God's Irony/Sovereignty/Humor

Posted by: John Thompson

I was blown away by this article.

Atheist China set to become world's top Bible producer

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chronicle/5856369.html

Some notable quotes are:

"I welcome this move," Anthony Lam, a researcher at the Holy Spirit Study Center in Hong Kong, said of the production of Bibles in China. "We still hope Chinese officials will recognize the importance of religious freedom. But it's always a good thing (to see them printing Bibles), no matter if they are atheists or believers, as long as they print it honestly."

Do we have a Holy Spirit Study Center in the U.S.? If so I want to go.

"We have the same structure as a Motorola or a Philips," said Dean, a New Zealander who has worked with the company in China since 1991. "They make cell phones and TV tubes, and we're producing Bibles."

Oh, poor them, they never met the disciple John or read what he wrote. (John 1)

Manager Li's crowded office brims with all shapes and sizes of the foreign gospel. He says he is too busy to read the book to which he has devoted 20 years of his life. Instead, he says, he is preoccupied with the quality and variety of the product.

Talk about a guy who has no clue of his purpose and destiny on earth. What does Jesus say to this guy at the Great White Throne judgement (assuming my theology/escatology is correct)? Well... you produced my word and were responsible for the salvation of many because many read it and believed, BUT, YOU NEVER READ IT YOURSELF... ::Jesus kicks poor Li into the fire:: We should pray for Li so we don't have to see that.

"Here is a Zulu Bible," he said, picking up a bright pink book with a cover that sparkled like broken mirrors. "Some people may want to throw up just looking at this color. Others see it as a potential bestseller, especially if you market it with a pair of pink high-heeled shoes."

I'm not even going to touch this one... Guys maybe this could be that next great gift for your wife or girlfriend- presumably all women like shoes. You could polish it off with a copy of Rosetta Stone.

"Before I came to work here, I had never heard of the Bible," said Yi Shuhong, 40, a 20-year employee.
Like many co-workers her age, she had years of exposure to the holy text at work, and that helped open her heart to Christianity.
Those who converted said they were won over by proselytizers who came to their homes and who perhaps believed that their jobs made them more willing to listen.
"No one in my family believes in God," Yi said. "But they are not against me for converting."

Apparently the words evangelizing or witnessing is insufficient nowadays. I can't picture my brothers in the southeast US saying, "How was visitin' last night Billy? We had a great night of proselytizin' and visitation! Praise the Lord!" Well at least somebody in the factory read what they were producing.

To add to the "blownawayness" I found out last night that the word Bible can be traced back to the Phoenician word Byblos (a port in which they used to export papyrus). Jezebel was a Phoenician. This creeped me out a little bit- a lot actually.