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What is Bible smuggling? -

For a long time now, Bibles have been smuggled between countries by numerous people and organizations.

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Why was there a need to smuggle Bibles? -

Not every country allows Bibles in their territory. This happens for a number of reasons, including lack of religious freedom under certain political regimes.

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The beginning -

For many years, Bible smuggling mostly occurred in communist countries. And although it has decreased since the fall of the Soviet Union, it still happens to this day.

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Brother Andrew -

Dutch factory worker Andrew van der Bijl, known as Brother Andrew, joined the Worldwide Evangelism Crusade in 1953 and began smuggling Bibles during the Cold War, in 1955.

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Brother Andrew -

Brother Andrew founded an organization called Open Doors, which supported his work with refugees in Eastern Europe. Despite KGB infiltration, the organization spread, following up on his mission by providing printing presses, among other services.

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Eastern European Mission -

The Eastern European Mission was founded by several couples who moved from Texas to Vienna, Austria, in 1961. Their mission was to smuggle Bibles into the Soviet Union. Member Hank Paulson is pictured.

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Eastern European Mission -

They found increasingly creative ways to print the Bible. The books were mostly printed small, so they would be mistaken for a packet of cigarettes. Bibles were also stored in really odd places, such as spare tires.

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Eastern European Mission -

To this day, the Eastern European Mission produces Bibles for schools in the Ukraine and Russia.

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Door of Hope International -

Initially called Evangelism to Communist Lands, the organization smuggled Bibles into the Soviet Union in the 1970s. It was founded by Haralan Popov, who spent over 13 years in prison for being a Christian in Bulgaria.

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Door of Hope International -

The organization smuggled 500,000 Russian New Testaments during the 1980 Moscow Olympics. The cover had the perfect disguise: the Olympic torch.

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Underground Evangelism -

The American Protestant organization Underground Evangelism was listed by the KGB as a dangerous anti-Soviet organization.

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Underground Evangelism -

The organization recruited volunteers in English churches to spend summers camping in Bulgaria. They would smuggle Bibles, of course. The operation was so well run that volunteers didn’t even know the organization they were working for.

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Underground Evangelism -

A famous smuggler was Reverend David Hathaway (pictured), who posed as a tour guide. He was eventually caught with Bibles in his tour bus and sentenced to prison.

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Project Pearl -

In 1970, the organization Open Doors struck a deal with a publisher to secretly print one million Chinese Bibles. In 1981, 232 tons of Bibles traveled from California to the Philippines, and then to China. The work was later dubbed Project Pearl.

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Project Pearl -

But not all Bibles made it to the hands of Chinese Christians. They were dropped by a boat in waterproof boxes near Shantou, China, but the Chinese authorities arrived before all the Bibles could be rescued.

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Fall of the Iron Curtain -

The collapse of the Soviet Union meant that Bibles could freely circulate under the promise of religious freedom. It was the end of an era.

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Fall of the Iron Curtain -

Bible smuggler Ted Grevers reflected on the 15 years he spent as a smuggler: ″I've been able to smuggle in $2.5 million in Scriptures since the middle 1970s.″

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North Korea -

Information is now distributed in many different ways. Heavy printed Bibles no longer need to be smuggled. But how are Bibles distributed in a country with super tight restrictions?

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North Korea -

The answer is hydrogen-fueled balloons. They are launched from South Korea and land in remote areas of North Korea. Drones have also been used.

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North Korea -

Radio broadcasts run by  North Korean defectors are also a way to try and reach North Korea’s  growing underground Christian movement. "What those Christians are doing literally undermines the very veracity of the North Korean regime. If Jesus is Lord, then Kim Jong Un can't be," said Todd Nettleton of Voice of Martyrs Radio.

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Digital Bible smuggling -

The organization Open Doors runs competitions on social media and other websites in the Middle East. These consist of questions about various chapters of the Bible, and are a way to encourage Bible readership among Christians in the Middle East.

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Digital Bible smuggling -

The strategy is proving to be popular. According to Open Doors, around 5,000 people have participated in their online Bible competitions.

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Protestants vs. Catholics -

Bible smuggling also happened among Christians from different denominations. In the 1550s, Protestant leaders snuck Bibles into England during the Catholic Mary I's reign.

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Protestants vs. Catholics -

The persecution of Protestants (including being burned at the stake) throughout Queen Mary I’s reign led to some leaders fleeing the country and finding exile in Switzerland. There they created the Geneva Bible, which was then smuggled into England.

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Punishments -

Many Bible smugglers were caught by the authorities of governments that had no religious freedom and opposed Western religions. Several of these smugglers served long prison sentences, while others were physically punished and even killed.

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Punishments -

In North Korea, just saying the word "Jesus" can get a person into trouble, while owning a Bible can land you up to 15 years in a hard labor camp. In 2014, an American tourist named Jeffrey Edward Fowle was arrested after allegedly leaving a Bible in a restaurant toilet at the Chongjin Sailor's Club.

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Ancient Bibles -

In 1990, Bibles dating back to the 13th and 15th century, known as Damascus Crowns,  were smuggled from Syria to Israel by the Mossad (Israel’s intelligence agency) when the Jewish community left the country and went to Israel.

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Ancient Bibles -

The ownership of the ancient Bibles had been disputed, but a court ruled that they will stay in the National Library in Jerusalem “for the benefit of the entire public, on behalf of future generations and to perpetuate the heritage of the Syrian Jewish community.”

Sources: (Grunge)

See also: Can these be the lost books of the Bible?

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