Adventist
News Network - 2 April 2002
Posted 8 April 2002 on RELIGIOSCOPE
The
Institute for Christian Studies at People's University in
Beijing is planning a Bible translation in modern Chinese
to be sold in ordinary bookstores throughout China.
According
to Professor Yang Huilin, his institute is cooperating closely
in this project with Nanjing Union Theological Seminary in
Jiangsu Province. To date, the sale of Bibles in China has
been restricted to church buildings and is not easily available
to the vast majority of Chinese people.
Although
welcoming any effort to increase production of Bibles in China,
some religious leaders have expressed concerns about the reliability
of the new state-sponsored translation and say they will await
its release before giving their unreserved approval to the
project.
Since
1987, the Amity Printing Company in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province
has been printing Bibles and other related materials. This
company also prints legal versions of the Seventh-day Adventist
books Desire of Ages and Christ Object Lessons. They have
published some 28 million copies of Scripture, which are distributed
through 70 local distribution centers.
Despite
this, religious leaders say the Bible is not easy to obtain
for the average Chinese. "What are 28 million Bibles
among 1.3 billion people?" says one leader who does not
wish to be named. "There are millions upon millions of
people who do not have the least idea where to get a Bible."
The leader also cites the high cost of Bibles as another barrier:
"In poorer rural areas of China, even the cheapest RMB
6.5 yuan Bible [US$ 0.80] is simply not affordable."
Bettina
Krause
Copyright ©
2002 Adventist News Network.
ANN World
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