Calvin Synod Herald, 1986 (86. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)
1986 / 5-6. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD 14 — REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA ÍI|1Í International Bible Society They took a bicycle chain and some odds and ends and made a portable press. They printed 30,000 Bibles on it, and when the KGB came close, they put the whole thing in a suitcase and fled. The believers in Eastern Europe take incredible risks and go to almost any length to get a Bible. The amazing thing about the homemade press I described above is that the detailed instructions for it came from the memoirs of Lenin, the father of modern Russia. I have great respect fo these determined and dedicated believers. Many of them live daily at the edge of danger. Only the true love of Christ can conquer the fear they live with. We may not hear much about the “Iron Curtain” these days, but it forcefully shuts out the name of Jesus from the hearing of millions of people in the East. For example • Religion is completely outlawed in Albania. • In Yugoslavia, considered one of the most open countries in the East, it is illegal to possess Christian literature not printed in that country. • In Czechoslovakia the police recently arrested a man found with a children’s Bible, and they threw him in jail. • Christians in Bulgaria made a modern translation of the Bible, but the state church locked it in a safe before anyone could print it. On the other hand, the governments of Poland and Hungary have relaxed restrictions, and Christians have begun to test their new freedoms. In Poland they actually hold outdoor Gospel meetings. In Hungary they pass out Gospel tracts on streets. Until recently this kind of open evangelism was unheard of in Communist bloc countries. That’s why I’m so excited about the urgent request I’ve received for Scriptures. Several missions will be working with us on the placement of these Bibles. Each has its own special way of getting the Word of God into the hands of unbelievers, and we know from years of experience that when this happens, God does wonderful things in the lives of spiritually hungry people. It happened in Czechoslovakia to a young man named Jan. While only a boy of 11 or 12, he bought a Bible for a few crowns from his close friend Peter. But Jan’s parents were staunch Communist Party members, and he knew they’d forbid him to read it. So he wrapped it in plastic and carefully hid it among his belongings. A few years ago, while in university, Jan remembered that Bible and began to wonder what it was all about. He couldn’t get the thought out of his head, so while home on holiday, he rummaged through a lot of old boxes and finally found it. Then he had another problem — he wanted help understanding it. So he went looking for Peter whose parents had quietly taught him the Scriptures since he was a small boy. Peter tried to answer his friend’s questions, then gave him another book, this one explaining the way of salvation. Well, to sum it up. that simple act of selling a Bible began a series of events that led Jan to receive the Lord. Today he is an active Christian layman, and Peter is the pastor of a church in a city near the Soviet border. That was a few years back, but just months ago, Christian workers in the West received this encouraging letter from Poland... “One day a man handed me a Gospel of John and told me to write to you if I had questions. Sometime ago I stopped believing because I could find no evidence for belief. “I don’t own a Bible... and I can’t decide where the truth is. I am hoping that through you God will give me evidence of his existence. “Please write and put me on the way to the truth.” So you can see why we have promised to supply... • 100,000 Gospels of John in Hungarian • 100.000 Gospels of John in Polish • 50,000 Gospels of John in Croation • 80,000 Gospels of John in Romanian • 100,000 New Testaments in Slovak, • 20,000 complete Bibles in Romanian. And let me emphasize again that these Scriptures are primarily for evangelism and for new Christians. Not very often do I press a need on you as 1 want to do this one. We both know the arbitrary nature of Communist governments. While Hungary and Poland have a greater measure of freedom than they’ve had in years, we don’t know how long this will last. At any moment the door could suddenly slam and the police would swoop down on believers and the terror would begin again. It has happened before. James R. Powell President of IBS Mother Theresa visits in Hungary At the invitation of the late Cardinal Dr., László Lékai, archbishop of Esztergom, Mother Theresa, who had founded the order of the missionaries of love, visited Budapest. Her name and work are widely know in the whole world. She was born to a peasant family in Albania, became nun and founder of a relitious order. She is still active in the slums of Calcutta and other places to help the victims of hunger, alcoholism and drug addiction. For her work to help the outcasts of society she has received many honors, including the Nobel Prize in 1979. While in Hungary, she visited Máriaremete, the Farkasrét, the Home of Christian Charity named after Pope John XXIII, and conducted a ministration in the Városmajor Roman Catholic Church. (HCP) Joseph Pulitzer and the „Statue of Liberty” Did you know that the ,,Statue of Liberty" cost the French nation $400,000? But did you know that the pedestal of the ,,Statue of Liberty" cost the American people $250,000? First the Nation did not care to pay for the pedestal. The necessary funds were raised by a Joseph Pulitzer, the owner of the two biggest newspapers of that time, the New York ,, World"and the St. Louis „Post-Dispatch”. Joseph Pulitzer was born in 1847, the son of a grain and onion dealer in Mako, Hungary. He came to the United States in 1864. By the 1880’s he became one of the most famous American newspaper writers. In editorials, feature stones and cartoons. Joseph Pulitzer persuaded the American people that this was a statue they just had to have. The Nation agreed and $280,000 was raised. Pulitzer printed the name of every donor in his newspapers. On October, 1886. the ,,Statue of Liberty” was inaugurated, thanks to the efforts of a Hungarian immigrant, Joseph Pulitzer. Frank Csoboth------------■-------------------- ----------When looking for faults, use a MIRROR not a TELESCOPE —
