Churches Act in Turkey

ISTANBUL, Turkey — In response to the earthquake of August 16, 1999 - a tragedy that has left so many people scarred both physically and emotionally – the Bible Society in Turkey (BST) is preparing a new Scripture Selection using passages from the Bible that will bring words of comfort and hope.

Sensitive

Decorated with four-colour illustrations, the Selection aims to present the biblical perspective in a format that is both culturally and religiously sensitive. The BST aims to produce 100,000 of these Selections.

The churches met together in the week of the earthquake to coordinate their response. On Saturday August 21, a delegation representing Christian churches and organisations left Istanbul for Izmit by sea.

The delegation included the Ecumenical Patriarch (Greek Orthodox), the Patriarch of the Armenian Church, the leader of the Syrian Orthodox Church, leaders of major Protestant churches and representatives of Christian organisations such as Caritas, and the BST.

Burning gas

“From the boat we could see the burning gas tanks, and the water around the coast was covered in what seemed to be a thick layer of mud which stank horribly,” said Ameniel Bagdas, Executive Secretary of the BST.

After five hours, the delegation arrived in the Gulf of Izmit and was received at the town hall by the Mayor of Izmit, the district Governor, and a state minister. The Patriarchs both expressed their deepest sorrow for those affected by the quake, and promised that many prayers would be said for the wounded. They also promised that material aid would be collected and provided for those in need. The aim was to provide 1,000 tents for those who had lost their homes.

Support

The Izmit officials expressed their thanks to the delegation, saying that their very presence had already brought a sense of comfort and support.

“We visited part of the worst-hit area; most of the buildings had been destroyed; some were badly cracked. We saw a mosque which had been destroyed, the minaret tower broken into three pieces,” said Mr Bagdas.

“Twelve Armenian churches had been damaged in the quake as well as a Greek Orthodox school. Other churches have also suffered.

Damaged roof

“Although we are thankful that none of our Bible Society staff have been injured – one staff member had the roof of his house damaged – some Christian families perished in the quake, and we mourn with their relatives.”

The churches in Turkey have formed a steering committee for disaster relief, and Mr Bagdas has been appointed coordinator for a short term. Both local and foreign churches operating in Turkey are represented on the committee.

Local contributions so far amount to US $53,000, with a further $750,000 promised from the World Council of Churches. This will provide at least 200 tents large enough to house families made homeless in the quake.

Figures for the earthquake casualties are changing from day to day, but estimates put the injured at 35,000, with 10,000 of the dead identified, and as many as 90,000 possibly buried in the rubble. The massive task of feeding the homeless and clearing up the debris is made complicated by the difficulties of providing fresh drinking water, and the risk of serious infection from water systems that have become polluted. (WR 344/25 - 10.99) [PHOTOS]

Bosnia Translator’s Story of Survival

BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA — Even as a small child in Bosnia, Ljudevit Rubcic had a love for the Bible. Each day he would tell his mother about the things he had read. And that love went hand-in-hand with his desire to become a priest.

He fulfilled that ambition in 1946 but was imprisoned by the Communists for five years – a confinement which actually helped him to survive, he said. Seventy Franciscan priests were murdered during the war and all his brothers and sisters were killed.

So Father Rubcic looks back on that time in prison as a blessing, even though he, like others, was tortured and put into forced labour. “Thank God I had good nerves,” he said. “I constantly remembered the words of Jesus: ‘I am with you to the end of the world’.”

Father Rubcic was released from prison in 1956 and finished his doctorate in Zagreb in two years. He began translating the New Testament in the 1960s and completed it in three years.

UBS Consultant John Dean, who interviewed the dedicated translator, recalls: “We spoke together in German and when I asked how he managed to complete the work so quickly, he replied, ‘Alles was man liebt – gedeiht’ which translates as ‘Everything that one loves prospers’.”

Since then Father Rubcic has made revisions of subsequent editions of the New Testament and talked about the difficult task of Bible translation. “Was unbegrenzt ist, kann man nicht mit begrenzten Worten umfassen,” which translates as “That which is infinite cannot be expressed in finite words.”

“Only the Word of God can bring us closer together,” the 79-year-old priest told Mr Dean. “When we say ‘Yes’ to the Word of God, then we are one. When we are nearer to Christ we are nearer to each other.” (WR 344/26 - 10.99) [PHOTOS]

Bible Transforms Lives in Udmurt

UDMURT REPUBLIC — In a country with a floundering economy, where factory closures are common, and the suicide rate is high, there is a desperate need for the hope in God’s Word.

Although the Russian Bible has been available since the 19th Century, the Udmurt people have only recently had access to God’s Word in their own language.

New Testament

The four Gospels were translated into Udmurt as late as 1912, and the New Testament has now been available since 1997 through a joint project undertaken by the Institute for Bible Translation and the United Bible Societies. The biblical message has penetrated very slowly in this part of Russia.

Despite this, the Bible is working among the people of Udmurt, transforming lives and bringing people to Christ. Pastor Alexander Dresvyannikov, in association with Russian Gospel Ministries, recently visited believers in the Udmurt Republic, and heard how God’s Word is working in their lives :

The young church in the city of Kez has 40 members, many of whom have only recently become Christians. It is a vibrant, dynamic church whose members are committed to sharing the Word of God with others. Every Sunday, church members travel to neighbouring villages, to tell people about God, and share his message through the Bible.

It was at this church that Pastor Dresvyannikov met 26-year-old Sergei, who told him how the Bible helped to bring him to God :

Afraid

“Growing up, I was always afraid of death,” he explained. “My parents never talked about God or the Christian faith. In 1992, I joined the army. I made a new friend, Sasha, who was a Christian. We talked a lot about his faith, and I tried to understand it all,” said Sergei.

Sasha told Sergei all about the Bible, and how it shows us the way God wants us to live. “Eventually I asked Sasha to stop telling me about God’s commandments,” continued Sergei. “I figured that if I did not know them, I would not be responsible for breaking them. But I could not stop thinking about it all.

‘Teach me to pray’

“There came a day when Sasha and I were on duty together and I asked him to teach me to pray. We kneeled before God and I prayed to him. I immediately stopped drinking, smoking, and swearing. After that it seemed that even the sun shone brighter.

“When I returned home from the army, I told my parents about God, but they did not like it. Their misunderstanding saddened me. I was weak in the faith, and there were no believers in my town to support and encourage me. I started going out with my old friends and began to fail in my Christian life, once more falling into drinking, smoking, and cursing. During this time I met a girl named Marina. We fell in love and had a daughter, Natasha.

“One day my friend, Nikolai, came to my house drunk. He was searching for his wife. He complained that she had started attending some new church in town and was reading the Bible at home. He planned to beat her when he found her. That is how I first heard about the new church in Kez and began searching for it. After several days I found the church, but going to services made me painfully aware of how far I had fallen from a Christian lifestyle. I visited the church several times, then I stopped going.

Baptised

“However, before long my friend Nikolai was saved and baptised. God was still working in my heart, though. I went to church again and asked the Lord to forgive me for turning away from him. I was baptised in 1996. Marina also gave her life to God. We stopped going to the disco, began reading the Bible together, and sealed our relationship with marriage.

“Our family really loves to sing. Whether we are in our house or in the garden, Marina, Natasha and I sing together. We want to live for God and tell others about how his love changes people’s lives.”

Another couple at the church, Volodya and Nadia, also told Pastor Dresvyannikov about how hearing God’s Word moved them to give their lives to God.

Drunk

Volodya was a truck driver, but he was always drunk, and eventually lost his licence.

Nadia had heard about a new church that had just started up in town, and the couple decided to attend a service. Volodya found it strange because people there talked with God in such a simple way. The next time they went, Nadia became a Christian. Soon after, Volodya was moved, through hearing God’s Word, to give his life to Christ. They were both baptised shortly afterwards.

Reinstated

Their lives have never been the same since. Volodya has stopped drinking and his licence was reinstated. He now drives a fire truck. “Now we are very happy,” he said. “We love each other and have peace in our home. People in our city really need God.”

Library

To help fulfil this need, Volodya and Nadia regularly go to the library to distribute Scripture Selections, and to talk to people about Christ.

Another city that Pastor Dresvyannikov visited was Mozhga. There he met 83-year-old Ksenya Murzayeva, whose most treasured possession is her Russian Bible. This Bible was printed in 1916, in the same year that she was born.

Ksenya became a Christian when she was 18, and was devastated when her Bible was confiscated during a house search by the authorities, who at that time were confiscating all Christian books. Some time later, however, her Bible was returned to her, and she was able to continue using it. She showed it to Pastor Dresvyannikov with great joy.

Better lives

God’s Word is working in Udmurt, bringing hope to people and helping them to lead better lives, but many more need to be reached.

“I could sense the power that the occult holds over the Udmurt people,” said Pastor Dresvyannikov following his visit. “They try to forget the darkness of their lives by drinking, smoking and cursing. Even as I prepared to leave, I saw an article in the local paper about two young girls who had just hung themselves together in the forest. How these people need to hear the Gospel!”

Work continues on the translation of the Bible into Udmurt. (WR 344/27 - 10.99) [PHOTOS]

Freedom or Control?

Human Rights Group Accuses Bible Society of Tampering With Prisoners’ Minds
The Bible Society in Spain offers a defence of prison distribution

MADRID, Spain — In an article published in the magazine of the Pro Human Rights Association for Andalucia, the Bible Society in Spain (BSS) has been accused of distributing “a book against the freedom of worship of prisoners”. (El Faro Información, June 6, 1999, by José Manuel González)

Lola Calvo, Production and Information Officer of the BSS, invokes the right to reply in her communication on July 8 to the head of the organisation, Joaquín Landrón de Guevara.

Prison distribution

“The BSS has initiated the distribution of 20,000 New Testaments, free of charge to prisoners throughout the nation’s prisons. This distribution has been carried out by the Prison Ministries of the Evangelical Union, and of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, with permission from the prison authorities.

“No prisoner has been compelled to read the Scripture materials, and these contain no more than has been used for prisoners in other nations throughout the European Union.

“There has been no previous suggestion that such materials are an attack upon the freedom of ideology or worship of prisoners.

“The distribution of Holy Scriptures is something that has been carried out for many years among prisoners in many countries with very positive results in that prisoners have regained their dignity and been able to rebuild their lives.

“The New Testament which is being distributed is a special presentation one entitled ‘Freedom Behind Bars’ and carries a picture of hands breaking chains on the cover. It contains the books of the New Testament together with testimonies of other prisoners who have been touched by reading the Word of God and who have found hope for their own lives.

“There is also a brief overview of the Bible and what it contains. There is also a section which deals with specific questions such as ‘Why is human life valuable?’, ‘How can I handle the stresses of Life?’ and ‘Is it possible to leave addiction behind?’

Addiction

“This last question refers to drink, drugs, sex, gambling and homosexuality. The key word is addiction, and the Bible warns us about these things which can dominate our wills. People seem to overreact because the Bible defines sin and accuses us all of being sinful. But its message is one of love, God’s love for us and his forgiveness.

“How can we defend our society so full of abuses against children, violence between fellow human beings, ecological disasters from greed, and claim this has nothing to do with sin? We are not ashamed to distribute the Gospel which contains God’s power to bring order to our world.

Sin

“We respect prisoners and their freedom of expression, and are happy to send the author of this article a copy of the Scripture in question. Then he will be able to see that you cannot simply refer to the accusation of sin without seeing God’s answer and plan of forgiveness: you cannot have one without the other.

“If a non-believer wishes to reject it all he is free to do so, and we respect that freedom, but if he believes in God, he should know what God said in his Word. No-one is obliged to accept one of our free New Testaments, and no-one is obliged to read it.” (WR 344/28 - 10.99)

A Stand They Could Not Miss

LISBON, Portugal — Thanks to its traditional support for the Lisbon Book Fair, the Bible Society of Portugal was given a privileged stand at the 69th Fair held from May 20-June 13.

Occupying pavilion number four, few of the four million people visiting the fair could miss the stand of the Bible Society. But in case they did, there were nine volunteers who were prepared to draw their attention to the Scripture materials available.

Tiago Falcoeiras, a 20-year-old student of Portuguese Literature at Lisbon University, described his participation as follows:

“When you love books it is a pleasure to take part in a book fair. But when you are a Christian, and you have the opportunity to help the Bible Society at the Lisbon Book Fair, then the pleasure is doubled.

Priceless service

“In my opinion, to promote and distribute literature is a service we do for society; but when that literature was given to us by God himself, then the service becomes priceless. Many people who do not know the divine Word purchased Scriptures at the Bible stand. I only hope that by reading the Bible they will have the joy of experiencing new birth. I thank God for this opportunity.”

To run concurrently with the fair, the Society organised a series of conferences on topical themes such as ‘The Bible and Human Rights’, ‘Reading the Bible as a Paradigm to Freedom of Speech’, and ‘The Bible – from its Origin to Today’, all under the theme of ‘The Importance of the Bible at the Beginning of the New Millennium’.

One of the translators working on the Modern Portuguese version presented one of the papers on techniques of translation. Three other prominent public figures including the Chairman and Vice-chairman of the Society also gave lectures. (WR 344/29 - 10.99) [PHOTOS]

Children Revive Mediaeval-Style Dramas

SWINDON, England — The British and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS) is encouraging schools and churches to mark the new millennium with an old idea – performances of miracle plays.

Dating back to mediaeval England, miracle plays are based on stories from the Bible or on the life of a saint. Performed in public on holy days or saint’s days, they offered an entertaining way for ordinary people to acquire knowledge of the Bible in the days before literacy was widespread.

Miracle plays

The BFBS has produced two miracle play resource books suitable for helping young people between the ages of seven and 18 to learn about events depicted in the Bible. As a medium, drama has the advantage of involving the pupils in the excitement of acting and of ‘entering into’ the characters in the stories, while encouraging their parents and other members of the community to take an interest.

A User’s Guide to the plays is also available. This explains how to produce the plays at various levels: from a simple classroom performance to a performance by the school for parents, to one put on as part of a play festival for the general public.

“The plays have been quite popular in schools – in classrooms and assemblies,” said Lindsay Shaw, BFBS Education Resource Development Executive. “But now we want to encourage schools and churches to work together to put on major productions in the centre of their community.” Teams have already staged the plays this way in Durham, Peterborough and Rugby. Last year’s performance in Rugby town centre, which involved nine schools, was so successful that they repeated it this year.

“It is really another way of opening up the Bible to young people and to parents and others,” said Mr Shaw. “As we are coming up to the new millennium, a lot of people are looking for some way to celebrate the birthday of Jesus. Many schools are taking part in JC2000, the nationwide initiative which is encouraging schools to mark the event with some form of dramatic production about Jesus. Our miracle plays are a ready-made way of doing this.” (WR 344/30 - 10.99)