News that’s always good
Br Finbarr Murphy from the Waterford De La Salle Community has shared his thoughts on the similar passion of Lasallians and Gideons.
‘We Gideons love to be invited to schools…to present our Bibles.’ (Adrian Jones, Carrickmines)
Here in De La Salle College Waterford last week I stumbled on a few copies of the Gideon bible in our school chaplain’s office. I feel a strange sense of excitement. The little books are comfortably portable, so I presume Dermot Dooley’s permission and steal a copy. Call it holy theft! The mini-volume consists of the New Testament, the Psalms, and Proverbs. Importantly, the entire texts are rendered in delightfully readable English.
The Gideons form a global association, banded together in more than 190 countries for fellowship and service. Working with Christian friends and many different churches, Gideons distribute 1.8 billion New Testaments to hotels, hospitals, prisons, to the armed forces, as well as to schools and hospitals.
Translations of the Gideon bible are available in all the main European languages, as well as in Chinese, Tamil, Hindi, Korean, Japanese, Sinhalese and Vietnamese. The Gideons have rendered in more than 1,100 languages that favourite verse of St John, 3:16; For God loved the world so much... This most popular quote is available to three quarters of the world’s population!
Lasallian at Heart
In some ways the Gideons are Lasallians at heart! Remember our Founder’s insistence on ‘the spirit and maxims of the Gospel’ as a central support for the faith and zeal that should animate the Brothers and all Lasallians. The Brothers’ Rule instructed them to carry a copy of the New Testament on their persons, and pass no day without reading from it. The copies formally presented to my Novitiate group in 1953, were pocket-portable, yes; but not nearly as neatly compact as today’s Gideon bible.
Samuel Hill
The Gideon organisation dates from 1898, and its Founders, Samuel Hill, John Nicholson and William Knights, all hailed from Wisconsin, USA. They were successful commercial travellers. Over two centuries earlier, John Baptist de La Salle had targeted working class boys, and years later discovered he had actually founded the very first teacher-training college in world history. His educational objective deliberately kept faith and science, reason and religion, together - and in open dialogue. Such harmony must form one of the hallmarks of authentic Christian education.
Prophets and Profits
St John Baptist de La Salle
What could John Baptist de La Salle, French catholic priest and theologian (1651 -1719) possibly have in common with three successful American commercial travellers, Samuel Hill, John Nicholson and William Knights who emerge from the first decade of the 1900s? All four revered the word of God as found in the Bible. All four promoted the study of the Bible in the vernacular. Prophets all – therefore profits were never their motive.
Theologically, and going a little deeper, let’s look at our common foundational sacrament, Baptism, which holds all our Christian ministries together. Many Gideons, probably like many Lasallians intentionally share in the ministry of Christ the Teacher, rather than in the ministry of Christ, the High Priest. De La Salle and Samuel Hill share the same passion for Scripture – and in the vernacular.
How urgently our post-modern, secularist world needs the hope-filled news of the Gospel (from Old English, God’s spell; good word). Trapped in our culture of consumerist capitalism and fake news, only the Good News can set us free.
Our modern culture is media-driven, yes; but Christ is the Eternal Mediator.