a little light reading anyone?

I came across this quote in my reading the other day about the impact of Erasmus' Greek NT when it was first published in 1516.

Never was a volume more passionately devoured. A hundred thousand copies were sold in France alone. The fire spread, as it spread behind Samson's foxes in the Philistines' corn. The clergy's skins were tender from long impurity. They shrieked from the pulpit and platform, and made Europe ring with their clamor. (1)

Think about that for a second. 100,000 copies of an academic text. A Greek NT, in a time when few could read ...let alone Greek...when books were printed one sheet at a time, hand bound and sown, hand distributed, and very expensive. People were that deperate to get their hands on it.

That says something about them... probably a lot of things.

What are we desparate for? What sells a 100K copies today?

I don't have the number of copies sold, but here are the top 10 bestselling Christian books for August courtesy of CBA

1. The Love Dare Stephen Kendrick & Alex Kendrick, B&H Publishing

2. The Shack William P. Young, Windblown Media

3. The Five Love Languages Gary Chapman, Moody

4. Crazy Love Francis Chan & Danae Yankoski, David C. Cook

5. Take Two Karen Kingsbury, Zondervan

6. God’s Wisdom for Fathers Jack Countryman, Thomas Nelson

7. Jesus Calling Sarah Young, Thomas Nelson

8. Take One Karen Kingsbury, Zondervan

9. What in the World Is Going On? David Jeremiah, Thomas Nelson

10. Love and Respect Emerson Eggerichs, Thomas Nelson

That says something about us... probably a lot of things.

(1) J.A. Frounde, Life and Letters of Erasmus. Quoted in Using New Testament Greek In Ministry by David Allen Black.