Business

Should Christians Be in the "Business" of Selling Scripture?

by Glenn Paauw

“There is no buying and selling of any sort in the things of God. Though we have our treasure-chest, it is not made up of purchase-money, as of a religion that has its price.”
- Tertullian; Apology, Chapter 39

Tertullian’s late second-century defense of Christian assemblies contrasts pious, temperate Eucharistic celebrations with the expensive feasts and raucous drinking bouts of the pagans. The role of money is a key part of his advocacy: the early Christians take only voluntary collections, and use the money to help the poor and unfortunate. They refuse to charge anything for their open-handed services, ranging from burials, to food and shelter, to redemption money for prisoners and slaves. These Christ-followers’ overriding concern is for others: they “pray for the welfare of the world, for the prevalence of peace, for the delay of the final consummation.”

As for the Roman religions and mystery cults, “The Salii cannot have their feast without going into debt; you must get the accountants to tell you what the tenths of Hercules and the sacrificial banquets cost.” Tertullian saw the alternatives to Christianity as religions that have their price, but the Messiah’s people invest differently. They wouldn’t dream of buying and selling the things of God, but times and worlds and understandings change.

The introduction to the P.W. Ziegler Company’s 19th century Illustrated Catalogue of Selected Books and Bibles includes the following encouragement to its door-to-door salesmen: “A generation of Bible readers is constantly coming forward, so that you can readily see that Bibles are always in great demand, and that a profitable business can be done at all times.” Not to be outdone, the Massachusetts-based Bible publishing firm of J.G. Ford Company urges its reps to “UNDERSTAND THE NATURE OF THE BUSINESS . . . You must depend on your ability to describe the work so as first to excite an interest in it, and then a desire for it.”

[For more on this, see The Bible and the People by Lori Anne Ferrell.]

Today, the innovations of Protestant market-driven freelancers are everywhere: from sales and marketing techniques (catalogs, advertising, creating “dummies” to pre-sell), creative pricing and distribution (selling by subscription to lock-in customers and keep each purchase at an attractively low price, circuit-riding preachers transforming into traveling product reps), niche product development (“Precious Promise Editions”, family tree Bibles, etc.), and even factory production of goods (Bible and book publishing led the way into the rationalization of mass production techniques). Many of the means eventually perfected in late-capitalist consumerist society were conceived in this earlier period when religion and business first began their serious courtship.

None of this happened as a result of anyone’s particular plan, but as so often within evangelical Protestantism, resulted from a religious laissez faire approach. Whole elements of the church’s mission were handed over to free-acting individuals and merchants, with the church politely told to “leave it be.” The result was to effectively reverse the claim of Tertullian as we buy and sell all sorts of the things of God. This is particularly true in the case of the Bible. To be fair, many fine Bibles have been produced to the benefit of many people under the care of this business interest, but when the driving motivation for developing, producing and distributing Bibles is monetary profit accessed through consumers, the entire enterprise gets shaped in particular ways.

Consumer culture is based on an appeal to selves and their desires. Consumers are regularly told that they and their likes and dislikes are the ruling center. In this environment, Bible publishing businesses are simply not free to do what in other circumstances they might believe is best for the Bible, for Bible readers, for the advance of a kingdom of self-deniers.

As for the Bible, it does not exist to please imperial selves, but to help usher imperial selves into a reality in which they are not the center. This introduction to a different reality, which no focus group is likely to endorse, is subversive of the premises of a consumer culture and is part of the mission of the gospel itself. For example, one cannot imagine a customer-driven product development process coming up with the Corinthian correspondence, or the letter to the Galatians, or the oracles of Jeremiah. If such an orientation could never have produced the Bible in the first place, why do we think it can serve it well now?

[New York Times: 40,000 copies of the Bible sold daily.]

The Bible mission cannot be given over to businesses without real consequences. Bishop N.T. Wright has helped us see that the Bible itself is part of God’s mission to the world. The Bible is not a mere description of the birth of the Christian community and its advancement of God’s reign in the world. Rather, when the stories and songs and wisdom of the Scriptures are shared with others they themselves help effect this advancement. If this is so, then the production and distribution of the books of the Bible are properly seen as part of the ministry of the Church. The care and keeping of the Bible belongs here.

Historically, the church has had specialized ministries within its realm for just such tasks. It could do so again. It is time for the church to reclaim its Scriptures for its own mission, motivated to translate, produce and share them not for monetary gain or market share, but simply to continue spreading the agape revolution throughout the world.

Imagine Bible publishing for outreach and spiritual formation without a profit motive, without the pressure of short-term financials demanding product performance with the threat of a pink slip ominously overhead. Imagine Bibles, not as commodities or products, but as spiritual gifts from God himself. Imagine multimedia iPhone and iPad Bible apps offered for free, welcoming readers into the strange new world of Scripture. Imagine locally-produced, illuminated Scriptures lovingly hand-crafted by the overlooked artists in the church’s midst, and then printed in small quantities for home congregations using print-on-demand technologies.

This model, driven by the fundamental belief that the things of God have no price, is a probable future if we will only grasp it. Let’s reinvent the scriptorium and bring the Bible home. Let it take its rightful place in the household of God and his mission.

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What is it about the Protestant movement in particular that made it such fertile ground for the growth of Bible-selling businesses? What can the Church do to maintain a sense of itself as something other than a consumer-pleasing entity?

Comments

Aaron Brown

I understand as well as many others that consumerism has handily grasped the evangelical church in America. No longer does corporate America seek to find a need and fill it, but now corporate America seeks to "create" a need and fill it. There are plenty of things Joe Consumer purchases every day and really has no need for.

However, how would the Bible publishing, spiritual formation, and outreach that you have suggested be funded. Would it come from the local church? What about the years of toil in Seminary and academia theologians have spent learning to properly translate the Bible? How would these individuals be recompensed for their time, money, and hard work in seminaries and research?

I am not knocking the idea - I am simply asking as to how such an idea can be carried out.

Mike Weaver

Thanks for your post. I share your dilemma. A couple years ago the church I am part, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, released their own version of the Bible called the Lutheran Study Bible. I thought then as I do now, "Do we really need another niche Bible on the market?" It is, after all, a strategy by the publisher to make money because Bibles sell. I'm not against various translations of the Bible, niche marketed Bibles, or making money in business (as long as its honest). But, what if publishers simply sold the Bibles at cost and making their revenue from other authors?

Greg Wilkinson

Paul was a tent maker. He worked day and night to fund his ministry. He observed that some ministers were only in it for the money. Jesus said that there are religious hypocrites that place large burdens on people’s backs and will not lift a finger to help them.

I started my business to raise money for charity. I have offered to donate it to many churches and charities so that they can raise money for charity without burdening the community.

I have offered to run it for them so that they would hardly need to lift a finger. I sell the best products for the best prices and have saved thousands of people from getting robbed by my competitors. It seems to me like it would be good for everyone.

Patrick Green

These are some very good thoughts and some that resonate with me. I LOVE the idea of locally made, artistically crafted Bibles and Bibles on Demand at cost. It becomes a labor of love.

Gideon International has been providing free Bibles for over a century now through fund raising and volunteerism. I think a century of giving in a consumeristic culture shows that not only is this viable, but enough people see value in this cause that it can be done.

Aaron raises a valid point with the question of funding scholars to create more accurate and readable translations. I think the answer to that lay in something that has existed in academic circles for a long time. Privately funded research grants. Research grants have empowered many scientists and researchers from various disciplines to continue their work and put food on the table. I believe Oxford University uses grants to bring in the scholars they use for the Oxford Annotated Bible.

Another way is to model Bible sales off community kitchens and the new not for profit Panera in Missouri. You pay what you feel it is worth to you. Those who offer more fund the possibility of the least of these with little to benefit of the same resource you do.

For a moment I will step on my soapbox regarding the closed copyright mechanisms we use in modern day publishing of Bible translations and worship music. Using creative commons licensing allows others to access and make available your published work. Like copyright it has options to protect the integrity of the work prohibiting others from changing the wording and you can even prohibit the use of commercial use of the work so that no one can profit from it. Okay..stepping off soapbox now.

If the Christian publishing houses and associations really wanted to do this, they could. I would not even mind an extra dime added to the cost of my other Christian books to help fund a not for profit Bible publishing model. Well, that is my two cents and I do offer change. ;)

Adam Shields

There already are publishers that are non-profits that publish for free. Gideon is one. American and International Bible societies started this way and you can still get free or at cost bibles from them.

Crossway (ESV) gives away a ton of bibles and freely lisences their electronic versions to e-sword and others.

Youversion has a free version of most translations for almost any electronic device.

NETBible and God's Word were created to have copywrite free translations.

In spite of the fact that it is very possible to get a ton of free bibles, people still pay for their bibles most of the time. That is part of American culture. If you get something for free, most of the time we think it is not worth anything. So there is a reason that we buy scripture.

Rick Meigs

What can the Church do to maintain a sense of itself as something other than a consumer-pleasing entity? For one, stop charging $675 for a Q Gathering. Good grief.

Patrick Green

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9Svm8xc1z8 ;)

Aaron Brown

Good point, Patrick.

Rob McCloskey

Rick,

Thanks for voicing your thoughts on Q. Do you enjoy the videos and content from the site? It is made possible by people paying the same registration fee you lament - that's how we cover the costs of Q. Unless you prefer we do it in the basement fellowship hall of a church, we will continue to provide Q at the lowest price we can that ensures a quality educational and relationship building opportunity for those who wish to attend. For those who can't, we have provided our content online so that they can benefit from the presentations and learning. Not sure what else you would want.

Jeffrey Guenther

The technology is in place to do what Glenn has described. To be honest, it wouldn't take more than a couple dedicated programmers, and a good graphic designer to get started. With the rise of social businesses, it shouldn't be too difficult to generate momentum around the idea. It could actually be very healthy for the Church to take an anti-profit approach to getting the Bible into people's hands. Or you could take a Tom Shoe approach. For those who can afford to pay more for the Bible, build a 2 for 1 business model where each Bible purchase results in two Bibles being printed and delivered - one to the purchaser and one to ministries actively discipling people where the cost of a good Bible is prohibitive. I know I have paid almost $100 for my study Bible.

On the subject of Q, keep it expensive. It sends the right message. If you don't believe me ask Seth Godin. It is place of excellence. Getting in should be hard. And yes, keeping the TED approach of deliver the content online is important. Because Q is also a great source of "Ideas worth Spreading." I view Q as the church oriented TED. Getting into Q should be because you have done something worth talking about. In my opinion, Western Christianity has a slight tendency towards information obesity and action starvation.

My two cents.

Justin Hawkins

Well said Jeffery, on all points. I have been learning a lot from Seth Godin and TED talks for the past few years, as well as thinking about the Tom's shoe approach to business. It seems to me (in my current thinking on the subject) that if the profits from the Bible and other works are going toward a betterment of society, community and or the planet then it can be justified. I know that there are clearly arguments either way but as stated above there is importance in perceived value. In our society if something is free it is (in some cases) 'perceived' to be less valuable. Perhaps acknowledging that there are different ways to communicate the value of this work to different individual perspectives is the best way to go. There is so little black and white out there that learning to better communicate to the gray couldn't hurt.

Ricky Breazeale

Disclaimer: It is my personal opinion that God would not condone the selling of his word. In my opinion, this is no different then selling indulgences. The only way that I believed "Bible Selling" can be justified is that 100% of the proceeds go to helping people in need throughout the world.

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deds

This does not make any sense at all. Have any of these Bible businesses committed any sin or crime. You rather are being a rabble-rouser, apart from trying to show us how much english you can write.. Did God send you? If there is a prob;em with Bible business, God will deal with it. By the way are you a Christian?

george

Is there a spacific scripture that says not to sell christian products for profit? I'm not talking about the money changers in the Temple referance. They were selling everything in there. It was a market place. Also, I would not sell my products in a church I would market them to stores, christian and secular.

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