Fwd: Seeing the Bible through Slavic eyes

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From: Mennonite Mission Network <Beyond@mennonitemission.net>
Date: Mon, Sep 23, 2019 at 3:03 PM
Subject: Seeing the Bible through Slavic eyes
To: <info@gehmanmennonitechurch.org>

Sometimes mission happens in hours spent meticulously translating a nearly 2,000-page book from Russian to English.

Mustard Seeds September 2019 Mary Raber has lectured at retreats and seminaries in eastern Europe since 2009. Seeing the Bible through Slavic eyes The unfolding of your words gives light … —Psalm 119:130a Mission takes many forms. The first thing you may think of is serving communities of Christ in Ecuador. Or perhaps your mind stays closer to home with Service Adventure participants working at their placements in the United States.  Sometimes, however, mission happens in hours spent meticulously translating a nearly 2,000-page book from Russian to English. This is part of how Mary Raber has been able to serve Christ while living both in the United States and abroad in Odessa, Ukraine.   The Euro-Asian Accrediting Association, together with the Langham Partnership, invited Raber to participate in translating the Slavic Bible Commentary from Russian to English in 2017. She has completed the translation of the Pentateuch and the Gospel of Luke.   The Slavic Bible Commentary is the first complete Bible commentary written in Russian by post-Soviet scholars. It analyzes the text from an eastern European perspective and contains about 100 topical articles relating the text to theological, social and moral issues dealt with by the people in the region.  Following years of theological silence and repression, the Slavic Bible Commentary was the first commentary to be written in Russian in more than 100 years. The commentary responds to the issues and challenges facing Christians today.  When the translation is complete, Raber's work with the commentary will continue. Moving forward, she will edit the translations produced by the other scholars working on the project.  In the mid- to late 1980s, Raber served as copy editor on a project translating the Daily Study Bible by William Barclay from English to Russian. She was part of a Mennonite Central Committee partnership with the All-Union Council of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (in the Soviet Union) and the Baptist World Alliance.   "[The partnership] was done in response to the expressed need of the Soviet Baptist Union (which included many Mennonites) for theological study materials," Raber said. "… these materials simply did not exist in the Soviet Union … religious practice was highly restricted. It was not possible for the Soviet evangelicals to create their own commentary."   Now, dozens of Russian-speaking scholars have completed the Slavic Bible Commentary and invited Raber to be one of its English translators. "To work on this is kind of a completed circle," Raber said.   After 90 days back in the United States spent translating, writing and preparing for a scholarly conference in Odessa in October, Raber will return to Ukraine at the end of September. She has asked for prayer as she attempts to apply for temporary resident status. She will continue working on the Slavic Bible Commentary so that English speakers can better understand Christianity in the eastern European context.       Give today so that everyone, no matter where they come from, can have access to the good news of Jesus Christ. A note from the directors This is a unique commentary. The only one of its kind. Up until now, Protestant commentaries would have come from other Western countries, in other languages, translated into Russian. Now, there is an original work completely by and for Russian-speaking church leaders. But the project goes beyond that. Why is an English translation valuable? Because this is written from an eastern European perspective, English speakers can gain new insights on theological, sociological and moral issues as seen through the eyes of people in a different, underrepresented part of the theological world. Imagine reading the Bible with this commentary in hand and seeing Scripture come alive in a totally new way!   Imagine pastors and students being challenged by their sisters' and brothers' experiences in living out their faith that enable them to grow in empathy and understanding of God's mission in the world.  Our worker, Mary Raber, PhD, has given her life to serving Russian speaking people through theological education. Mary is viewed as a highly respected and valuable expert on the life of evangelicals across the former Soviet Union territory, including central Asia and the Far East even. We are grateful for your support of this important ministry in a part of the world that is often forgotten. P.S. Because of your generosity, congregations across the world can read and learn about different perspectives on God's word.  Give Now Copyright © 2019 Mennonite Mission Network, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because of your relationship with Mennonite Mission Network. 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