Saturday 26 January 2008

FRENCH SNAP UP ‘COFFEE’ BIBLE

The launch of an espresso-priced Bible in France has triggered a boom in Bible sales in this secularised country. Some 200,000 copies – the equivalent of a normal year’s sales – crossed the tills in the last four months of 2007 when the Geneva Bible Society introduced its new translation. ‘The treasure of humanity … for the price of a coffee’ was the strapline for the €1.50 Bible. Another 300,000 were swiftly bought in French-speaking Africa, Belgium, Canada and Switzerland. Le Monde des Religions editor Frederic Lenoir put the Bible’s success down to the prevalence of biblical references in modern films and books which France’s largely secular citizens are keen to understand.

Source: Reuters (14/1)