The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1887, Page 10

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10 The Lutheran Pioneer.

The Bible in Italy.

A Christian minister from Italy writes as fol-
lows: ‘‘ Thirty years ago this toleration of the
Bible was unknown and impossible. Now,
notwithstanding the rural population are igno-
rant, and still follow blindly the priest, good

-work is being done. The first time I visited
Italy as a student, some thirty-seven years ago,
I could not purchase a single copy of the Bible
without note or comment—no, not even a por-
tion of it—except in the little kingdom of Sar-
dinia, and even there the right to buy and sell
a Bible had only existed two years. In 1852
a seminary mate of mine was imprisoned in
Florence for explaining the Bible. But now
we may say that in the great centres, excepting
Rome, the Bible has been accessible for a quarter

* ofacentury. Within twenty-five years the sales
have been as follows: 186,495 copies of entire
Bible; 450,719 New Testaments; and 596,459
Portions, i. e., copies of a single Gospel or
Epistle: making in all 1,233,673 copies. Now
if only two-thirds of these are in existence,
there would be nearly a Bible for every 200,
one Testament and a Portion to every 100 Ital-
ians. Of course the sacred word has not been
thus evenly dispersed, for there are regions
where not only the colporteur has not been,
but there are whole communities in Italy very
little known to the outside world, and almost
unvisited by the inhabitants of the Italian cities.
The work is, however, going on, and during
the year 1885 the thirty-seven colporteurs have
penetrated remote districts, where perhaps for
years to come no preacher of the gospel will
set his foot.

The result of this colportage and other efforts
for diffusing the Scriptures in the year 1885
has been a very marked success for non-reading
and non-book-buying Italy. Last year over
90,000 copies of Bibles, New Testaments, and
Portions were sold in the depots of the cities
and towns, and by the colporteurs in the far
more difficult and ignorant country communi-
ties. The number of Bibles sold was 5,071; of
New Testaments, 16,042; of Portions, 69,140.
The free grants were 5,426, about 4,000 of
which were in New Testaments to the Italian
soldiers starting for military posts held by Italy
at Massowah, and other points on the Red Sea,
In view of the sales of over 90,000 Bibles,
Testaments, and Portions, it is with pardonable
pride that Signor Meilli (Agent of the British
and Foreign Bible Society) writes: ‘* As far as
I have been able to ascertain, there is no book
in the Italian language that finds, year after
year, more buyers—and let us hope, more
readers—than the Holy Scriptures.’’

One or two incidents will illustrate the char-
acter of this work. In Milan, Signor Ghelfi

thad the happy thought of displaying in the
window of the Bible depot, a large quarto Bible
‘for passers-by to read, taking care to turn the
‘page every morning. He soon observed that
‘two or three of those whose business led them
. daily past his door, stopped to read their two

pages of the Bible before going to their work. | cially the Swedes, have been firm friends of the

One morning he heard one of these men com-| cause of the Jewish missions also. ‘The confer-
plain that the page had not been turned. It|ence decided to appoint a committee of nine,
was turned at once, and a conversation followed. | three from each of the Scandinavian countries,
The result was that this man was led to the|to make arrangements for a similar and second
truth, and has since joined one of the Protestant | joint mission meeting to be held in 1889, either
Italian churches in Milan. in Christiania or Copenhagen. The meeting

At a village in Lombardy two colporteurs | was a great success, and doubtless will give the
sold many: gospels to the people as they came | missionary cause in the northern kingdoms a
out of church on a fete day. The priest ap-}renewed and powerful impetus. Doctrinally
peared on the scene, and getting hold of a copy, | the conference decided to stand upon the basis
tore it to pieces. Gerelli, the elder colporteur | of the confession of the Lutheran Church, the
of the two, quietly observed to the people that | official and State Church of all these countries.
this insult was not done to him, but to God’s Ex.
word! The remark struck home, and the priest
had the mortification to see the torn leaves
picked up by many and read with avidity.
The ‘irrepressible conflict’’ took a very differ-| If we would have a just sense of the awful
ent turn from’ what he had expected, for the|reality of the government of God, His wrath
sale of the ‘‘ Portions’’ became more brisk than | against sin, and the true character of His holi-
ness, we must gaze at the cross; we must hearken
to that bitter cry that issued from the heart of
the Son of God and broke through the dark
shadows of Calvary, ‘‘My God, My God, why
hast Thou forsaken Me?’’

Up to the present year there has been no co-| Never had such a question been asked before,
operation of the various Scandinavian Foreign | never has such a question been asked since, and
Mission societies. Some weeks ago, however, | never shall—never can such a question be asked
the first General Mission Conference of the|again. Whether we consider the One who
churches of Scandinavia was held in Gothen-| asked it, the One of whom it was asked, or the
burg and 1,084 representatives from Sweden, | answer, we must see that the question stands
Norway, Denmark and Finland were present. | absolutely alone in the annals of eternity. The
The Lutheran Norwegian Mission Society has | cross is the measure of God’s hatred of sin, as
been laboring chiefly among the Zulus and in it is the measure of His love to the sinner. It
Madagascar. The Zulu mission was commenced | is the imperishable foundation of the throne of
in 1873. The Madagascar work has been most | grace, the divinely righteous ground on which
prosperous, and since 1867 about 7;000 heathen | God can pardon our sins and constitute us per-
have been baptized, and about 30,000 children | fectly righteous in a risen and glorified Christ.
are instructed in the mission schools. The C. H. M.
Finnish Society was founded in 1858, and for
five years co-operated with the Gosner Society.
In 1862 a missionary seminary was opened in
Finland, and work was commenced on the} .It had been enough (in enumerating the fruits
western coast of Africa. The Finnish mission- | of the Spirit) to have said love and no more:
aries have translated a portion of the Scripture | for love expandeth itself into all the fruits of
intothe Ovambolanguage. The Swedish Church | the Spirit, when he saith, ‘‘Love is patient,
has an older Mission record. Not only was the | courteous,” etc.
work carried on among the American Indians} Our love to our neighbors should be like a
in the days of Gustavus Adolphus, but almost | pure, chaste love between bride and bridegroom,
a century earlier Gustavus Vasa sent mission- | by which all infirmities are veiled, covered, and
aries to the Lapps. In 1818, the first foreign | made the best of, and only virtues looked at.
mission journal appeared in Swedish, and the| The law of Christ is the law of love. And
Swedish Society was established in 1836, and | to love is not merely to wish well one to another,
again took up the work in Lapland. In 1845] but to bear one another’s burdens, that is, to
missionaries were sent to Enst India, while | bear those things which are grievous unto thee,
another Swedish society labored elsewhere. The|and which thou wouldst not willingly bear.
Swedes, like the Norwegians, are laboring among | Therefore Christians must have strong shoulders
the Zulus, where they have three missionaries. | and powerful bones, that they may bear flesh,
In East India and elsewhere many of the Swedes | that is to say, the weakness of their brethren;
co-operate with German societies—e. g., in the|for Paul says that they have burdens and
work in Abyssinia and Egypt. ‘The Danish| troubles. Love is mild, patient, courteous.
Mission Society was founded in 1821, and was Tnither.
at first connected with the Basel Society, but in Pichu es ie
1864 commenced independent mission work in] When two truths seem directly opposed to
India. The society is also at work in Green-|each other, we must not question either, but
land, where about 7,000 Christians are under | remember there is a third—God—who reserves
their missionaries. The Scandinavians, espe-|to himself the right to harmonize them.

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God’s Hatred of Sin.

ever.

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Lutheran Missions.

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Love.