THE PRINTING PRESS AND THE BIBLE
Imagine a world without telephones, televisions, or computer. Well, you’d still have books, right? Now imagine a world without books! In the Middle Ages, very few people had books, which were rare and expensive because each and every book had to be copied by hand, page by page, line by line, by people called scribes.
But around 1.440 something happened that changed all this. Johannes Gutenberg invented the first printing press. Books could be made faster, cheaper, and in greater numbers. In less than 100 years, more than ten million books were printed and sold.
The first book Gutenberg printed was the Bible – two hundred copies. How do you think having the Bible and other books in their homes made a difference in the way people lived? One major change was that people wanted books printed in their own languages – English, Spanish, German, French, Italian – rather than the Latin they heard at church and school.
Another difference was that it took away some of the authority of the church. Before Gutenberg’s press, most people could not read the Bible because it was in Latin. Once they could read the Bible themselves in their own language, many people began to have their own ideas on how the Bible should be understood.
One of those people was Martin Luther (for whom the great American leader Martin Luther King. Jr., was named). The preaching and writings of Martin Luther set off a sweeping change in religious ideas and institutions.
Imagine a world without telephones, televisions, or computer. Well, you’d still have books, right? Now imagine a world without books! In the Middle Ages, very few people had books, which were rare and expensive because each and every book had to be copied by hand, page by page, line by line, by people called scribes.
But around 1.440 something happened that changed all this. Johannes Gutenberg invented the first printing press. Books could be made faster, cheaper, and in greater numbers. In less than 100 years, more than ten million books were printed and sold.
The first book Gutenberg printed was the Bible – two hundred copies. How do you think having the Bible and other books in their homes made a difference in the way people lived? One major change was that people wanted books printed in their own languages – English, Spanish, German, French, Italian – rather than the Latin they heard at church and school.
Another difference was that it took away some of the authority of the church. Before Gutenberg’s press, most people could not read the Bible because it was in Latin. Once they could read the Bible themselves in their own language, many people began to have their own ideas on how the Bible should be understood.
One of those people was Martin Luther (for whom the great American leader Martin Luther King. Jr., was named). The preaching and writings of Martin Luther set off a sweeping change in religious ideas and institutions.
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