My Beef with Moody Publishers

[Marrow Man]

Yesterday I bought a copy of E.M. Bounds' Power Through Prayer (at the recommendation of several PBers; many thanks!). I even managed to find a copy at Half Price Books for under $4. I opened it and found a great quote by Robert Murray M'Cheyne before I even got to chapter 1.

In chapter one I found this quote, which I highlighted:

It is not great talents, or great learning, or great preachers that God needs, but men great in holiness, great in faith, great in love, great in fidelity, great for God -- men always preaching by holy sermons in the pulpit, by holy lives out of it. These can mold a generation for God.

After I finished chapter one, I turned the book over and read the following blurb on the back cover, which was apparently intended to be a quotation from the book:

It is not great talents or great learning or great preachers that God needs, but men and women... great in holiness, great in faith, great in love, great in fidelity, great for God. ... These can mold a generation for God.

Notice the change? Does Moody really need to change the words for the author in order to appeal to women (the foreword was written by Stormie Omartian).

 

[Marrow Man]

Here is an image of the back cover:

 

[Jack K]

We might grant that it's possible the publisher made the change not so much to appeal to women, but to appeal to laymen as well as pastors. Just pastors is too narrow a readership.

That said, I don't like what they did either. And the original quote packs a stronger punch. It's better writing.

 

[Michael]

Your problem, Tim, is that the half price copy you purchased seems to actually be E.M. Bounds' Today's New Power Through Prayer. Similar to the TNIV, the TNPTP strives for a gender inclusiveness that today's reader can better identify with.

 

[Marrow Man]

Your problem, Tim, is that the half price copy you purchased seems to actually be E.M. Bounds' Today's New Power Through Prayer. Similar to the TNIV, the TNPTP strives for a gender inclusiveness that today's reader can better identify with.

That explains why it is called a "Moody Classic"!

I woke up this morning realizing that I had missed the opportunity for a good pun in the thread title. Should have gone with something like "Out of Bounds."