Bible Gets Overhaul For Short Attention Spans

by Jonathan Petre
Kingston Whig-Standard
September 22, 2005

In the beginning was the Word, but the Word went on a bit, so a new version of the Bible has been produced for readers with short attention spans.

The 100-minute Bible, aimed at the "hurried and harried" generation, was launched at Canterbury Cathedral yesterday by its author, Rev. Michael Hinton.

While the original takes about a week of solid reading to finish, the abbreviated version can be read from cover to cover in under two hours, said Hinton.

While all the familiar Old Testament stories are there, from Genesis to Exodus, out have gone the genealogy and the law books. Also missing is the Song of Songs, and only two psalms have survived.

The four Gospels of the New Testament have been rewitten as a single narrative in contemporary language.

"We have concentrated on Jesus and the chronology of his ministry because He is the central figure in the Bible," said Hinton, a former headmaster of Sevenoaks School in Kent. "Half the book is given over by the Gospels. Then we wanted to keep a lot of the stories that have entered into the common consciousness, such as Noah's Ark, Jonah and so on. The poetry has been sacrificed for the sake of clarity, so it is accessible to everyone from the age of 10 upwards."

It took the 78-year-old retired clergyman more than two years to cut down the 66 books of the Bible into a 20,000-word version that could be read in one hour and 40 minutes.

"It has been a labour of love," he said. "We hope it will appeal to those who are searching for faith, but also to committed Christians who want to refresh their memory about the Bible but say they are too busy to read the whole thing. We have been overwhelmed by the interest so far. We will probably have to print more copies immediately to cope with the demand."

Hinton said that he had found it painful to edit out the Book of Ruth, which was one of his favourite sections of the Bible, and he was also aware that the personality of St. Paul had been diluted. "But other than that there is nothing I deeply regret leaving out, given the constraints."

The Bishop of Jarrow, the Rt. Rev. John Pritchard, who acted as a consultant and wrote the introduction, added: "I don't think most people know the Bible very well.

This is an attempt to say, 'Look, there's a great story here - let's get into it and let's not get put off by the things that are going to be the subplot. Let's give you the big plot.'"

More than 11,000 copies of the 100-Minute Bible, which is approximately the size of a notebook, have been printed for distribution to churches and schools.

The publishers say that, just like the original, the 100-minute version should prove a bestseller: Len Budd, the proprietor of the 100-Minute Press, said: "This is a book for adults and has been written in a style to encourage readers to keep turning the pages, but without resorting to any literary gimmicks."

The Bible, one of the world's most enduring books, has been through numerous, often controversial translations and transformation before. There are versions in scouse and cockney rhyming slang as well as one which looks like a magazine for teenage girls and includes beauty tips and advice on boyfriends.


Jonathan Petre writes for the Daily Telegraph.