Today’s Headlines:

‘MOBILE STUDIO’ SPEEDS UP DISTRIBUTION OF AUDIO SCRIPTURES IN INDIA

BIBLE SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA DISTRIBUTES BIBLE VIA MOBILE PHONES

28-CITY EXHIBIT TOUR OPENS IN ATLANTA TO ‘BRING ISRAEL TO THE U.S’

100,000 DALITS EXPECTED AT ‘FREEDOM OF RELIGION DAY’ RALLY IN INDIA

Today’s Top Stories:

‘MOBILE STUDIO’ SPEEDS UP DISTRIBUTION OF AUDIO SCRIPTURES IN INDIA

The World Cassette Outreach-India, a ministry that aims to provide audio Scripture — either the entire Bible or portions — in every language spoken in India, ran into a problem recording the Bible in new languages. “As the people began to do the reading, the culture shock of moving the readers from their country villages to the thriving city of Bangalore [estimated population of 6.1 million] where the central studios are located was too much for them. They were very young men,” explains Tom Dudenhofer of Audio Scripture Ministries (ASM). “Within about a week-and-a-half both of them were so despondent that they had to leave and never finished the recording.” To solve the dilemma, ASM developed its first-ever “mobile studio” consisting of a laptop, an analog digital interface, a small mixing board and a microphone. The goal is to train at least two more national recordists so “we can get more of these languages into audio,” Dudenhofer says. (Mission Network News)

BIBLE SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA DISTRIBUTES BIBLE VIA MOBILE PHONES

The Bible Society of South Africa has partnered with ChristianMobile to develop a proliferation of wireless networks to distribute the Scriptures via cell phone users worldwide. The partnership agreement concluded in August, and distribution of the Scriptures has already begun under the VirtualBible brand name. Some initial versions offered include the Afrikaans-language Bible, the King James Version, the English Good News and the Contemporary English Version. A press release stated, “We are honored to be involved in the distribution of the Bible, the most popular book in human history, across the globe through mobile carriers and mobile portals and see ourselves merely as an instrument in God’s hands to spread His Word.” Gerrit Kritzinger, chief executive officer of the Bible Society of South Africa, said he believes the potential of the technology is “boundless. We are particularly excited about the possibilities this technology poses for the youth.” Evangelical News)

28-CITY EXHIBIT TOUR OPENS IN ATLANTA TO ‘BRING ISRAEL TO THE U.S’

An exhibit designed to “bring Israel to the U.S.” opened its 28-city national tour in Atlanta, Ga., Friday, Sept. 15. The exhibit includes more than 340 sacred texts and artifacts from the Holy Land along with photomurals, thematic sets, digital surround sound, the first 3D video shot in Israel, state-of-the-art lighting and narration, a musical score produced by national recording artist Don Moen and never-before-seen paintings by artist Thomas Kinkade. All are designed to help visitors see, hear and feel 2,500 years of biblical history. The exhibit, called “From Abraham to Jesus,” has been more than three years in the making. It is being presented by the Way Makers and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Institute of Archeology. Some 5,000 people a day are expected to visit the exhibit which will have a limited engagement of about three weeks in each city. It takes between 90 minutes to two hours to view the exhibit. (WorldWide Religious News)

100,000 DALITS EXPECTED AT ‘FREEDOM OF RELIGION DAY’ RALLY IN INDIA

A massive demonstration planned for Saturday, Oct. 14, by the Dalit Freedom Network in the central Indian city of Nagpur by is designed as a call for freedom of religious choice for all Indian citizens, especially for India’s lowest castes. The rally, called “World Freedom of Conscience and Freedom of Religion Day,” coincides with the 50-year anniversary of the conversion from Hinduism to Buddhism of Dalit hero and framer of India’s constitution, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. More than 100,000 Dalits are expected to attend along with Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, Sikh and Hindu religious leaders from India and around the world. Much of the rally targets India’s anti-conversion legislation, now passed in seven Indian states that requires converts to notify the government prior to changing religion. Udit Raj, a renowned Dalit activist and politician stated in a recent opinion column of a popular weekly magazine, “India is a secular country. Secularism simply means that the state shall not interfere in the personal and religious affairs of a person and religion would not be used as a political tool.” He believes the motive of the laws is to intimidate lower castes from converting. (Assist News Service)