PRESS CENSORSHIP EXTENDS TO THE BIBLE.
THERE is curious editing of the Bible now going on in Turkey. The general censorship of the press there extends to the Bible, and the sultan also, with rare caution, insists that the Scripture shall be edited so as not to conflict with his own authority. Take an instance or two for example. He declares that the expression "thy kingdom come" in the Lord's prayer must be cut out of Bibles before they can be circulated in his dominions.264He says his kingdom is already there and he doesn't want any other kingdom coming and interfering with his rights. All references to the kingdom of heaven are looked upon with suspicion and will have to be either cut out or rewritten so as to cast no reflection on the sultan. Some changes are especially curious. The lesson from the fourth chapter of Luke, from the fourteenth to the twenty-first verses, must be stricken out, because it speaks of the liberty of the gospel, and the word "liberty" implies something offensive toward the existing government. Sorrow changed into joy, as illustrated in the lesson from Jer. 30: 7-16, is suppressed. It speaks of the return of the Israelites from captivity, and there may be treason lurking in the lesson. So the changes run, making a Bible curious and unique.—Lutheran Witness.