Soviets Receive Thousands of Christian Books at Moscow International Book Fair
11/89
MOSCOW, U.S.S.R. (EP) - Representatives of 30 Christian publishing companies, all of which belong to the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA), reported an unprecedented hunger for Bible commentaries, doctrinal and theological books and Bible study aids at the seventh annual Moscow International Book Fair.
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev gave the opening address to the participants, saying that he hoped the event would "be instrumental in the further development of international book exchange, in upholding intellectual values and asserting the ideals of truth, justice, peace, and progress."
"The Soviet people have a great hunger for spiritual literature," said Peter Deyneka, Jr., president of the Slavic Gospel Association. "I was deeply moved by the spiritual hunger of the people who came to the fair," he said. Soviet people came from as far away as Eastern Siberia and Soviet Asia to obtain Bibles and Christian books.
The Slavic Gospel Association had an exhibit at the fair, where Christian books were available, such as Loving God, The Apostle, The Everlasting Man, and The Magician's Nephew, as well as an anthology of Russian Christian poetry. All of the books, even those just for display were gone within two hours of the start of the fair.
Doug Ross, executive director of the ECPA, said that he brought 10,000 New Testaments with him as a gift for the Soviet people. He said he was surprised at how high the demand was for the Bibles.
Ross expressed surprise at the interest that the media took in the Christian publishers at the fair. "We weren't prepared for the tremendous outpouring of interest from the Soviet press," he said, adding that he was interviewed for Soviet television.
Ross said that this year's Moscow Book Fair was unique among other international book fairs because of the interest in Christian literature. At other fairs, he said, it is primarily a business interaction which takes place, but in Moscow the spiritual hunger of the Soviet people is "phenomenal."
Kent Hill, director of the Washington-based Institute on Religion and Democracy, noted that the commotion caused by the free distribution of 10,000 New Testaments was the most popular event of the fair.
"This created quite a stir very early on during the fair when the ECPA opened to hand out New Testaments, Hill said. "A long line formed and the booth was absolutely jammed with people. It was the largest group of people at any booth for any publisher."
Ironically, a booth manned by Madalyn Murray and her son and daughter, The American Association of Atheists, attracted little interest. "None of the Soviets wanted to talk to her," observed Hill. "They wanted to go to the ECPA booth and get a New Testament."
At the conclusion of the fair, it was announced that ECPA will be developing a strategy for printing in the U.S.S.R. Soviet authorities said that they would not interfere with the activities of Christian publishers and an unprecedented number of contracts were negotiated for the publishing of Christian literature by Soviet publishers.
In recent months there has been a sharp increase in the ability of independent publishers developing their own presses. Foreign publishers also noted a a measurable increase in the ability of presses in the Baltic States to publish Christian literature and cited contracts made with Estonian publishers for the production of literature for children.
Up one level
Back to document index
The Real Jesus: Who is the Real Jesus? Ever since the dawn of modern rationalism, skeptics have sought to use textual criticism, archaeology and historical reconstructions to uncover the "historical Jesus" -- a wise teacher who said many wonderful things, but fulfilled no prophecies, performed no miracles and certainly did not rise from the dead in triumph over sin. Over the past 100 years, however, startling discoveries in biblical archaeology and scholarship have all but vanquished the faulty assumptions of these doubting modernists. Regretably, these discoveries have often been ignored by the skeptics as well as by the popular media. As a result, the liberal view still holds sway in universities and impacts the culture and even much of the church.
|
This presentation explodes the myths of these critics and the movies, books and television programs that have popularized their views.
Presented in ten parts -- perfect for individual, family and classroom study -- viewers will be challenged to go deeper in their knowledge of Christ in order to be able to defend their faith and present the truth to a skeptical modern world – that the Jesus of the Gospels is the Jesus of history -- "the same yesterday, today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). He is the real Jesus. Speakers include: George Grant, Ted Baehr, Stephen Mansfield, Raymond Ortlund, Phil Kayser, David Lutzweiler, Jay Grimstead, J.P. Holding, and Eric Holmberg. Ten parts, over two hours of instruction! Running Time: 130 minutes
|
| The Beast of Revelation: IDENTIFIED
Who is the dreaded beast of Revelation? Now at last, a plausible candidate for this personification of evil incarnate has been identified (or re-identified). Ken Gentry's insightful analysis of scripture and history is likely to revolutionize your understanding of the book of Revelation -- and even more importantly -- amplify and energize your entire Christian worldview! Historical footage and other graphics are used to illustrate the lecture Dr. Gentry presented at the 1999 Ligonier Conference in Orlando, Florida. It is followed by a one-hour question and answer session addressing the key concerns and objections typically raised in response to his position. This presentation also features an introduction that touches on not only the confusion and controversy surrounding this issue -- but just why it may well be one of the most significant issues facing the Church today. Ideal for group meetings, personal Bible study -- for anyone who wants to understand the historical context of John's famous letter "... to the seven churches which are in Asia." (Revelation 1:4) |
(Available in DVD only) $17.95 ORDER NOW!
|
INCLUDES A FREE Sixteen Christian leaders and scholars answer some of the most common questions and misperceptions related to this volatile issue: Download the free |
Perfect for group instruction as well as personal
Bible study. Speakers include: George Grant, Howard Phillips,
R.C. Sproul Jr., Ken Gentry, Gary DeMar, Jay Grimstead, R.J. Rushdoony,
Steven Schlissel, Andrew Sandlin, Eric Holmberg, and more!
Ten parts, over four hours of instruction! Watch over 60 streaming videos from God's Law and Society at:
Price reduced! |
| Amazing Grace: The History and Theology of Calvinism
Over four hours of instruction! Just what is “Calvinism?” Does this teaching make man a deterministic robot and God the author of sin? What about free will? If the church accepts Calvinism, won’t evangelism be stifled, perhaps even extinguished? How can we balance God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility? What are the differences between historic Calvinism and hyper-Calvinism? Why did men like Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Spurgeon, Whitefield, Edwards and a host of renowned Protestant evangelists embrace the teaching of predestination and election and deny free will theology? This is the first video documentary that answers these and other related questions. Hosted by Eric Holmberg, this fascinating three-part, four-hour presentation is detailed enough so as to not gloss over the controversy. At the same time, it is broken up into ten “Sunday-school-sized” sections to make the rich content manageable and accessible for the average viewer. |
$19.95 ORDER NOW!
|
|
The Forerunner Forum is the discussion group for this web site. The purpose of the group is to engage in discussion about the articles on-line. If you want to discuss any article or video on this web site, visit The Forerunner Forum. |
| VIDEOS | WORDS | BLOG | DISCUSSION | WHAT'S NEW | ABOUT US | FEEDBACK | SEARCH | DONATE | JAY'S BIO | HOME |
For more information, contact:
| The Forerunner jrogers@forerunner.com |
|
P.O. Box 362173 Melbourne, FL 32936-2173 |
