Jesus decided to come to earth for me long before I knew him. He decided, freely. We talk a lot about the free gospel - price paid, long ago, once for all. The day came when I decided to follow him; what that's "cost" me since has all been me giving, not under compulsion. Faith compelled isn't faith at all.
Christianity is about invitation and (voluntary) response, asking and giving, much more so than demanding and taking. (Next time you hear a preacher talk about "what the gospel demands from us," even via some wonderful old hymns like When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, check them against scripture. Try a word search on that word "demand"...good luck.)
So when I read the Bible, I find things like this: "What then is my reward? That, when I preach the Good News, I may present the Good News of Christ without charge, so as not to abuse my authority in the Good News." (1 Corinthians 9:17-18) Now I'm not ignoring the whole "workman is worthy of his wage" thing, but wouldn't it be nice if someone offered the Bible for free?
In case you didn't know: If you want to quote any of the modern translations of the Bible in any book or CD or video, you have to ask permission...and pay the man. When I was writing my book, I wanted to use quotes from Lord of the Rings, the song Signs, and 80 short passages from The Message version of the Bible. Small book, self-published, unknown author, no problem? Nope. Unbelievably, The Message was the most expensive; $500. And NavPress (the publisher) is just doing what all the Christian publishers are doing...Zondervan (HarperCollins) probably makes the most money from the Good New$ of anyone, through sheer popularity of the NIV.
For me, it was the last straw. What's happened to us? The publishing industry and our Congress have created a situation where the most valuable book in the world, which God freely gave to man, is never free...and we've stood by and done nothing about it.
Someone else apparently asked that question, and some better questions: "Shouldn't there be a free, public-domain, quotable, modern translation of the Bible for everyone? And shouldn't it be easily downloadable anywhere in the world? Don't we want this thing to spread like crazy?"
The people over at the World English Bible took a straight-up translation (which is literal, not interpretive) of the Bible, the American Standard Version. The ASV was public domain through its age, over 95 years. All they did was update the language a hair, losing the thees and thous. Presto change-o; free, accurate Good News for anyone and everyone, anywhere in the world.
The other long-term good news is that all Bibles will get cheaper over time - just the effects of the internet and continued competition between Bible translators. Unfortunate that it's a competition, but good side effects of returning God's word to its original condition.
Free.
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