us news
The story behind the red letters in your Bible
Millions of people read the New Testament printed with the words of Jesus in red. Most people don’t realize that this is a relatively modern Evangelical tradition. This is the story …
Louis Klopsch
The idea was developed by a man called Louis Klopsch (1852-1910) who was born in Prussia on March 7, 1852. After his mother died in 1853, his father, Dr. Osmar Klopsch, took the family to the U.S. in 1854 and he was brought up in New York. Louis left school and worked in journalism rising through the ranks.
The Christian Herald
In 1874, a British weekly newspaper called The Christian Herald and Signs of Our Times was founded by Anglican clergyman the Rev. Michael Paget Baxter (1834-1910). He was popularly known as “Prophet Baxter” because of his frequent End Times predictions, and in the 1870s he supported Dwight Moody and Ira Sankey when they were in Britain.
In 1878, an American edition called The New York Christian Herald was started by Joseph Spurgeon, a cousin of the famous preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon, based at 63 Bible House, New York. In 1898 Louis Klopsch became the editor, and in 1899 ended up buying it to become its proprietor. In 1901 the New York Christian Herald was renamed The Christian Herald by which time it had grown to have a large cross-denominational readership peaking at nearly a quarter of a million.
Klopsch became a good friend to prominent Evangelical leaders at the time like Thomas De Witt Talmage, Dwight Moody and Ira Sankey. The Herald alerted readers to crises around the world and rallied Christian support for relief, raising huge sums for famines in Russia (1892), India (1897), Cuba (1898), Sweden and Finland (1903), and Japan (1906), as well as an earthquake in Italy in 1908. In 1904, Klopsch received the Kaisar-i-Hind Medal First Class for services in India from King Edward VII, and in 1907 he received the Order of the Rising Sun from the Emperor of Japan.
The inspiration
On June 19, 1899, Klopsch was working on an editorial when he read Luke 22:20 in the King James Version where Jesus said: “This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.” This gave him the idea of printing the very words of Jesus in the colour of blood, i.e. red.
Rubrication
The process of coloring some words in red, known as rubrication, was not in itself new. Klopsch may have been aware that rubrication had been common in medieval manuscript to emphasise certain passages, and was used to mark liturgical directions in Orthodox texts, but it was not the practice in printed Protestant Bibles. The ‘rubrication’ term comes from the Latin word ‘rubricare’ meaning to colour red, related to the word ruby.
At the time pretty much the only Bible translation in normal use was the Authorized or King James Version. This Bible dated back to a time before quotation marks were used as punctuation. Thus, in the KJV it was not obvious what was speech and what was not speech. Modern Bible versions now insert speech marks, but these did not exist in the King James Version, and so using red letters served a helpful purpose at the time.
First red letter Bible
Consulting various Bible scholars, Klopsch decided which parts to colour red. In 1899 the Christian Herald printed the first red letter New Testament, with a print run of 60,000. It was titled, “The New Testament … With All the Words Recorded Therein, as Having Been Spoken by Our Lord, Printed in Color.” This proved very popular, so in 1901, The Christian Herald printed the first red letter Bible titled “The Holy Bible: Red Letter Edition.”
In the 1901 Bible, Klopsch wrote: “The Red Letter Bible has been prepared and issued in the full conviction that it will meet the needs of the student, the worker, and the searchers after truth everywhere.” In the history of the Bible, this makes it a relatively modern innovation, and now it has become an Evangelical tradition.
Red sections
Some red letter Bible editions only include the words of Jesus in the four Gospels, but others also color sections in red in Acts and the epistles. For example some editions colour parts of Acts red where Jesus is quoted talking to Peter in Acts 10:13 and Acts 11:7 and 9, to Paul in Acts 10:15 and Acts 18:9-10, and where Jesus is quoted in Acts 11:16. Some editions also color red where Jesus is quoted at the Last Supper in 1 Corinthian 11:24-15 and where Jesus is quoted in 2 Corinthians 12:9.
Some Bibles color verses red in Revelation where John is spoken to in his vision e.g. Revelation 1:8, 11, 17-20 and the whole of Revelation Chapters 2 and 3, Revelation 4:1, Revelation 16:15 and Revelation 22:12-13, 16 and 20.
Problems
However, there are a number of problems with red letter Bibles. One issue is that it implies to the reader that we know exactly where speech started and finished. In most cases it is clear, but sometimes it’s not. There was no punctuation or speech marks in the original Greek. Where to start and stop the red letters is the decision of the editor. As a result, not all red letter editions are the same, and different editions color different sections in red. For example in the third Chapter of John, scholars disagree as to whether Jesus ends His message at verse 15 or at verse 21.
The use of red letters can give the idea that the red text is more important than the black text which it sits in. For some people, this is like a canon within the canon. The danger is that red letter editions of the Bible serve to create the idea that one part of the New Testament is more important than others. It can give the idea that the words of Jesus in red are the primary text and the rest in black is secondary. The color of the text isn’t meant to elevate one section over another, although it might have that effect in some people’s minds. From a practical point of view, adding red ink makes the Bible more expensive to produce.
Advantages
For some people the idea of red letters for the words of Jesus is that it seems to honor Christ. The real advantages of red letter Bibles is in old versions like the King James Version which didn’t include speech marks, and so the red letters are helpful to quickly and easily identify the words of Jesus. For many people, it helps them to study by highlighting the words of Jesus.
On a practical level, looking at pages of black text is daunting. Modern Bibles break up the text into paragraphs and add sub-headings to make it easier to read and navigate. Adding color can also break up the page and make it visually more attractive and interesting.
Death
By the time that Louis Klopsch died in New York 1910, aged 57, his idea had already been copied. He has no large memorial, just a granite stone with a small plaque. His greatest memorial is that today many Bible publishers produce red letter editions.
Sources:Christian Post
us news
1,000 Christian Leaders Gather in Israel to Honor Oct 7 Victims, Stand With Survivors
More than 1,000 Christian leaders, community leaders and influencers from 117 countries are arriving in Israel to stand with Oct. 7 survivors, visit massacre sites and carry their testimonies home, Israel365 News reported. (Screengrab image: via Charisma News /Wikimedia Commons)
The Friends of Zion Ambassador Summit, organized in cooperation with Israel’s Foreign Ministry, includes approximately 200 young adults ages 18-29. Participants will meet released hostages, bereaved families, wounded soldiers and Holocaust survivors.
“We want these young leaders to see Israel for themselves, hear directly from those whose lives were changed forever on October 7, and return home with a deeper understanding of Israel and a commitment to standing with the Jewish people,” Friends of Zion founder Mike Evans said, according to Israel365 News.
On Oct. 7, following a visit to Yad Vashem, the delegation will join approximately 2,000 participants at the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount. Released hostages will appear onstage during the anniversary gathering, which organizers say will be broadcast live on dozens of television networks.
The commemoration marks three years since Hamas terrorists killed approximately 1,200 people and took 251 hostages into Gaza.
On Oct. 8, participants will visit the Nova music festival massacre site near Re’im. Released hostages Romi Gonen, Noa Argamani and Elkana Bohbot will meet the delegation and receive the Friends of Zion “Here Am I” Award for their international advocacy.
The delegation also plans to visit ancient Shiloh, where the Tabernacle stood and Samuel heard God’s call.
“The arrival of more than 1,000 Christian leaders from 117 countries carries a powerful message: Israel does not stand alone,” said George Deek, Israel’s special envoy to the Christian world.
“They are coming to bear witness, to meet the people whose lives were shattered on October 7, and to carry their stories back to communities across the world,” Deek said.
Sources: Breaking Christian News
us news
Christian Believers, Pastors, America Needs Your Biblical Voice
Father, we pray pastors would be bold this election season. Inspire these shepherds to engage politically, to encourage their congregations to do the same, and, most importantly, to refuse the temptation to stay silent.
There are moments when silence carries consequences. I believe the American Church is living in one of those moments right now.
For too many years, Christians were told that faithful citizenship and Biblical engagement with government were somehow outside the proper boundaries of the Church. Pastors were warned away from subjects that might be considered “political.” Congregations learned to separate what happened on Sunday morning from what happened at the ballot box.
And while much of the Church stepped away, our culture did not stand still. The government continued making decisions about human life, marriage, sexuality, children, parental authority, religious liberty, education, justice, and freedom. Policies were enacted. Institutions changed. Cultural assumptions shifted.
We should not be surprised that when Christians remove their voices from the public square, Biblical principles have less influence there. It is time to put our voices back in.
Pastor, Your Voice Matters
I am speaking especially to pastors of every-sized congregation. Whether you shepherd 75 people, 200 people, or 2,000, your voice matters. You do not need a national platform. God has already given you one: your pulpit.
Your congregation contains parents, grandparents, teachers, business owners, community leaders, young adults, and voters. They are making decisions that will help determine who writes our laws and what principles guide our communities. Equip them. Teach them what Scripture says about life, family, sexuality, justice, government, authority, freedom, and responsibility. Teach them to pray for those in authority, to understand the issues confronting our nation, and to evaluate public questions through Scripture rather than social media, political advertising, or cultural pressure.
And teach them that voting is not disconnected from their Christian lives. Our involvement in elections is important because we are citizens, but for Christians, there is something more. We carry Biblical convictions into every sphere God places us, including the public square.
Recently in Virginia, pastors were invited to add their voice to a public letter going to the Virginia legislature speaking against the liberal majority’s desire to enshrine abortion in our state Constitution. Across the state do you know how many pastors were willing to sign this letter? About 20. Only 20 pastors were willing to publicly put a stake in the ground to stand for the Constitutional protection of life to the Virginia Legislature.
We Gave Up Ground
For generations, American Christians benefited from a culture deeply influenced by Biblical principles. But somewhere along the way, many Believers began assuming those principles would remain embedded in the nation whether Christians actively defended them or not.
They did not.
We withdrew, others stepped forward, and America changed. We cannot spend decades removing Biblical voices from government, education, culture, and civic life and then wonder why those institutions increasingly reflect values contrary to Scripture. This is not a moment for Christians to retreat further. It is a moment to reengage.
The Pulpit Once Helped Shape America
This would not have seemed unusual to many pastors in America’s founding era. Clergy preached about liberty, government, moral responsibility, and the great public questions confronting their generation. Ministers served as chaplains, wrote pamphlets, participated in legislatures and constitutional conventions, and helped form the moral understanding of the people who were building a nation.
The American pulpit helped form the American conscience. We need courageous pulpits again.
Southern Baptist Convention President Willy Rice recently issued a remarkably simple challenge:
“I think the pastors need to step up.”
He is right. Many of the questions confronting America are not merely political questions. They are questions about what it means to be human, what human life is worth, what marriage is, what responsibilities parents possess, what freedom means, what government may rightfully do, and where authority ultimately comes from.
Those are profoundly Biblical questions. Pastors should not surrender them because politicians are debating them.
Prayer Must Move Us to Action
At Intercessors for America, we believe deeply in prayer. But Biblical prayer does not train us to become passive spectators. Nehemiah prayed and then approached the king. Esther fasted and then walked into the king’s presence. Daniel prayed and faithfully represented God’s truth inside the government of Babylon. The apostles prayed and then went out and spoke boldly.
Prayer prepares God’s people for obedience and action. We cannot pray for righteous government and then ignore the opportunity we have to participate in choosing those who govern. We cannot pray for the protection of children and remain uninformed about policies affecting them. We cannot pray for religious liberty and then neglect elections in which those freedoms are affected. Prayer should sharpen our discernment and move us toward faithful action.
Pastors, Lead
This is my appeal to America’s pastors: preach Biblical truth boldly and teach your congregation how Scripture applies to the issues confronting our nation. Talk about the sanctity of human life, marriage and family, children and parental responsibility, religious liberty, justice, government, and the responsibilities of citizenship.
Help people register to vote. Make sure they know when elections are taking place. Encourage them to research candidates, their records, their stated positions, and the policies they support. Urge them to pray for discernment and to carry their Biblical convictions with them when they vote. Do not assume someone else will do it. You are the shepherd God has placed before your congregation. Lead.
Christians, Show Up
And to Christians sitting in America’s pews, I would say this: we need to show up. We need to pray and then take the time to learn what is happening in our communities, our states, and our nation. We need to understand the issues, examine the records and positions of those seeking office, seek God for discernment, and vote according to Biblical conviction.
But our responsibility does not end when we leave the voting booth. Christians should be willing to speak up, contact elected officials, serve in their communities, attend school board and local government meetings, and encourage Believers with wisdom and courage to consider public service. We should teach our children and grandchildren that citizenship is a stewardship, not a spectator sport. If Christians continually surrender their place in the public square, we should not be surprised when the vacuum is filled by values radically different from our own.
The Consequences Will Outlive Us
We are making decisions today whose consequences our children and grandchildren may live with for generations. Some political decisions can be reversed in the next election. Others become embedded in law, education, government bureaucracies, institutions, and eventually the thinking of an entire generation. Once that happens, recovering what has been lost can take decades.
That is why I believe this moment demands more from the Church than concern. It demands prayer that leads to discernment, courage, engagement, and action. Our very existence as the nation we have known is at stake, and I do not believe that is an overstatement. A nation can drift so far from its foundational principles that recovering them becomes the work of generations—if they can be recovered at all.
Christians cannot control every outcome, but we are responsible for what God has placed in our hands. We have a voice and the freedom to use it. We have influence in our families, churches, communities, and government. We have the privilege of bringing our petitions before God in prayer. And in America, we have been entrusted with a vote.
It is time to use all of them.
We Have Been at a Crossroads Before
The film “A Great Awakening” offers a powerful reminder that America has faced moments before when our future seemed uncertain and human wisdom appeared insufficient. The film depicts the remarkable relationship between evangelist George Whitefield and Benjamin Franklin and ultimately brings us to an extraordinary moment in 1787, when delegates to the Constitutional Convention were struggling to agree upon the framework of our new government.
The delegates had been meeting for weeks. They were deeply divided over representation and the structure of the government they were attempting to create. Progress had slowed, frustrations were mounting, and the future of the Convention was uncertain.
It was into that atmosphere that the 81-year-old Benjamin Franklin rose to speak.
The scene portrayed in “A Great Awakening” is not simply a filmmaker’s invention. Franklin’s address was recorded in James Madison’s notes of the Constitutional Convention. Franklin reminded the delegates that during the struggle for independence, when the young nation faced seemingly impossible circumstances, they had repeatedly sought God together in prayer.
Then he asked a question that should speak to America today:
“And have we now forgotten that powerful Friend? Or do we imagine that we no longer need His assistance?”
Franklin continued:
“The longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth—that God governs in the affairs of men.”
Franklin then invoked the truth expressed in Psalm 127—that unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. His message to those delegates was unmistakable. They possessed extraordinary intelligence, education, political experience, and some of the greatest minds of their generation, but human wisdom alone would not be enough to secure the future of the nation they were attempting to build.
Think about that moment.
These men were wrestling with whether this unprecedented experiment in self-government could survive. Yet in the midst of their deliberations, Franklin stood before them and acknowledged their dependence upon God.
I believe America has arrived at another such crossroads.
We cannot simply look to Washington, political parties, candidates, elections, courts, or human strategies to rescue our nation. We desperately need God. But seeking God has never meant withdrawing from the responsibilities He has placed before us. Franklin called those delegates to prayer in the very room where they were actively wrestling with the practical work of building a government.
That is the combination the Church needs to recover: dependence upon God coupled with faithful action.
Pastors, this is your moment to help awaken the Church. Teach your people to pray, but also teach them to stand. Help them understand what is happening in our nation and what Scripture says about it. Equip them to examine candidates and policies through the lens of Biblical truth, to participate in government, to speak when Biblical values are threatened, and to faithfully exercise the vote entrusted to them.
And Christians, do not leave the future of this nation entirely in someone else’s hands. Seek God. Know His Word. Understand the issues. Examine those who seek authority over you. Carry your Biblical convictions into the voting booth and into every other place where God has given you influence.
Nearly 240 years ago, when America’s founders found themselves struggling to determine the future of a young nation, Franklin asked them a question that reaches across the centuries:
“And have we now forgotten that powerful Friend?”
May our answer be no.
May the Church remember its responsibility. May pastors recover their voices. May Christians recover the understanding that our citizenship is a stewardship. May we seek God fervently for our nation and then have the courage to act upon the responsibilities He has placed before us.
We have prayed. We must continue to pray. But this is also a time to stand, speak, engage, and vote.
Perhaps what America needs at this critical crossroads is exactly what the title of the film suggests: A great awakening.
Sources: Breaking Christian News
us news
ഹൂസ്റ്റണിൽ എക്യുമെനിക്കൽ ബൈബിൾ കൺവെൻഷൻ ഒക്ടോബർ 16, 17 തീയതികളിൽ
ഹൂസ്റ്റൺ: ഇന്ത്യൻ ക്രിസ്ത്യൻ എക്യുമെനിക്കൽ കമ്മ്യൂണിറ്റി ഓഫ് ഹൂസ്റ്റണിന്റെ (ICECH) ആഭിമുഖ്യത്തിൽ 2026 ബൈബിൾ കൺവെൻഷൻ ഒക്ടോബർ 16, 17 തീയതികളിൽ (വെള്ളി, ശനി) വൈകുന്നേരം 6.30ന് ഗാനശുശ്രൂഷയോടു കൂടി ആരംഭിക്കും.
കൺവെൻഷൻ ഗായകസംഘം ഗാനശുശ്രൂഷയ്ക്കു നേതൃത്വം നൽകും.
ഹൂസ്റ്റണിലെ സെന്റ് തോമസ് ഇന്ത്യൻ ഓർത്തഡോക്സ് കത്തീഡ്രലിൽ (2411 5th St., Stafford, TX 77477) നടക്കുന്ന കൺവെൻഷനിൽ പ്രസിദ്ധ കൺവെൻഷൻ പ്രസംഗകൻ റവ. ഫാ. ഡേവിസ് ചിറമേൽ മുഖ്യ പ്രഭാഷകനായിരിക്കും.
സാമൂഹിക സേവന രംഗത്തെ ശ്രദ്ധേയമായ പ്രവർത്തനങ്ങളിലൂടെ അന്തർദേശീയ തലത്തിൽ ശ്രദ്ധ നേടിയിട്ടുള്ള ഫാ. ഡേവിസ് ചിറമേൽ കിഡ്നി ഫെഡറേഷൻ ഓഫ് ഇന്ത്യയുടെയും Accident Care and Transport Service (ACTS)-ന്റെയും സ്ഥാപകനാണ്. വൃക്കരോഗികൾക്ക് ചികിത്സാ സഹായം, ഡയാലിസിസ്, വൃക്കദാന ബോധവൽക്കരണം തുടങ്ങിയ പ്രവർത്തനങ്ങൾക്കായി കിഡ്നി ഫെഡറേഷൻ ഓഫ് ഇന്ത്യ പ്രവർത്തിച്ചുവരുന്നു.
2009-ൽ അപരിചിതനായ ഒരാൾക്ക് തന്റെ ഒരു വൃക്ക ദാനം ചെയ്തതിലൂടെയാണ് ഫാ. ഡേവിസ് ചിറമേൽ വൃക്കദാന ബോധവൽക്കരണ രംഗത്ത് ശ്രദ്ധേയനായത്. തുടർന്ന് നിരവധി സാമൂഹിക ക്ഷേമ, ജീവകാരുണ്യ പദ്ധതികൾക്കും അദ്ദേഹം നേതൃത്വം നൽകി.
ICECH പ്രസിഡന്റ് റവ. ഫാ. ഡോ. ഐസക് ബി. പ്രകാശ്, വൈസ് പ്രസിഡന്റ് റവ. ഫാ. ഡോ. ബിന്നി ഫിലിപ്പ്, സെക്രട്ടറി ഷാജൻ ജോർജ്, ട്രഷറർ രാജൻ അങ്ങാടിയിൽ, പ്രോഗ്രാം കോർഡിനേറ്റർ മിൽറ്റാ മാത്യു, ഗായകസംഘം കൺവീനർ ഡോ. അന്ന. കെ ഫിലിപ്പ് തുടങ്ങിയവരുടെ നേതൃത്തിൽ വിവിധ കമ്മിറ്റികൾ കൺവെൻഷന്റെ വിജയത്തിനായി പ്രവർത്തിച്ചു വരുന്നു.
ജാതിമത ഭേദമെന്യേ കൺവെൻഷനിൽ പങ്കെടുത്ത് അനുഗ്രഹം പ്രാപിക്കുന്നതിന് ഏവരെയും സ്വാഗതം ചെയ്യുന്നുവെന്ന് സംഘാടകർ അറിയിച്ചു.
Sources:globalindiannews
-
Movie12 months agoForrest Frank Says He Will No Longer Participate in Awards Shows, Shares ‘Conviction’ Behind Why
-
Movie12 months agoBrandon Lake sweeps 2025 Dove Awards, brings down the house alongside Jelly Roll with ‘Hard Fought Hallelujah’
-
us news4 months ago‘America Is Hungry’: Hundreds Born Again and Baptized as Jesus Tent Revival Sweeps the Nation
-
us news4 months agoMike Winger deletes YouVersion app over ‘The Passion Translation’ controversy, urges others to ‘use caution’
-
Movie11 months agoCBN’s Superbook Launches New Free Bible App for Kids: ‘The Power of God Is Released’
-
Movie8 months agoHollywood Actor Jen Lilley Launching New Ministry After ‘Vision’ From Holy Spirit
-
Sports12 months agoJaguars Star Travis Hunter, Olympic Gold Medalist Noah Lyles Get Baptized: ‘Leaving My Old Self’
-
us news12 months agoനൈജീരിയൻ ക്രൈസ്തവരെ സംരക്ഷിക്കാൻ നടപടി ആവശ്യപ്പെട്ട് യുഎസ് കോണ്ഗ്രസ് പ്രതിനിധികള്

