“Wait a second! Didn’t you say in the last post that the Bible is just a paper book?”
Yes. And that still holds for people whose first language is English. Because we’re the ones that buy most of the Bibles printed every year. Check this out:
“There are 900 different versions of the Bible just in English. There is even one Bible that has been translated into the fictional language of Klingon.”
“What is unique about Bible sales, however, is that the people who have the most opportunity to purchase this holy book are also the most illiterate about it.”
In fact, as of 2015 (I know, I couldn’t find more updated numbers worldwide), 57% of the world’s people don’t have any part of the Bible translated in their language. How do Bibles get translated? This video shows you the process of getting the Bible to a people group.
Now, a lot of people still live in mostly oral cultures, or use sign language. Usually the best way to share the Gospel with them is through video or radio. But printed Bibles are still needed in most of the world. Those of us who live in the USA probably figure the whole planet’s been saturated by now. Nope. Could having a Bible really matter that much? After all, your average American household has 4, and we’re less engaged with the Scripture than we ever have been. It made a world of difference to Mahabala and his wife, Nitara.
One of the best organizations I have experience with that’s been getting bibles to people in the 10/40 window is Gospel for Asia. They are run by native people from the regions instead of white people with a savior complex. I’ve donated to them myself. If you’d like to help them get Bibles to people, you can read more about it and donate here.
Next time, we’ll talk more about getting more engaged with reading the Bible together.
Views: 0
