Leviticus?

By Philip De Vere, via Wikimedia Commons (license CC 3.0)

Recent research shows that when local people have a say in how the Bible is translated into their language, it will be more widely read and have greater impact. So translation programs in Ghana now include consultations with local people, pastors and community leaders. When asked what book of the Bible they wanted to translate next, pastors and key lay leaders in the Delo language community in Ghana said that they wanted Leviticus. According to them, Leviticus will be most useful for evangelism, discipling believers, preaching, teaching and personal reading.

Delo translators with model of the Tabernacle

One Delo Christian pointed out that many of his people still follow traditional religion with practices very much like those described in Leviticus. He said that it is from Leviticus that he can build an effective bridge to the Gospel. I don’t think very many Americans Christians would name Leviticus as the book of the Bible they need most or first. Nor would they be likely to cite a verse from Leviticus when  talking to others about their faith. 

One of the realities and challenges of working in another culture is that what is most relevant might be different than you think. It’s not that the truth changes, not at all. But which part of the Bible is immediately relevant changes a lot.

By the way, did you know that the inscription on the Liberty Bell includes part of a verse from Leviticus?  The inscription reads in part:

Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants thereof

Apparently those who designed the bell thought Leviticus was relevant to their political views. 

Mary’s song

Courtesy Brooklyn Museum

Mary’s song of praise is part of the story of Christmas. It is found in Luke 1. 

Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.
How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,
and from now on all generations will call me blessed.
For the Mighty One is holy,
and he has done great things for me.
He shows mercy from generation to generation
to all who fear him.
His mighty arm has done tremendous things!
He has scattered the proud and haughty ones.
He has brought down princes from their thrones
and exalted the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away with empty hands.
He has helped his servant Israel
and remembered to be merciful.
For he made this promise to our ancestors,
to Abraham and his children forever.

Luke 1:46-55 (NLT)

This is quite a display of sophisticated theology for a simple peasant girl! Mary weaves her understanding of the Bible into her understanding of history, her circumstances, God’s promises and their fulfillment.

Lamin Sanneh, a professor at Yale, has written:

The Christian approach …. [contends] that the greatest and most profound religious truths are compatible with everyday language, and [targets] ordinary men and women as worthy bearers of the religious message.
Lamin Sanneh. Christian Missions and the Western Guilt Complex

We see this at work in Africa where large and successful churches were started and led by people with low or no education but who devoured the Bible in their own languages. In fact, that is still happening today. Let none of us think that we are too ordinary to grasp or announce great Bible truths, or that others are too ordinary. The first translations of the Bible into English sprang from that same democratic ideal – that ordinary people would understand. When we translate the Bible into the languages of ordinary people we show that we have the same confidence in them that God has in them and in us. 

That’s actually a Christmas message because Christmas shows us that God has confidence that ordinary humans will understanding his ultimate message when it comes down. 

Supporting Bible Translation

Sometimes when speaking to a US church or church group, I have been asked what is the most important thing the church can do to support our ministry. The answer is: make the Bible a key part of your life. I am doing Bible translation because studying the Bible changed me. Why would people who are not passionate about the Bible give so that others can have the Bible? Why would they care that there are people who do not have the Bible in their language? On the other hand, people who find life, hope and power in God’s Word understand why others need to have that same Word.

Besides, it has been shown that the surest way to grow in faith and Christian spirituality is to study the Bible with others. It is even more effective than attending church or reading the Bible personally; not that I am proposing that you stop doing either of those!

The American Bible Society recommends:

• Declaring your confidence in God’s living and active Word
• Renewing your personal daily encounter with God in Scripture
• Giving the Bible a central place in your life
• Inviting others to engage with the Scriptures

If you want to support Bible translation, then the first thing to do is to cultivate a passion for the Bible in your life that encourages and strengthens you. Besides, it will grow your faith. 

What’s Africa like?

When we arrived in Burkina Faso (then Upper Volta) in 1978, gas stations were just gas stations. They had gas pumps and a small office. You stopped there to get gas, nothing more. There might be a sign but the price was not posted. The price was pretty much the same everywhere, so posting it served no purpose.

In 1999 we moved to Kenya where, at the time, gas stations were also mostly just gas stations. Although some had vehicle services like tire repair. But mostly you just went there for gas. They had signs and the price was usually posted.

A few years later I found myself making trips to the northeast corner of the Congo. There gas stations were … well, they kind of weren’t. If you drove a motorcycle, you stopped for gas at crude wooden tables by the roadside on top of which sat old liquor bottles filled with gasoline. Most drivers bought a fifth at a time. Once in a hefty 4X4, we pulled up to a mud hut from which the attendant rolled out a 55 gallon drum of fuel which he poured into a 20-liter container for measurement and from there it went into the vehicle – at more than $10 per gallon if I remember correctly. In the NE of Congo, I only saw one functioning gas station.

We are now in Ghana were gas stations post the price on their electronic sign. In a first in my experience, the gas pumps sometimes talk to me. In a first for me in Africa, the pumps sometimes have a slot for a credit or debit card. The stations mostly have nice, air-conditioned convenience stores with cold drinks, snacks, sometimes a hot food deli or even an adjoining restaurant/snack bar. Dayle has a favorite ice cream bar she sometimes gets when we stop for gas in Accra. Along major roads you will find full-service stops with sit-down dining, quick take away, restrooms, and fuel.

Sometimes people in the US ask me what Africa is like. Well it’s like its gas stations – there’s a lot of variation. Is the US like Arizona or Florida? Miami, Seattle, Las Vegas or Salt Lake City?

By the way, Ghana is definitely like Oregon because in both places an attendant pumps the gas for you.

Size of Africa

Each country show by its flag