Beijing, China, Jun 26, 2008 / 23:36 pm
The Chinese government has said it will permit booklets of the Gospels, New Testaments, and full Bibles to be distributed during the Olympic Games, even though it normally controls publication of the Bible.
The Bible Society, a British-based Christian charity, has confirmed that 50,000 bilingual booklets containing the four Gospels will made available in the Athletes’ Village in Beijing and five other Olympic Cities. Additionally, 10,000 New Testaments and 30,000 Bibles will be printed, the Times Online says.
The nearly $400,000 cost of printing the Olympic Bibles will be met by the Bible Society. The Bibles themselves will be printed by Amity Printing Press at a new multimillion dollar facility which opened in Nanjing last month. Amity produces one Bible every second. It produced its 50 millionth in September.
For the first time, Bibles will be distributed outside of registered shops and with the approval of the Communist party. The Beijing Olympics organizing committee is allowing the free use of its logo on the Scriptures.