Kenneth Nathaniel Taylor (May 8, 1917 – June 10, 2005) was an American publisher and author, better known as the creator of ''
The Living Bible
The Living Bible (TLB or LB) is a personal paraphrase, not a translation, of the Bible in English by Kenneth N. Taylor and first published in 1971. Taylor used the American Standard Version of 1901 as his base text.
Origin
In a 1979 interview ...
'' and the founder of
Tyndale House
Tyndale House is a Christian publisher in Carol Stream, Illinois.
History
Tyndale was founded in 1962 by Kenneth N. Taylor in order to publish his paraphrase of the Epistles, which he had composed while commuting to work at Moody Press in Ch ...
, a Christian publishing company, and
Living Bibles International Living Bibles International (LBI) (1968–1992) was an American religious publisher dedicated to producing modern language translations of the New Testament in around 100 languages worldwide.
The foundation was started by Kenneth N. Taylor as a ...
.
Early life and education
Taylor was born in
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...
. His parents were George and Charlotte Huff Taylor. His father was a
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
minister. He graduated from high school in 1934 from Beaverton High School in Beaverton, OR and enrolled in Wheaton College in
Wheaton, Illinois
Wheaton is a suburban city in Milton and Winfield Townships and is the county seat of DuPage County, Illinois. It is located approximately west of Chicago. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 52,894, which was estimated ...
. He graduated from Wheaton in 1938. In 1940, Taylor began to work on a Th.D. at
Dallas Theological Seminary
Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) is an evangelical theological seminary in Dallas, Texas. It is known for popularizing the theological system dispensationalism. DTS has campuses in Dallas, Houston, and Washington, D.C., as well as extension ca ...
. During the course of his studies he was offered the position of editor for ''HIS Magazine'', headquartered in Chicago. Taylor moved back to Wheaton, began working at the magazine, and finished his theological degree at Northern Baptist Seminary. He was a long-time member of College Church in Wheaton.Ken Walker "Living Bible Creator Dies
But Ken Taylor's legacy is even larger", 7/13/2005, Christianity Today.
Bible translation
Taylor worked briefly with Clyde Dennis, founder of
Good News Publishers
Crossway (previously known by its parent ministry Good News Publishers) is a not-for-profit evangelical Christian publishing ministry headquartered in Wheaton, Illinois. Clyde and Muriel Dennis founded Good News Publishers in 1938, working out o ...
, on translating Gospel tracts and distributing them overseas. In 1947 he moved to
Moody Bible Institute
Moody Bible Institute (MBI) is a private evangelical Christian Bible college founded in the Near North Side of Chicago, Illinois, US by evangelist and businessman Dwight Lyman Moody in 1886. Historically, MBI has maintained positions that have ...
, where he served as Director of Moody Press (now called
Moody Publishing
Moody Bible Institute (MBI) is a private evangelical Christian Bible college founded in the Near North Side of Chicago, Illinois, US by evangelist and businessman Dwight Lyman Moody in 1886. Historically, MBI has maintained positions that have i ...
) until 1963. During that time he assisted with distribution of Christian literature in Mexico.
Taylor developed a series of Bible stories with pictures for his own children to read in 1954. They were eventually published by Moody Press in a book called ''The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes'' in 1962. This book has now sold more than 1.5 million copies. Taylor followed this volume with ''Stories for the Children's Hour'' and ''Devotions for the Children's Hour'' (both also published by Moody).
After these books were published Taylor began working on an ambitious project—the Bible in a paraphrased and easy-to-read modern language. He published the New Testament epistles under the title ''Living Letters'' at his own expense in 1962. His Bible paraphrase was successful enough to allow him to leave
Moody Press
Moody Bible Institute (MBI) is a private evangelical Christian Bible college founded in the Near North Side of Chicago, Illinois, US by evangelist and businessman Dwight Lyman Moody in 1886. Historically, MBI has maintained positions that have i ...
and work exclusively at Tyndale. Taylor finished the entire Bible in contemporary language and published it as ''The Living Bible'' in 1971.
Taylor stepped down as chairman and CEO of Tyndale House in 1973, and was succeeded by his son, Mark D. Taylor, who kept the position until 2020.
A special edition of Taylor's ''Living Bible'' was published in 1984 in conjunction with a marketing campaign sponsored by the
Christian Broadcasting Network
The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) is an American Christian media production and distribution organization. Founded in 1960 by Pat Robertson, it produces the long-running TV series '' The 700 Club'', co-produces the ongoing ''Superbook'' ...
. This edition, titled ''The Book'', was featured in ''People'' magazine.
Death
Taylor died on June 10, 2005, from heart failure.
Kenneth N. Taylor Lifetime Achievement Award
Since 1981, the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) has presented lifetime achievement awards to those who have significantly impacted the Christian publishing industry. In 1984, Taylor was the second recipient of that award. In 2017, to reflect the impact Taylor had on the Christian publishing industry, the award program was renamed the Kenneth N. Taylor Lifetime Achievement Award.
Books Authored by Kenneth N. Taylor
INTERVARSITY PRESS
*''Is Christianity Credible?'', 1948
MOODY PRESS
*''Stories for the Children's Hour'', 1953
*''Devotions for the Children's Hour'', 1954
*''Lost on the Trail'', 1954
*''The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes'', 1956
*''Living Thoughts for the Children's Hour'', 1958 (originally, ''I See'')
*''A Living Letter for the Children's Hour'', 1968 (originally, ''Romans for the Children's Hour'', 1959)
*''The New Testament in Pictures for Little Eyes'', 1989
*''The New Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes'', 2002
TYNDALE HOUSE PUBLISHERS
*''Living Letters'', 1962
*''Living Prophecies'', 1965
*''Living Gospels'', 1966
*''The Living New Testament'', 1967
*''Living Psalms and Proverbs'', 1967
*''Living Lessons of Life and Love'', 1968
*''Almost Twelve'', 1968
*''Living Books of Moses'', 1969
*''Living History of Israel'', 1970
*''Taylor's Bible Story Book'', 1970
*''The Living Bible'', 1971
*''Creation and Evolution'', 1977
*''Living Bible Story Book'', 1979
*''Lost on the Trail'' (revised edition), 1980
*''What High School Students Should Know about Creation'', 1983 (originally, ''Creation and the High School Student'', 1969)
*''Big Thoughts for Little People'', 1983
*''Giant Steps for Little People'', 1985
*''Wise Words for Little People'', 1987
*''Next Steps for New Christians'', 1989 (originally, ''How to Grow'', Oliver-Nelson Books, 1985)
*''My First Bible in Pictures'', 1989
*''The Bible for Children'' (coeditor), 1990
*''Good News for Little People'', 1991
*''My Life: A Guided Tour'', 1991 (updated 2002)
*''Stories about Jesus'', 1994 (adapted from ''Good News for Little People'')
*''Everything a Child Should Know about God'', 1996
*''My First Bible Words'' (with William Noller), 1998
*''Family Devotions for Children'', 1999
*''Right Choices'', 1999
*''A Child's First Bible'' (DK series), 2000
*''Family-Time Bible'', 2003 (originally, ''The Family-Time Bible in Pictures'', 1992)
See also
*
New Living Translation
The New Living Translation (NLT) is an English translation of the Bible. The origin of the NLT came from a project aiming to revise '' The Living Bible'' (TLB). This effort eventually led to the creation of the NLT—a new translation separat ...