American Bible Society celebrates bicentennial

The Philadelphia-based American Bible Society entered its third century of operation Wednesday, marking 200 years of translating, publishing and distributing the Good Book to everyone from sailors to Olympic athletes to the visually-impaired.

As the United States expanded westward, the ABS went with it: Pony Express riders were furnished with free copies of the Good Book.

And while the telegraph may have killed the nation’s most-fabled express mail service, technological advances only spurred on the missionary opportunities of the ABS, from financing Braille Bible projects in the 1840s, to releasing audio recordings of the Bible in the 1930s, to the debut of the online Digital Bible Library in 2012.

“When I consider the 200-year history of American Bible Society, what strikes me most is not all that has changed, but all that has remained the same,” ABC President Roy L. Peterson was quoted in an April blog post anticipating the bicentennial, adding:

“God’s eternal Word is as true and reliable as ever. Jesus tells us in Matthew 24:35 (GNT), ’Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.’ As American Bible Society begins a third century of ministry, we remain united to the eternal vision of our founders grounded in Habakkuk 2:14 — to see the earth ’as full of the knowledge of the LORD’s glory as the seas are full of water.’”