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Function
of the Bible
One of the most dramatic
examples of the Bible's divine ability to transform men and women involved the
famous mutiny on the "Bounty." Following their rebellion against the
notorious Captain Bligh
nine mutineers
along with the Tahatian men and women
who accompanied them
found their way to Pitcairn Island
a tiny dot in the
South Pacific only two miles long and a mile wide. Ten years later
drink and
fighting had left only one man alive--John Adams. Eleven women and 23 children
made up the rest of the Island's population. So far this is the familiar story
made famous in the book and motion picture. But the rest of the story is even
more remarkable. About this time
Adams came across the "Bounty's"
Bible in the bottom of an old chest. He began to read it
and the divine power
of God's Word reached into the heart of that hardened murderer on a tiny
volcanic speck in the vast Pacific Ocean--and changed his life forever. The
peace and love that Adams found in the Bible entirely replaced the old life of
quarreling
brawling
and liquor. He began to teach the children from the Bible
until every person on the island had experienced the same amazing change that
he had found. Today
with a population of slightly less than 100
nearly every
person on Pitcairn Island is a Christian.
From Signs of the Times
August
1988
p. 5.
Many years ago in a Moscow
theater
matinee idol Alexander Rostovzev was converted while playing the role
of Jesus in a sacrilegious play entitled Christ in a Tuxedo. He was supposed to
read two verses from the Sermon on the Mount
remove his gown
and cry out
"Give me my tuxedo and top hat!" But as he read the words
"Blessed are the poor in spirit
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed
are they that mourn
for they shall be comforted
" he began to tremble.
Instead of following the script
he kept reading from Matthew 5
ignoring the
coughs
calls
and foot-stamping of his fellow actors. Finally
recalling a
verse he had learned in his childhood in a Russian Orthodox church
he cried
"Lord
remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom!" (Luke 23:42).
Before the curtain could be lowered
Rostovzev had trusted Jesus Christ as his
personal Savior.
J.K. Johnston
Why
Christians Sin
Discovery House
1992
p. 121.