American News
The new United States Tyndale Office address is:
Tyndale Society, Woods Corner, 1920 Centerville Turnpike, no 117 Box no 154, Virginia Beach, VA 23464, USA. E-mail: vpacad@regent.edu
Please welcome Amanda Gale, who is now doing some work on behalf of the Society in North America.
Amanda is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and is currently a doctoral student in psychology. She plans to specialize in neuropsychology with an emphasis in Alzheimer's and related diseases. Amanda works hard in and out of academic settings, one result of which is her advanced standing as a martial arts student of Japanese Isshinryu Karate. In addition, she finds time for volunteering with animal welfare organizations such as PETA and HSUS. An avid runner, she is training for a marathon in March 2002. During breaks in her academic schedule, she enjoys travelling in Canada and Europe. As seems the case with so many Tyndalians, Amanda brings a variety of interests with her — and certainly Tyndale is one of them!
Barry Ryan, Vice-Chairman Tyndale Society, November 2001
Greetings!
We did the exhibit in Brantley, Alabama at the Machis Lower Creek Indian Tribe of Alabama's Annual Pow Wow over the weekend of 31 August and 1 September. It was very well received! In addition to the Tyndale exhibit, I displayed early American Bibles including a Creek Indian Bible, the Martin Luther German Bible printed by Christopher Saur in 1776 (3rd printing of the first foreign language Bible in American) and many more.
I have been asked to be a part of a major event in Troy, Alabama at the historic Pioneer Village (living history). The leadership of the village was very taken by the exhibit. No time is set as yet. I will let you know as details unfold.
I was sorry to have missed the Geneva Tyndale Conference but we had our own event here in the United States that weekend. On Saturday 27 October at Paxton, Florida we did our third exhibit for their Heritage Festival. It went really well.
The week before, on Saturday 20 October, the Northwest Florida Daily News, a newspaper covering much of the Florida panhandle, ran a cover story on the exhibition entitled Bible's Heritage (see extract printed below). This undoubtedly stimulated people's interest. During the exhibition itself there was extensive newspaper, television and radio coverage. As a result of this publicity a TV interview was taped on 30 October on the history of our Bible and how we got our Scriptures — 60 minutes of taping to be aired in two parts.
It has been really interesting to have people inform me how these exhibits have impacted their lives and how it has changed the way they study and read the Bible.
My very best wishes and prayers for you and your endeavors!
Joe Johnson, Autumn 2001
Bible buffs and neophytes alike should find something to interest them in the extensive rare Bible exhibit at the Paxton Heritage Festival. ... This is the third year that Dr Joe Johnson, a Paxton chiropractor and Bible scholar, has produced an exhibit of historic Bibles.
Among this year's offerings will be George Washington's 1796 French Bible in its original binding. ... A 1560 Geneva Bible will also be on display. It was the most popular Bible for more than a 100 years and was the Bible used by the Puritans and the Pilgrims and the first brought over to the New World.
A 1776 Martin Luther German Bible is the third printing of the second Bible printed in America. ... The pages from some of these Bibles were reportedly used for gun wadding for muskets, so it is also called 'The Bible of the Revolution' or the 'Gun Wadding Bible'. Reportedly, only 10 copies exist today, and the copy on view in Paxton is believed to be one of these. Also on view will be a 1220 Hebrew Torah Scroll, written in Hebrew on calfskin, and open to Genesis and the story of Joseph. Many other Bibles will be on view, including a display featuring the life of William Tyndale ... and the making of the English Bible. An exhibit highlight will be a presentation of the American Bible collection of the top collector of American imprints, Michael Zinman. 'Never before has the history of the American Bible been so shown', Johnson said of the Zinman collection which includes Bibles in languages of native American, Bibles in English from the 18th and 19th centuries and Bibles in other languages. Johnson continued 'Leaves from some of Zinman's Bibles are comparable to fine art prints and they represent a significant aspect of the American heritage: the role of scripture in our religious, social, intellectual and political life. Possessing a Bible was considered a necessity of home life on the American frontier and the family Bible became an heirloom. Before the Revolutionary War, the Bible could not be printed in America, that exclusive right being closely guarded by English printers, but no such restriction was placed by the British crown on Bibles in languages other than English.'
The 38 Bible leaves in the collection have been carefully removed from incomplete Bibles by skilled conservators and archivally mounted, allowing them to be studied individually.