MMRC: Illiteracy: blindness to the Word of God

Illiteracy: blindness to the Word of God
by Justin D. Long

Illiterate/Nonliterate adults ... 1,035 million Illiteracy as % of all adults ... 29% Growth in illiterate adults ..... 9 million p.a. Source: World Evangelization Database (1990)

One of the most powerful tools for evangelization, of course, is the Bible. Over 2,500 languages have the Scriptures translated into their tongue. Over 5,600 languages have at least portions complete. 1.4 billion copies of the Scriptures of various varities (portions, New Testaments, or the whole Bible) are distributed every year.

The impact is enormous. The Bible League, for example, has said that, on average, for every Bible distributed in China, 5 converts are the direct result. Certainly, evangelization efforts among any people group are severely hampered by the absence of Scripture, and the lack of Bibles among Christians yields the potential for error and heresy.

However, there is a substantial barrier, even when the Scriptures are translated, that many Christians interested in world evangelization haven't even thought about -- illiteracy. Nearly 1 in 5 people on our planet cannot read the Bible, even if it is produced in their own language--and that grows, as shown above, by 9 million adults per annum.

This doesn't just affect the Bible distribution. The "Jesus" film is often translated into an interim version using subtitles. Illiteracy means that a viewer cannot read those subtitles.

Simply translating and distributing the Scriptures will in many cases not be enough. Peoples will have to be taught to read the Scriptures as well.

Suggestions

Governments which are hostile to Christianity will sometimes be open to education programs, including literacy programs. Some Bible translators have found this to be a viable ministry option.
"New Reader" versions of the Bible are simplified forms of the Gospels, heavily illustrated, and are very useful particularly for people who are just beginning to learn to read.
Charitable givers ought to find out if there is a literacy program attached to a Bible translation project, and determine how it's level of funding is in comparison to the project as a whole. Literacy programs may deserve special funding.