THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
tries special arrangements with the American Bible Society and the National Bible Society of Scotland prevent clashing and secure combination for the translation of the Scriptures. Agencies of the British society also promote the distribution of the Bible in Egypt and North Africa and in nearly all of the colonies of East and West Africa. Where neither auxiliary nor agency has been established the society works through the missions which are in occupation of the ground in any part of the world.
This wide-spread work has not been brought to its present extension without hindrances and difficulties. The High-church party in the Church of England has at times opposed the Bible Society, preferring to work through the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge, which takes cr.re to have the Bible supplemented by the Book of Common Prayer. Others have insisted that the Bible is a dangerous book to put in the hands of ignorant men without note or comment, and for this reason have opposed the Bible Society. In 1S25 dissension arose within the Bible Society, which continued during two years, over the question of the Apocrypha. It was formally resolved in 1827 that the fundamental law of the society forbids its circulating the Apocrypha, and that therefore no persons or societies that circulate the Apocrypha can receive aid from 4. Dissen- tne SOciety. This decision led to the eions. ^ece- separation 0f a considerable number
cieties3" °^ European societies from the British society which had founded them. The discussion also resulted in the secession of the Scottish societies which originated the agitation against the publication of the Apocrypha (see below, 3). In 1831 another agitation was raised against the presence of Unitarians on the Board of Managers. The society having refused to alter its constitution so as to exclude non-Trinitarians, a separate society called the Trinitarian Bible Society was formed (see below, 5). With the growth of foreign missions, a question as to translation of the words relating to baptism became acute; and the controversy finally led to the formation of the Bible Translation Society, which was supported by Baptists who preferred to translate " immerse " rather than to transfer the Greek word baptizein (see below, 6).
But there has been a continuous and remarkable growth of the society in spite of all obstacles and opposition. In 1904 the centenary of the society was celebrated in almost all countries of the Christian and non-Christian world. " Bible Day " in Mar., 1904, will long be remembered not only as a day of an immense popular declaration of faith in the Bible as the revelation of God's will to men, but as a time for expressing the warmest love and sympathy, and gratitude withal, to the society which then completed a hundred years of selfsacrificing service of the nations. Not only were special gifts sent into the treasury for the general work of the society, but a special centenary fund of $l,25t,000 was raised in that and the following year to be used as a reserve for more firmly pi anting the outposts of the society. The total issues of the
British and Foreign Bible Society, in the year ending Mar. 31, 1906, amounted to 5,416,569 copies of the Bible or its parts. The total issues of the society from its organization to Mar. 31, 1907, amount to 203,931,768 copies, of which more than 80,000,000 copies were in the English language. The president of the British and Foreign Bible Society is the Marquis of Northampton. Its headquarters are at 146 Queen Victoria St., London, E. C; its periodicals are The Bible in the World and The Bible Society Gleanings.
3. The National Bible Society of Scotland: In 1809 the Edinburgh Bible Society was formed, in 1812 the Glasgow Bible Society, and in 1S21 the Glasgow Auxiliary Bible Society. As mentioned above, these societies seceded from the British and Foreign Bible Society in consequence of the controversy about circulating editions of the Bible containing the Apocrypha. In 1859 the National Bible Society was formed, and in 1861 all these Scottish societies combined to form a new organization which was incorporated as the National Bible Society of Scotland. The fields of this society are in Europe and Asia. One-fifth of its issues in 1906- 1907 were in Roman Catholic countries and about one-half in China. Its issues in the year ending Mar., 1907, amounted to 1,671,900 copies.
4. The Hibernian Bible Society: This society was organized in 1806 as an auxiliary to the British and Foreign Bible Society. It is now independent, and devotes its attention mainly to the needs of Ireland. In the year ending Mar., 1907, it circulated 37,258 copies, which were purchased by the society. The headquarters are in Dublin.
5. The Trinitarian Bible Society: Formed hi 1831 as a protest against TJnitarianism, this society issued in the year ending Dec. 31, 1907, 89,214 copies of the Bible or its parts. The headquarters of the society are at 7 Bury St., London, W C.
6. The Bible Translation Society: This society was organized in 1843 to serve the special interests of the British Baptist missions. It is now a part of the Baptist Missionary Society, making no separate publication of its issues, and having its headquarters at the Mission House, 19 Furnival St., London.
II. Bible Societies on the Continent of Europe. — i. Germany: The first German Bible Society was the Canstein Bible Institute, founded in Halle in 1710 by Karl Hildebrand, Baron Canstein (q.v.), with the definite purpose of placing the Bible within reach of the poor. The Institute has issued up to the beginning of 1907, over 7,000,000 copies of the Bible and its parts. The issues for 1907 were 38,696 copies. The (first) Nuremberg- Bible Society was formed in 1804, and received aid from the British and Foreign Bible Society. In 1806 it was removed to Basel in Switzerland and took the name of the Basel Bible Society. Its issues during the year 1906 amounted to 32,708 copies. The Berlin Bible Society was formed in 1806 as a result of the energy of Father Janicke, a Moravian pastor, and was aided by the British and Foreign Bible Society in its early years. In 1814 it was converted into the Prussian Bible Society. It now has many branches and devotes its attention
KELlulOUa ENCYCLOPEDIA
Bible Societies
mainly to the circulation of the Bible in Germany. In the year 1906 its issues amounted to 212,911 Bibles and Testaments. The headquarters of the society are Klosterstrasse 71, Berlin C. The Wurttemberg Bible Institute was formed in 1813 under the influence of Messrs. Steinkopf and Pinkerton, of the British and Foreign Bible Society. Its issues reported in 1906 were 334,953 copies. The headquarters are at Christophstrasse 6, Stuttgart. The Berg Bible Society was formed at Elberfeld in the old Duchy of Berg in 1814. It furnishes Scriptures for use abroad in some small quantities. The total of its issues in 1906 was 151,558 copies, and the total of its issues in the 93 years of its existence are 2,228,353 copies. The headquarters of the society are at Marienstrasse 28, Elberfeld. The Saxon Bible Society was formed in the year 1814. It has forty-two branches, and besides its publications in German, it has published an edition of the New Testament in the Chagga language, spoken in the northern part of German East Africa. Its total issues in 1906 amounted to 48,065 copies. The headquarters are at Zinzendorfstrasse 17, Dresden. The Bavarian Protestant Bible Society was formed in 1823. It is also called the Central Bible Society. Its issues in 1906 were 12,930 copies. The headquarters of the society are at Nuremberg. There are also many local and state societies, of which those of Hamburg, Sleswick, and Strasburg print as well as distribute Bibles. A Roman Catholic Bible Society, the Regensburg Bible Institute, was organized in 1805 by G. M. Wittmann, head of the seminary at Regensburg, with the assistance of some bishops and many laymen. A translation of the New Testament was prepared and 60,000 copies were distributed in ten years, but in 1817 the Institute was suppressed by Pope Pius VII. In 1815 another Roman Catholic Bible Society was founded at Heiligenstadt, which connected itself with the Prussian society and organized auxiliaries. Leander van Ess (q.v.) at Marburg was especially interested and his translation of the New Testament was widely disseminated. He also founded the Christian Brotherhood for Disseminating the Holy Scriptures with the support of the British and Foreign Bible Society. The Heiligenstadt society flourished till 1830 and maintained an existence till 1864, but received its support chiefly from Protestants after the former date. The translation of the New Testament made by J. E. Gossner (q.v.) was also circulated by the English society.
2. France: The French Bible Society (London) referred to above began the Bible movement in France, but the outbreak of the Revolution prevented the circulation of French Bibles printed with English money. The Protestant Bible Society of Paris was formed in 1818, and received aid from the British and Foreign Bible Society for a time. The subsidy was withdrawn after a few years because the Paris Society included the Apocrypha in its Bibles. The issues of this society in 1906 were 8,061 copies. A sharp controversy among the French Protestants respecting the French version led in 1864 to the formation of the Bible Society of France. This society excluded the
Apocrypha from its Bibles and held to the version of J. F. Osterwald (q.v.) of which it is now publishing a new revision. It has received aid from the American Bible Society, and it circulates the Bible in the French colonies in Asia and Africa. Its issues in 1906 were 34,556 copies.
3. The Netherlands: The Netherlands Bible Society was formed in 1814. Its issues in the year 1904 amounted to 93,977 copies, of which 57,573 copies were sent abroad to the Dutch East Indies, Dutch Guiana, and South Africa. The headquarters of the society are at Heerengracht 366, Amsterdam.
4. Scandinavia: The Danish Bible Society was organized in 1814. Its circulation in 1906 amounted to 45,289 copies. The Norwegian Bible Society was formed in 1816 under the influence of the British and Foreign Bible Society. Its issues in 1904 were 63,300 copies, of which 751 copies were sent to Denmark, and 11,041 copies to the United States of America. Its total issues in eighty-eight years ending Dec. 31, 1904, were 1,153,260 copies. The headquarters of the society are at Christiania. The Swedish Bible Society was organized in 1814. Its circulation in 1906 was 12,414 copies and its total circulation from the beginning, 1,242,515 copies, of which 666 were in the Lapp language.
5. Russia: The Russian Bible Society with Imperial Sanction was formed in 1863. It circulates the Bible in Russian and other languages under the supervision of the Holy Synod. Its reports show the contributions of the czar and czarina and the grand dukes, but do not specify clearly the circulation. It makes use of colportevs and seems to do serious work. A Russian Bible Society formed in 1812 did an important work in Bible translation, but was suppressed by imperial ukase in 1826. The Russian Evangelical Bible Society was organized in 1831 for the purpose of circulatirg the Bible among Lutherans and in the German language. Its circulation in 1904 was 22,239 copies. The Finnish Bible Society was formed in 1812 and its issues in 1903 were about 30,000 copies
6. Switzerland: The Basel Bible Society, trans ferred to Basel from Nuremberg, has been mentioned above (II, 1). Local Bible societies exis' in many of the cantons of Switzerland. Thej seem, however, to be merely agents of distribution, receiving Bibles from other societies, notably from the British and Foreign Bible Society. Theil circulation is therefore included in that of the othei societies. Henry Otis Dwight.
III. Bible Societies in America. — 1. The American Bible Society: The Revolutionary War produced a great scarcity of Bibles in the United States. One year after the Declaration of Independence Congress was memorialized to authorize the printing of an edition of the Bible. This memorial was referred to a committee, who found the difficulties, especially of procuring proper material, type, and paper, to be so great that Congress ordered the importation at its own expense of 20,000 English Bibles from Holland, England, or elsewhere. The scarcity still continuing, in 1782 Congress recommended to the people of the United States an edition of the Bible printed by Thomas Aitken, of Philadelphia, " being satisfied of the care and accuracy