The scribes of old had to painstakingly handcopy God’s Word to reproduce more copies but the art has long gone with the invention of the printing machine.
The Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) is reviving this ancient form through the launch of its New Millennium Handwritten Bible, a historical project that offers Malaysian Christians the opportunity to handwrite verses from the Bahasa Alkitab.
Only one copy of the handwritten Bahasa Alkitab will be produced for future public display in the coming BSM Bible Museum that will showcase the Bibles of East Asia.
The project is also an innovative way to raise funds as ‘scribes’ will have to donate RM1 for each verse and RM20 for the first verse of every chapter they write. BSM hopes to raise RM50,000 for Amity Press to buy and distribute Bibles to Christians in China.
BSM General Secretary Dr Victor Wong is calling all churches and Christians in Malaysia to come together to complete the assignment. To date, several school groups and churches have responded to the call.
"Through our collective effort, we are standing in solidarity with our suffering brethren in China, many of whom have to handcopy the Bible because they are too poor to pay for a printed copy.
"And as we handcopy the verses, we internalise God’s Word, just as the scribes of old did, and affirm its sovereignty over our lives," Dr Wong adds.
The one-year project was launched on Nov 24 by Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of West Malaysia, the Rt Rev. Tan Sri Datuk Dr Lim Cheng Ean; Bishop Gideon Chang of the Lutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore; and NECF Malaysia Secretary-General Rev. Wong Kim Kong. They each wrote a verse of the Book of Revelation.
More than 300 leaders from various denominations attended the launch.
The last shall be first – Revelations was the first book to be handcopied at the launch. From left: BSM ‘s Dr Victor Wong, Bishop Gideon Chang, the Rt Rev. Tan Sri Datuk Dr Lim Cheng Ean, and Rev. Wong Kim Kong. |
