August 21, 2004

Bibles in Brazil

Several people have sent me this story, but World Magazine beat me to the punch in reporting it. Oh well.

It seems the Brazil has become one of the world powerhouses for Bible printing. Here are a couple of my own takes on this story:

1. This is a tremendous example of the power of God at work. I have talked to veteran missionaries who can remember when people were persecuted in Brazil for selling Bibles. One missionary told me of a time when they went to a particular city, and found a sign awaiting them at the entrance which read "Dear Protestants: Please stay out. Barbalha of Saint Anthony is already evangelized." I had the privilege of being in the service where the grandson of the man who erected that sign accepted Christ. God is truly at work in Brazil.

2. The danger is that this kind of article will give the impression that Brazil is already an evangelized country. The assertion made in the article that 15% of Brazilians are "evangelicals" uses a very broad definition of the term. Many of these so-called evangelicals belong to fringe groups--such as the explosively growing Universal Church of the Kingdom of God--which preach a watered-down version of the gospel at best.

3. Careful attention should be paid to the following quote from the article:

The Bible craze is not limited to Protestants. Seibert said the charismatic movement among Roman Catholics is also strong in Brazil, generating even more demand. The society, although rooted in Protestantism, does not hesitate to print Roman Catholic Bibles.

Brazil's tradition of piety has also made the Bible into a kind of status symbol and Lobello said nearly every family owns one.

This "tradition of piety" encourages people to own a copy of the Bible--and this is good--but not to read it. The Bible becomes yet another idol or good-luck charm in a home filled with such idols and charms.

Posted by Andrew on August 21, 2004 12:04 PM.