[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Ftough-faith-rewarded":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Ftough-faith-rewarded-surround":69},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":10,"columnName":52,"date":53,"description":5,"extension":54,"image":55,"meta":56,"minRead":57,"navigation":58,"path":59,"postType":60,"publication":61,"publicationUrl":55,"seo":62,"stem":63,"topics":64,"__hash__":68},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Ftough-faith-rewarded.md","Tough Faith Rewarded",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9],"",{"type":11,"value":12,"toc":49},"minimark",[13,16,19,22,25,28,31,34,37,40,43,46],[14,15,5],"p",{},[14,17,18],{},"Publication: The Lookout",[14,20,21],{},"Date: July 13, 1997",[14,23,24],{},"Column: From the Editor's Desk",[14,26,27],{},"Category: Scripture",[14,29,30],{},"For nearly 15 years, Borislav Arapovic was banned from the former Soviet Union; but earlier this year, he received one of Russia's most prestigious awards—all because of his commitment to spreading God's Word.",[14,32,33],{},"A native of Croatia, Arapovic directs the Institute for Bible Translation (IBT) headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Since its inception in 1973, his organization has translated the Scriptures into 76 of the approximately 130 non-Slavic languages spoken in the republics which formerly were part of the Soviet Union. While Bible translation was progressing in other parts of the world, regions like Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan were severely deprived of Bibles because of the stifling oppression of communism. Arapovic and his coworkers developed their translations outside the Soviet Union and smuggled unfinished manuscripts into the country for pre-publication style checks, before finally printing and distributing the Bibles at great personal risk. Arapovic himself was caught at the border seven times while smuggling, resulting in his banishment from the country until 1987. But with the arrival of perestroika, Arapovic found himself in a surprising new position: the same Soviet authorities who previously had banned him invited him back into the country to expand his translation work.",[14,35,36],{},"Previously, many of the Soviet people didn't have a single page of Scripture in their own language, but some now have at least one of the Gospels. IBT has published 540-page Illustrated Bibles in 23 languages—unique volumes which contain 270 Bible stories (not paraphrases, but direct translations of the text), from Genesis to Revelation. When readers open one of these Bibles, they see the biblical text on the lefthand page, accompanied on the right side by one of 270 pieces of art designed to illustrate the people and scenes described in the text.",[14,38,39],{},"Arapovic visited our offices at Standard Publishing recently to report about his work and to thank our company for providing the art used in his Illustrated Bibles. \"From all our heart, without any reservation, we say thanks to Standard Publishing,\" he says. \"Some of those artists died long ago, but their deeds are following after them and God has blessed their work.\"",[14,41,42],{},"Arapovic grins wryly when he points out, \"This is the most popular book in the former Soviet Union today—not Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Billy Graham, or anyone else. Just the Bible!\" Bible societies and missionary groups have distributed nearly 8 million copies of Arapovic's Bibles free of charge or at a nominal cost. Even in academic circles where the Bible has been treated with skepticism for years, leaders rejoice to have the Bible in their own language—if not for the book's spiritual power, at least because of its cultural value. Even skeptics, Arapovic says, have to recognize the Bible's influence on social relationships, politics, and art.",[14,44,45],{},"On this side of Heaven, tough faith doesn't always result in tangible rewards. But Arapovic's remarkable story reached a climax on April 8 when he appeared in Moscow to receive an honorary doctorate presented by the Russian Academy of Science. There, in the presence of the Croatian and Swedish ambassadors, he received a diploma and medal in recognition of the scientific value of his translation work.",[14,47,48],{},"\"I myself don't count much for that,\" Arapovic insists. \"But it was an enormous gain and a tremendous victory for the Bible. I wonder how many Western academics would do this—confirm that the Bible has a proper place in scientific work.\"",{"title":9,"searchDepth":50,"depth":50,"links":51},2,[],"From the Editor's Desk","1997-07-13","md",null,{},3,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Ftough-faith-rewarded","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":5},"articles\u002Ftough-faith-rewarded",[65,66,67],"Biblical Theology","Spiritual Formation","Discipleship","EJprsdAPMA-KBzdcKQsNru_2NevaBu0JrWmMueBk78U",[70,75],{"title":71,"path":72,"stem":73,"description":74,"children":-1},"Tired?","\u002Farticles\u002Ftired","articles\u002Ftired","Aren't you getting tired of people complaining about how tired they are? Look around you today, and you're likely to see people who feel exhausted. According to a recent study conducted by the University of Maryland, 29 percent of Americans say they always feel tired, and 45 percent say they have felt a great deal or moderate amounts of stress in the past two weeks. Ironically, the same study found that the average amount of leisure time has increased from 34 to 40 hours per week since 1965. In an age of unprecedented technology and convenience, why are we so tired?",{"title":76,"path":77,"stem":78,"description":79,"children":-1},"Treasures Old and New","\u002Farticles\u002Ftreasures-new-and-old","articles\u002Ftreasures-new-and-old","Did you hear about the guy whose thesaurus was stolen? He was perplexed, exasperated, frustrated, angry, upset, and filled with consternation."]