist. I just couldn't figure life out and my life itself was a mess. I had been on medication for years. Well, I began studying the Bible and the doctor kept warning me not to. Can you imagine that? At a certain point, she said, as I was telling her the exciting things I was learning, "Stop that! I don't want to hear that any more!" And I thought -- wait a minute -- this doctor will listen to all the junk (bad things) I was telling her, and now she won't listen to what I was learning? You guessed it! I left psychiatry for good and let God Almighty be my Guide and Helper.
Thanks for your kindness, Kenny.
 

The Hammer

[REDACTED]
Premium Member
"According to Guinness World Records as of 1995, the Bible is the best selling book yet written with an estimated 5 billion copies sold and distributed. Sales estimates for other printed religious texts include at least 800 million copies for the Qur'an and 190 million copies for the Book of Mormon."

Most widely distributed and least understood...
 
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