Sowing the Word: The Cultural Impact of the British and Foreign Bible Society 1804-2004
£19.50 – £60.00
In March 2004, a group of 30 historians who have been fascinated by the work of the British and Foreign Bible Society met in London to share their researches, in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Society (now part of the United Bible Societies).
In March 2004, a group of 30 historians who have been fascinated by the work of the British and Foreign Bible Society met in London to share their researches, in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Society (now part of the United Bible Societies).
A common thread to their papers was the indelible effect the Society’s work has had around the world, not only in bringing the Bible to people of many countries in their own language, but also in helping to create many national identities and cultures. The Bible was often the first printed book in a language, and so the primer for those learning to read. It had an enormous influence on education, the development of written languages, and the outlook of leaders and ordinary people alike throughout Europe, Asia and Africa.
In the 19 papers of this volume, focussing on Britain, West Africa, East Asia, Russia, Europe and North America, readers will find a wealth of absorbing detail. There are the stories of those who translated the Bible into the languages of China and Russia, into the native languages of nineteenth-century Canada, and into many other languages of the world. There are the intriguing tales of those who distributed Bibles, including the many women such as the Bible Women, who found a freedom they otherwise lacked in organizing networks for circulating the Scriptures.
Not forgotten either are those colourful characters, like the maverick George Borrow in Spain, who took enormous risks for the Society in selling Bibles in countries where a vernacular Bible was not welcomed by the authorities.
Additional information
| table of contents | Foreword Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury Introduction The Editors The Archives of the British and Foreign Bible Society Kathleen Cann PART ONE: THE BFBS AT HOME The Bible Society and the Book Trade Leslie Howsam Women and the Bible Society Roger Martin Forgotten Labours: Women's Bible Work and the BFBS Sarah Lane “Without Note or Comment”: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow Roger Steer London Bible House in the 1950s: An Illustrated Reminiscence John Dean PART TWO: THE BFBS ABROAD West Africa John Hill and the Early Attempt to Study a West African Language Patricia Mirrlees East Asia Anonymous Bible Translators: Native Literati and the Translation of the Bible into Chinese, 1807-1907 Thor Strandenaes Problems in Translating the Bible into Manchu: Observations on Louis Poirot's Old Testament Erling von Mende Russia The BFBS Petersburg Agency and Russian Biblical Translation, 1856-1875 Stephen Batalden Bishop Cassian's BFBS-Sponsored Russian Translation of the New Testament Sergei Ovsiannikov Minority Language Biblical Translation Work in Russia: Then and Now David Clark The Levant and Southeastern Europe Enlightening “A Poor, Oppressed, and Darkened Nation”: Some Early Activities of the BFBS in the Levant Richard Clogg The Bible Society's South Slavic Bible in the Balkan Maelstrom Peter Kuzmi_ Western Europe Robert Pinkerton: Principal Agent of the BFBS in the Kingdoms of Germany Wayne Detzler Obedience and Disobedience: George Borrow's Idiosyncratic Relationship with the Bible Society Ann Ridler The Bible in Spain and Gibraltar Sue Jackson North America The BFBS and Native Language Literature in Nineteenth-Century Canada Joyce Banks At Sea Sowing by Sea: Empowering Seafarers with the Gospel Roald Kverndal Appendix: A Summary Catalogue of the BFBS Archives Kathleen Cann |
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Peter Sherlock, Church Times. –
Sowing the Word makes a significant contribution to the debate about the relationship of Christianity and culture, of missions and empire … This is a well balanced collection, ranging from geographical, thematic, and biographical chapters to personal reminiscences that capture the culture of the Society’s work.
Yaakov Shavit, Review of Biblical Literature –
This collection is a welcome contribution to the exceptional story of how the Bible became a universal Book of Books.