Untitled article | AdventAI

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Third-day, November 5, 1867

FromAdvent Review and Sabbath Herald, Vol. XXX, No. 21

Bibles at the Exposition.

The purposes and probable results of the Paris Exposition, in the advancement of the arts, have largely occupied the attention of the public press during the past season; but one feature, which possibly may prove the most beneficial of all, has not received the notice which it merits. We refer to the “Bible stand.”

“As you enter the precincts of the Palace by the Porte d’Iéna, the principal door facing the Seine, turn by the first path on your right. You will see the space of ground occupied by Great Britain for its evangelical missions. At that window stands a young German; at the next, an Englishman, highly honored as the chief promoter of this Christian enterprise; at the third, a Frenchman; at the fourth, a converted Jew, whose energy and deep conviction have so greatly contributed to the success of this work; at the next, a Russian gentleman; at the other, an Italian, and at the neighboring window, a Spaniard, who for two years was the fellow-prisoner of Matamoras, and whose mission it is now to distribute the Scriptures to his own countrymen, as well as to the Portuguese. These men distribute to the hungry throng of visitors thousands of copies of the Word of God, most beautifully printed in fifteen different languages. ”

“Mr. J. Alexander distributed, even before the opening of the Exhibition, more than 12,000 portions of Scriptures among the workmen employed in the construction of the building. He informed me, in answer to a question which I put to him, that nearly 2,000,000 detached books of the Bible had, since the

inauguration of the Champ de Mars Palace, been handed to the passers-by, of every nation, of every country, Cretans and Arabians, Chinese and Abyssinians, Turks and Europeans. To the Spanish Papist, as well as to the French Voltarian; to the fanatic Brahmin, as well as to the indifferent Protestant; to the Sabbath breaker, as well as to the faithful observer of Mohammedanism; to the skeptic, as well as to the religions; to the votary of pleasure; to the nun and monk, who expect to reach Heaven by reckoning the number of beads which compose their rosaries—have these little books been distributed. On Easter-day, 28,551 portions, and on Pentecost Sunday, 34,000 were given away. The incorruptible seed has been sown, in fact, broadcast this year, through every country, by these gospel ouvriers, with the full assurance that it will germinate and bring forth fruit for the great harvest-tide.”

“Immense has already been the success of this work. At first, numbers of skeptical Parisians accepted the little book with a smile of contempt and mockery, or else with a feeling of surprise, thinking they were mere prospectuses, like those which are delivered on the boulevards, to make known to the passers-by to what place they ought to resort in order to obtain a first-rate coat, or a cheap dinner. Hundreds of copies were even torn, and thrown away with contempt. But this did not last long, and the people now accept with profound respect and deep thanks these little volumes. Among foreigners especially this mission has had important results. If you question some of the Christian men engaged in this work, they will inform you that those among them who have had to deal with Spaniards, Jews, and Russians, are amply satisfied with the result of their labor, and have never met with a better field for the spreading of the Gospel. A member of the imperial commission applied to the society that a copy of the Scriptures should be distributed to every concierge in Paris; a thousand copies have been sent over from England in answer to this demand. On the day of the distribution of the prizes, the men on duty who kept the line, as well as the officers in command, even broke their ranks in their eagerness to accept the Gospels distributed by the English emissary from the Bible-stand. The general in command of the troops gave them permission to receive the books, and a thousand were given among them. Seven hundred privates have daily free admittance to the Palace, and the first duty the distributor attends to is that each man should have the gospel. Priests even are constantly seen to approach the stand. A cure, belonging to a Paris church, who had received the Gospel, returned the following day, and applied for three hundred for a deaf and dumb institution of which he had the management. The poor children can neither hear nor speak, but they can read. His demand was instantly granted.”

“The great ones of this world have not been neglectful of the Bible stand. The Prince of Wales, the Grand Duke Constantine, the King of Prussia, the Princess of Prussia, and the Viceroy of Egypt, have one and all paid a visit to the Bible stand, and left it taking away with them not only the Old Testament, but the Gospels in fifteen different languages. It was noticed, that, as the Viceroy drove away from the Exhibition, he was reading one of these little volumes. M. Haussman, the Prefet de la Seine, takes a great interest in the institution. The Emperor himself walked thoughtfully round the Bible kiosk, apparently amazed at the eagerness with which the people were seeking the Word of God. Hundreds of Catholic priests have with thankfulness accepted the books. On one occasion, two Roman Catholic curates came up together, and were accosted by a bigoted lady, a Papist, who spoke bitterly of the stand being a hot bed of heretical propaganda, and warned the crowd not to touch any of the little books. When she saw the priests accepting them, she expressed the utmost astonishment, and exclaimed: ‘It is a Protestant book!’ ‘No,’ observed one of the priests, ‘tis neither Protestant nor Catholic—c’est véritablement la parole de Dieu.’ ‘[It is the true Word of God.]’ That English liberality has provided the means for this enterprise is a matter of deep thanksgiving.”—London Star.