From Tyndale to Today — The Evolution of Bible Smuggling
A brief word from us before you read: The Word for the World is dedicated to ending Bible poverty by empowering indigenous communities to lead their own Bible translation projects. Our mission is to ensure that everyone can experience the power of God’s Word in their own heart language. If you share our vision of a world where every nation and tongue has access to the Bible, we invite you to support this mission through your prayers and giving.
Bible Smuggling - Same Risk, Different World
Remember Tyndale’s illegal New Testaments that were smuggled in from Germany, hidden inside Monmouth’s bolts of luxurious cloth? In sixteenth-century England, this was the only way to get Scripture into the hands of the working classes, despite both men facing the death penalty for their actions. It reads like fiction, but people are going to the same lengths today to get God’s Word into hostile countries around the world. The difference is that nowadays the entire Bible fits on something smaller than a fingernail.
The risk, however, can be identical.
Bible Smuggling - The Physical Era (16th–20th Century)
For hundreds of years men and women have risked their lives in the firm belief that spreading the gospel is both a calling and a command. Brother Andrew is a famous example, courageously smuggling Bibles in a VW Beetle behind the Iron Curtain in the 1950’s, violating all the laws of the country.
‘God’s Smuggler’, written in 1967, tells of how Brother Andrew asked God to close a guard’s eyes so he could slip his precious contraband across the border of the Soviet Union. He prayed:
‘Lord, in my luggage I have Scripture I want to take to your children. When You were on earth You made blind eyes see. Now, I pray, make seeing eyes blind. Do not let the guards see those things You do not want them to see.’
God answered his prayer, and Brother Andrew went on to found Open Doors, a non-denominational mission supporting persecuted Christians. Against great opposition, they established a massive covert distribution network to transport Bibles and Christian literature into Communist-controlled countries.
The Digital Shift In Bible Smuggling
It may be hard to believe, but the world has not changed much from Brother Andrew’s time. In fact, more Christians face persecution now than 70 years ago, and in many places around the world, the penalty for owning – or even being caught reading a Bible – is high.
But nowadays, instead of carrying a weighty Bible in a suitcase, modern-day Bible smugglers carry tiny SD cards sewn into the lining of luggage, or hidden in clothing (Monmouth would be proud!). These micro-libraries can hold multiple Bible translations, worship music, Christian movies and a multitude of study resources. They allow users in countries with heavy internet censorship to access Scripture without going online, where they could be tracked and identified by authorities.
Open Doors International’s annual World Watch List identifies North Korea as the country where Christians are most persecuted on earth. Owning a Bible in North Korea is a severe political crime, often resulting in arrest, torture and life imprisonment in one of their notorious labour camps - or execution. Their relatives are also often subject to cruel retribution, with reports of children as young as two being arrested because their parents were found with a Bible.
Yet despite the intense persecution, there has been growing demand for outside information over the last decade. One of the new, and extremely dangerous ways in which Bibles are being smuggled in, is via large hydrogen balloons or drones. These are sent in after dark, carrying thousands of booklets and waterproofed digital material (such as the tiny SD cards) across the border from South Korea. Often shot down by the regime, the penalty for picking up the contents is immediate arrest, but the Bible smugglers’ efforts continue, believing it is worth it if even one item is picked up.
As Eric Foley, CEO of Voice of the Martyrs, said: ‘Growth in Christianity does not happen in waves but always one at a time.’
Bible Smugglings New Persecution — Digital Surveillance
In the 1960’s, Brother Andrew’s every move was tracked by the KGB, but nowadays persecution has moved beyond secret police to digital tracking.
In China, Christians are facing increasing surveillance and oppression, with AI being used in increasingly troubling ways to identify and persecute believers. The government are using targeted surveillance apps which require individuals to register their attendance at church services, and once there, video monitoring is used to track activity through installed cameras. With more Chinese Christians using zoom for church, you now need a special license from the government for these platforms, which then use facial recognition technology to identify members. Smartphones and laptops are carefully monitored, and when suspicious activity, such as reading the Bible, is reported, people are taken to ‘re-education camps’, and children are sent to boarding schools for Chinese indoctrination.
With Bible distribution highly restricted and controlled by the state, and Bible apps removed from app stores, this is the new smuggler's challenge: it's no longer just about getting the Bible into a country, it's about keeping it hidden once it arrives.
AI - The New Printing Press
Oral Bibles now play a vital role in allowing people to listen to Scripture privately through headphones. In countries where the Bible is restricted, or where illiteracy is high, oral Bibles allow believers to listen to Scripture in their own language, without the danger of carrying a physical copy. The Word for the World currently has 68 active oral Bible translation projects and we received this encouraging report recently from a persecuted country:
‘We thank God that some of the local people… opened their hearts to receive Jesus... Through this oral Bible translation project, the Word of God has been sown, and many people have been changed.’
Open doors estimate that there are 388 million persecuted Christians worldwide who are facing high levels of persecution and discrimination. As the technology being used to track and identify Christians accessing Scripture evolves, so the ways in which to reach and support these persecuted Christians needs to evolve. Yet the real barrier to people accessing Scripture is not access, its language.
1.5 billion people still do not have the full Bible in their first language (Wycliffe). That’s 1 in 5 people who still have no access to Scripture. Their issue is not Bible distribution, but Bible translation.
But just as Bible smuggling technology has developed from bulky Bibles hidden in cloth, to high-tech drones flown over enemy borders, Bible translation technology is developing from 30-year translation projects, to using AI tools which accelerate the process dramatically.
With over 3000 minority language groups still waiting for Scripture, AI tools are being increasingly utilised by Bible translation organisations, like The Word for the World, in ways that glorify God and allow his Word to be spread to more people.
Artificial intelligence immersed Bible Translation (AiBT) is a tool designed by The Word for the World to accelerate the process for Bible translation for minority language groups. AI is used to produce an initial draft of the text, generating it more quickly and accurately than a person could. This tool streamlines indigenous translator’s time, allowing them to focus on refining meaning and ensuring faithful Scripture translation. This tool also efficiently generates translation checks, offers translation improvement suggestions, and speeds up the preparation of audio recordings.
‘Since AI came, our accuracy has improved… and I have personally noticed that our translations have improved significantly.’ (TWFTW indigenous Bible translator)
With human translators still involved at every step of the way, checking for quality and accuracy, it is estimated that by using blended approaches such as AiBT, translation time can be reduced by 75-80%, and costs reduced by as much as 60% (KIN International).
The Invitation
It is so encouraging that the Good News continues to spread through brave Bible smugglers – but they need the gospel in the heart language of the people they want to reach.
We find ourselves standing in a very similar place to Monmouth and Tyndale. Many people still need the Bible translated into a language they can understand. The work of Bible translation did not end with Tyndale's English Bible more than 500 years ago — it continues to this day. We need the courage, faith, dedication, and the investment of modern-day gospel patrons like Monmouth to finally see every spoken language with access to the Bible.
Our vision is to be instrumental in completing first-time translations of the entire Bible in 1000 languages by 2050. This will only be possible with the prayerful, financial support of our brothers and sisters in Christ. If you can support our work by donating, please click here: Give to support Bible translation — The Word For The World UK - Bible Translators
