As we wrap up our season of giving to provide an audio recording of the New Testament in the Chin-Tiddim language so that this unreached people will have the chance to hear the Gospel, I bring a word of warning: this could be a very dangerous effort!

If you are reading these words, your life has already been drastically altered because of the application of new technology to the distribution of the Word of God. Since you speak English, you should know that before middle of the fourteenth century, the New Testament had never been translated into the English language. John Wycliffe (about 1329-84) was a prominent philosopher teaching at Oxford University—until he began translating the Scriptures from Latin into English. He was tried, condemned, and excommunicated for the crime of teaching that the Bible was the one ground of faith, asserting that every man had the right to examine the Bible for himself. Therefore, he felt that the Scripture should be available in each person’s language . . . and he did something about it! He spent the rest of his days secluded in a small parsonage, translating the Bible into English and died alone. The story continues!

According to Foxe’s Christian Martyrs of the World, after Wycliffe’s death, a petition was presented to the pope, asking him to order Wycliffe’s body to be taken out of the cemetery and “buried in a dunghill. But forty years after, by a decree of the council of Constance, the old reformer’s bones were dug up and burned, and the ashes flung into the little river Swift . . ..” (p. 325) The story continues!

Here’s the technology part: About 1445 Johan Gutenberg began to pioneer with movable metal type at Mainz, Germany, and the first complete book known to have been printed in the Christian world was the Bible, in 1456. According to Dowley’s The History of Christianity, “Within two decades the invention spread north, south, east and west; printing presses were set up in Rome, Paris, Cracow and Westminster by 1476. By the time Luther was born in 1483, printing was well established throughout Europe. It was the most momentous invention since the stirrup; and a revolutionary step forward in technology. The story continues!

Because of Wycliffe’s sacrifice, English-speakers—including us—have had the opportunity to know Jesus. Applying Gutenberg’s “technology” paved the way for the Reformation. Will you trust God to use your sacrificial gift to fulfill His purpose? Make your gift and mark it “Chin NT Recording” . . . if you dare take the risk!

Jerry