The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1896-09-05
BIBLE TRANSLATION AND CIR
CULATION.

To one who is not very familiar with
the translation and circulation of the
Scriptures into foreign tongues, the
following facts and figures collated
from four or five entirely reliable
sources will be interesting. The
British and Foreign Bible Society
was organized in 1904 and the Amer
lean Bible Society in 1916. Since
then similar societies have been or
ganized, until they now number
eighty. The Bible has, during the
present century, been translated into
$50 languages, and 35O,OOO,OOO copies
and portions of copies have been is
sued in near y 400 tongues which are
the languages and dialects of nine
tenths of the human race. During
the last year more copies of the Scrip
lures were circulated than existed in
the whole world at the beginning of
the present century. In connection
with the above-named facts, it may
be stated that, at that time $500 a
thousand million human beings, with
few scattered exceptions, were in
accessible to any Christian mission
airy of any denomination. Roman
Catholic missions were banished from
Japan in 1914, and the doors of that
country had been closed to all for
eigners. In India, as late as 1872, all
Christian teaching was forbidden.
China, Spain, Burmah and Corea
were inaccessible, as were also the is
lands of the sea; and death was the
penalty for landing on their shores.
The great regions of Africa were nm
explored and unknown, and a large
part of Christendom itself-the Ro-
man Catholic countries-were closed
against the entrance of the Gospel.
A wonderful growth in both civil and
religious liberty has been witnessed
during the present century.
China, Japan and India have been
opened to Christianity; slavery has
been abolished and Africa re-dis-
covered. In 1896, two missionary So
cieties were organized in England
and score or more of missionaries
were sent into foreign lands. These
small beginnings, contrasted with
the missionary enterprises of the diff
ferent denominations of the world,
show a great advance. Nearly or
quite all the principal denominations
of the world now have their mission
airy organization. These include
Baptists, Episcopalians, Congrega-
tionalists, Unitarians, Methodists,
Presbyterians, Universalists, Luther
ans and others, and their combined
statistics show great work for a
single century. There are now 22O
independent foreign missionary So
cieties with their five thousand prin-
cipal missionary stations, and about
nineteen thousand out-stations, with
between eleven and twelve thousand
missionaries and over seventy thous-
and native Christian workers. This
gives one a good idea of the vastness
of the work. One hundred years ago
all the converts in the now Christian
world numbered but a few hundred.
Now the actual enrolled number is
between one and two millions. One
of the English missionary organiza.
tions received in contributions the
first year of its existence only S415.
Last year the reported receipts from
the various missionary organizations
amounted to over $l4,000,000, S., 900,
600 of which came from our own
country alone, while the native Chris
tians connected with American So
cieties contributed about S500,000.-
Boston Transcript.