TORONTO, Canada, August 31, 2004 — When a senior citizenship judge called a halt recently to the Canadian Bible Society's practice of offering free Bibles to new Canadian citizens, he ended one of the society's longest standing traditions; a tradition that traces its roots to the inception of the Canadian Bible Society itself. In what must seem a poignant, sadly ironic move to Bible Society insiders, he did so just as they gear up for their centennial celebrations.
Founded in 1904 and chartered in 1906, the Canadian Bible Society (CBS) took "much of the impetus for its existence" from the flood of immigrants flowing into Canada, according to, To the ends of the Earth, a history of the society published by CBS in 1998.
The history says that from the earliest days of the CBS, "vessels were met on their arrival, and the first gift received by many a newcomer was the Bible in his own mother tongue ... He receives the book with some hesitation at first, until his eye lights on words in his loved language. All is changed in a moment as he realizes ... that there are those in Canada who are ready to share with him, in his own tongue, the truth that makes men free."
For 100 years, the desire to share that "truth that makes men free" has been the motivating factor behind the Canadian Bible Society's mandate; to promote and encourage the translation, publication, distribution and use of the Scriptures.
Now in our post-Christian, secular society, tolerance seems to have trumped truth as the highest moral value, and the supreme freedom sought after is no longer the freedom from enslavement to sin and its consequences, but the freedom of choice regardless of consequences. Still, CBS National Director Phyllis Nesbitt insists, the Word of God has relevance for today's world.
"The book is as relevant today as the promises of God are," Nesbitt says. "The Bible teaches relationships and it speaks on principles. And principles are timeless, whereas rules and regulations come and go. Sometimes they're in vogue; sometimes they're not. Because the Bible is a book of principles, they never go out of date."
While the principles may never go out of date, their popularity appears to. But if recent events in this country seem designed to hamper the historic raison d'être of the Bible society -- popular or not -- Nesbitt says she and her colleagues remain undaunted in their determination to carry out their mission.
Bible distribution may be the most visible part of the society's mandate, but it is only one part, and it relies heavily on the other components of their mission.
To understand the roles translation and publication have also played in the history of the Bible society movement -- not only in Canada but around the world - one must go back to the very beginnings of that movement in Wales, exactly 200 years ago.
Familiar may be the oft-told tale of Mary Jones, a young Welsh girl who lived in the late 1700s. Inspired by her love of hearing the stories in her neighbour's Bible, Mary devoted herself to the task of learning to read, then saved her pennies for six years to be able to afford a Bible of her own. Finally, at the age of 16, having accumulated the necessary funds, Mary walked a distance of 40 kilometres to purchase a rare Welsh-language Bible. Arriving at her destination, she was devastated to hear from Rev. Thomas Charles that there were none available.
Inspired by Mary's plight, Charles shared her story with others who spearheaded the move to form a society to provide Scriptures for people in their own language.
In 1804, the British and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS) was formed, launching the Bible Society movement worldwide. The BFBS bicentennial was celebrated in Wales earlier this month at the world assembly of the United Bible Societies. The United Bible Societies (UBS) are a fellowship of 137 national Bible societies, which work in more than 200 countries around the globe
The very year the BFBS began operations, they published their first Gospel in a language other than English. It was the Gospel of John, translated into the Mohawk language by a Canadian -- Chief Teyoninhokarawen of the Six Nations tribe (in present day Southern Ontario) - known to the British as Captain Norton.
Norton's legacy and the important contribution Canada has made to Bible Society history have inspired countless Bible translators in this country, including Hart Wiens, director of Scripture translation for CBS.
"The Scriptures have gripped my life," reflects Wiens when asked why he's devoted most of a lifetime to the work of supporting the translation of God's Word. "I just feel it's right and proper that everyone ought to have at least an opportunity to read and understand the Scriptures in a language that really communicates to their heart."
Wiens adds that inspiration for Bible translators, however, can be found in the Bible itself.
"Go back to Acts 2: 1 - 13; the coming of the Holy Spirit, and everyone hearing in their own language the wonderful things that God has done. From the perspective of the translator, this means that God wants everyone to hear in their own language the things that God has done," he says.
Wiens and his UBS colleagues have their work cut out for them.
According to the UBS Scripture Language Report for 2003, "of the 6,500 or more languages spoken in the world ... those in which the Bible can be read in its entirety number no more than 414."
The situation is far from dim, however, for the report also indicates, "there are now over 2,000 languages in which at least one book of the Bible has been published ... this figure includes the primary vehicles of communication of well over 90 per cent of the world's population."
Here at home, the CBS -- in partnership with churches and other Bible agencies -- has worked hard over the past century to provide for the needs of our country's multicultural population, and today offers Bibles, Testaments and Scripture portions in 113 foreign languages, as well as 20 Canadian aboriginal languages.
Now Canada is once again playing a key role in moving the Bible cause forward internationally. Last year, UBS asked the CBS translation support office in Kitchener, Ontario to establish the Institute for Computer Assisted Publishing (ICAP) as a resource for Bible translators around the globe.
The original Bible translation computer – the first of its kind in UBS – still sits in the CBS Scripture Translation Office, a testament to the foresight of Bible translator, Dr. Harold Fehderau.
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Wiens says Canada has been given this leadership role because of their historical connection with computer support for translations. "Dr. Harold Fehderau, my predecessor, was the first person in the UBS to recognize the potential of the computer for translation," he explains. "He purchased the first computer in UBS to be applied specifically to translation. Until then, computers were used in publishing and accounting but not in translation."
The computer Fehderau purchased for approximately $25,000 in the early 80's -- while no longer used -- sits in the Kitchener office still; a silent witness to the foresight of the now deceased Fehderau.
In 1996, in recognition of the Canadian team's growing expertise in the use of computers in translation, UBS asked them to develop a world service centre for Translation Electronic Information Services (TEIS). In that role, they established a web site where translation resources are maintained and at fingertip access for translators worldwide. Canada has also helped to develop an innovative, completely customizable software program called Paratext, which enables translators to do their work more easily, accurately and with far less tedium than ever before.
Today, the computer has become such an integral part of a translator's tool kit, according to Wiens, that UBS has recognized the need for more people to come alongside translators to help them learn to use computers with maximum effectiveness and efficiency. "Since our office has had quite a bit of experience in that," Wiens explains modestly, "they've asked us to be involved in training."
That's where ICAP comes in. Their goal over the next five years will be to: develop appropriate translation support tools, provide training in the use of those tools, and build a worldwide community of support for translators.
Some two-dozen people from around the globe will come to Kitchener this spring, for training in computer assisted publishing support for the Bible translation and publishing ministry.
"As good Canadians, we work well with other groups," smiles Manager of Computer Assisted Publishing, Ed Peters, who adds they've selected the donkey (the burden bearer) as ICAP's mascot. "I think it's the Canadian personality; something else we bring is our willingness to work together and not always do the Lone Ranger thing."
If such willingness to work together and to innovate have been trademarks of Bible Society efforts in this country over the past century, they are also indicators that point to a bright future ahead.
For in spite of the recent resistance to the Bible cause from Canada's federal government, Nesbitt says such opposition has merely, "confirmed our awe of what happens when the Word of God is hampered from being distributed and being used. Because God takes over and does something Himself."
So, God is at the helm and Nesbitt is encouraged. For she says, there is not only a new level of awareness of the spiritual decline in Canada, but there is also a firm resolve in the hearts of people across this land, to seek other avenues to advance the Bible cause.
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