ICC Note: Christians throughout many parts of Asia are still unable to obtain Bibles, either because the Bibles are too expensive, unavailable, or restricted by the government. Many Christian organizations are working to meet this need, including ICC. This article details one story of how Bibles still reach the people so hungry for them.
By Carey Lodge
08/06/2015 Vietnam (Christian Today)
A Christian carrying Bibles through Vietnam was able to pass through police checkpoints unhindered in what has been hailed as a miracle.
According to Merv Knight, co-founder of Voice of the Martyrs Australia (VOM), the unnamed man felt called by God to take Bibles to a remote part of Vietnam, and his only way to do so was to travel on a public bus. These go through regular police checkpoints, and anyone found to be carrying Bibles would expect to be taken to prison, and possibly tortured.
However, a uniformed police captain sat next to the man, placing his hat on the box of Bibles. The officer then fell asleep for the entire journey, and because of his hat, the contents of the box went unchecked.
“Repeatedly during the next 10 hours, checkpoint after checkpoint, the police captain slumbered and the guards quietly moved by without ever checking the box,” VOM reported.
The story has gained traction for being very similar to those shared by Brother Andrew, reknowned as ‘God’s smuggler’, who distributed Bibles in Communist countries during the Cold War.
The Vietnamese constitution guarantees freedom of religion in principle, but, like China, the Communist government tightly controls independent religious practice. According to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), it represses “individuals and religious groups it views as challenging its authority, including independent Buddhists, Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, Catholics, and Protestants.”
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