[Linux4christians] Am I the only one confused?

[Ben Thorp]

It costs translators a huge amount of time and effort to produce a new
translation. Thus they are looking for some recompense for this work.
Additionally, despite the fact that it is God's Word, it is also a
copyrighted work, and thus the translator is entitled to license it as
he/she/they see fit. In most cases this means that the work is not
reproducable in any form, electronic or printed, without the express
permission of the translator. Often they will allow reproduction of, for
instance, up to 100 verses (eg NIV) to allow for usage in churches.

Strictly speaking, I can see nothing in the great commission, nor in the
Bible itself, to suggest that selling a translation is wrong. While I
understand a certain amount of moral outrage, I would imagine that the
translators hands are often tied by their publishers as well.

There are many Bibles now available copyright-free, however it is the most
modern translations that people are interested in, and they still tend to
be bound to a specific publisher.

Ben Thorp

linux4christians-bounces at thelinuxlink.net wrote on 26/08/2004 08:40:26:

> Hey all!
>
> I am not sure, but I was under the impression that the bible was and is
> God's divinely inspired word? I just don't understand why an electronic
> version of ***ANY*** translation would cost money, as the translation
> team has to make it digital before publishing it... I do understand
> paying for a printed hard copy, as I use a very nice leather bound KJV
> that was a Christmas gift. Maybe i'm all alone in this, but a translator
> saying they are Christian, and then stopping the spread of the word in
> an easily distributable format seems contradictory to the Great
> Commission?? (Matthew 28:19-20 & Mark 16:15)
>
> In His Service,
>
> Eddie Appel
>
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