History of the Red-letter Bible

The idea to print the words of Christ in red is said to have originated with German-born journalist
Louis Klopsch. He graduated from Columbia University with high honors, rose from stock boy to editor and by 1889 was the owner-editor of the American edition of the Christian Herald Magazine.

Klopsch came up with the idea of printing some of the biblical text with red ink on June 19, 1899,
while composing an editorial. His eye fell upon Luke 22:20:

This cup is the new testament in my blood, which I shed for you,

Dr. Klopsch realized that these were the words of our Savior when He instituted the Lord’s Supper.
Reasoning that all blood was red, he asked himself, Why not a red letter Bible
with the red words to be those of our Lord? Seizing upon the symbolism of blood,
Klopsch asked his mentor if Christ’s words could not be printed in red the color of His blood.

Dr. Talmadge replied: “It could do no harm, and it most certainly could do much good .”
Red letters are especially useful in the King James Version and in other translations
where quotation marks are not used. There are also those super-intricate
quotations-within-quotations (some of them four times removed), where the red letters
are crucial for separating the words of Christ from surrounding text.

Since 1899, the red letters in the New Testament Bible have illuminated
the words the Messiah spoke. Klopsch’s red-letter New Testament
bore this title: The New Testament… With All the Words Recorded Therein,
as Having Been Spoken by Our Lord, Printed in Color.

An initial edition of 60,000 Red Letter Testaments” sold out quickly; then Klopsch proceeded
to produce a red-letter Bible. It was released in 1901 under the title “The Holy Bible: Red Letter Edition”.
In the first red-letter Bible, the words “universally accepted as the utterances of our Lord and Saviour”
were printed in red. So were Old Testament passages that Jesus quoted or that were
directly related to incidents to which he referred (with the relevant cross reference also printed
in red). Old Testament verses containing prophetic references to Christ were identified
with red stars.letter Bibles went on to establish themselves in many quarters as the preferred form
of the printed Bible. Klopsch wanted people to read the Bible and understand it — particularly what it says
about Jesus Christ and the words that Jesus Christ spoke.
“In the Red-Letter Bible, more clearly than in any other edition of the Holy Scriptures,” said Klopsch,
“it becomes plain that from beginning to end, the central figure upon which all lines of law, history, poetry
and prophecy converge is Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. He expounded in all the Scriptures
the things concerning Himself and the Divine plan for man’s redemption, and the Red- Letter Bible indicates
and emphasizes this Divine exposition and personal revelation at each successive stage,
making them so clear that even the simplest may understand. It sheds a new radiance upon
the sacred pages, by which the reader is enabled to trace unerringly the scarlet important thread of prophecy
from Genesis to Malachi. Like the Star which led the Magi to Bethlehem, this light, shining through the entire Word,
leads straight to the person of the Divine Messiah, as the fulfillment of the promise of all the ages.”
In his eighteen years as proprietor of Christian Herald, Klopsch raised more than three billion dollars
for relief work throughout the world. Klopsch also pioneered American overseas charities in a massive fashion,
raising more than three million dollars through his newspaper. He aided famine victims in many places
such as Sweden and Japan. No cause was dearer to Klopsch’s heart, however, than that of Scripture distribution
and reading. Red-letter Bibles went on to establish themselves in many quarters as the preferred form
of the printed Bible. Louis Klopsch, who died in 1910, would undoubtedly take pride in the endurance
of the innovation he introduced into Bible publishing. He will not be easily replaced. He lived and died by his own motto:

Do All the Good You Can for All the People You Can.

The Goal of Black, White and Read

When a human being is born again (or experiences spiritual rebirth), she/he becomes a new creature at the deepest level. The human spirit
is regenerated by the Holy Spirit. As the individual continues to spend time with and study the Word and walk in the Spirit, their spirit grows
in faith and understanding is gained. Transformation occurs as the mind is made new and the Word is integrated into that life.
This is imperative to walking in the victory and abundance that Christ died to give to mankind.
Our aim is to promote the study, understanding and application of Christ’s commands and teachings — all over the world — so that the character
of Christ is duplicated in those who are committed to a life of discipline and obedience to Him. Without learning the principles of His actions,
the question of “what would Jesus do” would not be well-addressed. It’s important to know what Jesus did, but even more significant to know
WHY He did it. Adapting the mind of Christ over the human thinking empowers it to think and act as He would.

The monument I want after I am dead is a monument with two legs
going around the world — a saved sinner telling about the salvation of Jesus Christ.

respectfully borrowed from D.L. Moody