Is this Holy Scripture? N T H B G N G G D C RT D T H H V N N D T H R T H N D T H R T H W S W T H T F R M N D V D N D D R K N S W S P N T H F C F T H D P N D T H S P R T F G D M V D P N T H F C F T H W T R S N D G D S D LT T H R B L G H T N D T H RW S L G H T - G e n 1: 1 - 3 Many Christians are surprised to learn that the Bible they know and love is different from the original Bible. The original version had no vowels or spaces between words, no punctuation or sentences, no lower case letters or paragraphs, and no chapters or verses. The text was simply a string of consonants in upper case. The above paragraph is an example of this in English. Here is the same passage as we know it today, after centuries of editing designed to make the Holy Bible as understandable as possible: 1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. - Gen 1: 1-3 (KJV) Editing has greatly increased readability, but at a cost. The above passages represent two extremes, the unedited and the highly edited. The former is illegible to all but a handful of scripture scholars yet the latter can seem too pat and organized, and to conceal as well as reveal. Many Bible readers would like the option to encounter God's word personally, not only through the eyes of others, no matter how well intentioned. We want a compromise version that is understandable yet allows us, to the greatest extent possible, to come to encounter God's word ourselves. The Primitive Bible is this compromise. The Primitive Bible achieves the ideal balance between legibility and fidelity to the original by keeping editing that improves readability, and removing editing that implies an interpretation. Thus vowels and spaces between words are retained, but punctuating into clauses and sentences, using both upper and lower case, capitalization, and division into paragraphs and chapter/verse numbering are removed. Is it possible to "turn back the clock" on the Holy Bible? Can we extract the primitive language from a highly edited text and experience the Bible as given by God to the original authors? Judge for yourself. Here is the above passage as it appears in The Primitive Bible: in the beginning god created the heaven and the earth and the earth was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep and the spirit of god moved upon the face of the waters and god said let there be light and there was light The text is compelling and draws us in. We thrill to sense the warmth of the divine breath swelling at our very ear. The Primitive Bible is for those who desire to experience the word of God in all its wildness, in all its otherness. Prepare to take a step back in time to the original God-breathed word.
About the Author: I developed "The Primitive Bible" because I wanted to read the Bible in a form as close as possible to the original God-breathed word. I have wanted to do this ever since learning about the many changes made to the Bible since it was written. I have no quarrel with this editing. I love the standard Bible and I understand the need to increase readers' comprehension. Indeed, in its original format the Bible was so difficult to read that it had to be proclaimed aloud by a trained expert. Still I desired to experience something closer to the "real thing". I experimented, seeing how close I could come to the original text by reversing many of the changes. I worked excitedly, following an intuition that a revelation was in store. My hopes have been realized in ways I could never have imagined. I found that by removing all editing, except the insertion of vowels and separation into words, I could attain a truly breathtaking result. Reading "The Primitive Bible" is an exhilarating experience, compared to reading anything else. It removes many impediments and sweeps one into the very presence of God, far eclipsing any solely rational experience. I read "The Primitive Bible" much faster than a standard Bible, not slower as I expected. I am irresistibly drawn in - rushing headlong through a reading at times, intoxicated with the experience. I emerge almost panting, not sure I have a mental category in which to place the inspirations I have received, but knowing that I have been changed and enriched profoundly by the experience. Yes, all the editing and changes that have been made over the years to the Bible have had an unforeseen downside - they come between God and the reader. These edits and changes enable us to understand what the editors think God is saying, but they strangle the torrent of inspiration and love - even the graces that God yearns to give us each instant we are not merely reading, but intensely basking in the fire of Divine Love. Yes! God's word is alive! Reading a passage in "The Primitive Bible" is always fresh, always new, always thrilling, because it is just God and me, not God and a multitude of editors and me. I am not a Bible scholar, just a lover of God's word. I cannot explain the appeal of "The Primitive Bible" any more than I can explain an ineffable encounter with the Almighty. All I can do is urge you to take the plunge into "The Primitive Bible". Your encounter with the God-breathed word will never be the same.