Kenneth N. Taylor

Kenneth Nathaniel Taylor (May 8, 1917 – June 10, 2005) was an American publisher and author, better known as the creator of The Living Bible and the founder of Tyndale House, a Christian publishing company, and Living Bibles International.

Early life and education Taylor was born in 1917 in Portland, Oregon. His parents were George and Charlotte Huff Taylor. His father was a Presbyterian minister. He graduated from high school in 1934 from Beaverton High School in Beaverton, OR and enrolled in Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. He graduated from Wheaton in 1938. In 1940, Taylor began to work on a Th.D. at Dallas Theological Seminary. 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.

Bible translation Taylor worked briefly with Clyde Dennis, founder of Good News Publishers, on translating Gospel tracts and distributing them overseas. In 1947 he moved to Moody Bible Institute, where he served as Director of Moody Press (now called Moody Publishing) 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. 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 and work exclusively at Tyndale. Taylor finished the entire Bible in contemporary language and published it as The Living Bible in 1971. The Living Bible topped U.S. bestseller lists in both 1972 and 1973, and its total sales have since exceeded 40 million copies.

Taylor stepped down as chairman and CEO of Tyndale House in 1984, but was interpreted by some as containing anti-Jewish sentiments and anachronistic expressions.

Personal life and death Taylor married Margaret West in 1940, and together they had 10 children. He died on June 10, 2005 from heart failure. 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 The Book, 1984 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)