The Good Book Makes Heavenly Sales

Beyond towering skyscrapers, what other manmade creations truly stand the tests of time after 1500 years in circulation – sold over 5 billion times in hundreds of languages without losing relevance? That’s right, none other than The Book itself – Christianity’s Bible!

Before Bibles Were Big Business

Can you envision modern faith devoid of readily available Scripture for reference or study? Prior to Gutenberg, reproducing full Bibles occupied years for employed scribes, making complete editions extremely scarce and valuable treasures for institutions, not individuals.

Imagine all Europe owning merely thousands among millions throughout the Middle Ages. Small portions circulated more widely instead due to the monumental effort hand copying full 66 books required back then. Yet this began changing as soon as printing efficiency unlocked access.

Societies Serve Scripture to the Masses

Newly efficient reproduction allowed printers churning out over 15 million books from 1450-1500 AD – most of them Bibles. Later came milestone moments like Bible Societies mass producing & distributing Scripture sans profit. By 1815, estimated 1.3 billion circulated!

Today’s 80 million annual Bible Society volumes assure the all-time bestseller outpaces next competitors by billions thanks to history’s most successful accessibility drives. So next time you crack one open, remember the labor of love keeping God’s word available all these years!