BRAZIL — Helping Christians grapple with the meaning and origins of Scripture; creating opportunities for the public to engage with it; producing formats and styles that make it accessible to more and more people; taking Bible-inspired social action that makes a real difference – the work of the Bible Society of Brazil (BSB) shows that, however the Bible is encountered, it guides and inspires people in their everyday lives.

Going deeper: Bible Sciences Forum

“It is a most welcome initiative, a way for the BSB to help enrich the history of the Brazilian Christian community,” said speaker Wilson Paroschi while “ an experience which lets us grow in faith,” is how the Rev Alexandre Santos Oliveira, President of the Presbyterian Church of Brazil of Sorocaba, put it.

Theology students, religious leaders, teachers and Bible students spent three days plunging deep into Bible study at the Bible Sciences Forum. Held at the Bible Museum in Barueri over June 8-10, the forum was organised by the Bible Society and supported by some of the most important theological institutions in the country. Nine specialists took the audience through subjects as diverse as translation, evangelisation and historical research. The event was warmly received, with many urging the Society to repeat the event.

“The valuable and very fine work of the Bible Society leads, by the grace of God, to the production of works of love, that enduring love that sprouts from the sown Word, which . . . grows vigorously, in the light of prayer and bears fruit a hundred to one,” said Domingos Zamanga.

On the way to the Forum

For the Bible Society, organising such a major event centrally was a natural progression from the local Bible Sciences Seminars that it has run for some years. The most recent of these was held over April 14-15 in Manaus, attended by 500 people. Designed for churches, Christian leaders and lay leaders, the seminar explored questions relating to the translation of the Bible. It created much interaction and many found it illuminating. “Before taking part in this seminar, it was as if I was in the dark,” said Pastor Fernando Antonio de Melo e Paula.

Other Bible Science Seminars will take place throughout 2005. But the Bible Society is not only concerned with helping churches to grow in confidence with the Bible, it continues to take its activity to the public.

Scrolls

A replica of a cave in Qumran, Israel, is the centrepiece of an interactive exhibition at the Bible Museum in Barueri. It was in such a cave that the Dead Sea Scrolls – the most valuable relics of the Old Testament – were discovered in 1947.

Now, visitors of all ages can explore the cave for themselves and learn about the extraordinary legacy that the discovery provided for humanity. The displays also feature significant Bibles from the Bible Society’s collection. Models, maps, images and photographs, Bible extracts, reproduction artefacts of the era and interactive games and puzzles form the rest of the exhibition.

Exploring the Bible in such a context is important, but the Bible Society also wants to see the Bible impact other areas of everyday life. An ongoing initiative aims to ensure that Religious Education is introduced to more and more towns and that young people understand the relevance of the Bible for their lives.

Community impact

In partnership with the City Hall of Paulista, in Pernambuco, and the Bible Society, more than 15,000 students could be impacted by Studying with the Bible, a project aiming to contribute to the effective introduction of Religious Education in educational institutions and to strengthen ethical and spiritual values among children and adolescents.

Part of the Social Action in Schools program, Studying with the Bible not only makes biblical literature available but also works to raise the teaching, social and economic profile of school communities in order to meet the requirements for introducing Religious Education in a town.

“Using the profile of the school communities, we can plan action, which meets the specific needs of each school and town,” explains Alice Giraldi, the Society’s Social Action Secretary.

Already successful in reaching 14,000 students over two years in Jandira, Studying with the Bible is a thoughtful way to bring the Bible into the everyday experience of young people.

Young people in schools are not the only group that the Bible Society is trying to help. The visually impaired have often been excluded from access to the Bible simply because it is not available in Braille. But the Bible Society is working to change that.

Braille Bible inspires senators

On May 31, the Society donated a copy of the complete Bible in Braille to the Luiz Viana Academic Library. Its 38 volumes and Reading Guide ensure that visually impaired people can now access the whole of Scripture. Nearly 100 people took part in the presentation ceremony, including senators and federal deputies.

“This is a unique publication because it represents an achievement in citizenship for our country,” said Ms Giraldi. “A timeless and universal work such as the Bible in Braille translates eloquently. This is an effort undertaken to ensure equal rights and opportunities for all.”

The Society’s donation of the Braille Bible prompted one senator to urge his fellow senators to publish some of their own publications in Braille, since the demand from the visually impaired is considerable.

Street dwellers in the port of Recife will be helped through a new partnership for the Bible Society’s ongoing program Social Action Together with People in Risk Situations. The program works by entering into partnerships with governmental and non-governmental organisations. The new partnership, with the Social Welfare and Citizenship Institute, will benefit 100 families who, since May, have begun to receive regular basic baskets of food and biblical publications.

The range of these projects and programs shows that, as it inspires the Church and brings its richness to the wider community, the Bible is always at the heart of change.