CHURCH leaders have welcomed the results of a survey saying that the Bible is still the most read book for Filipinos.
Bishops Arturo Bastes and Noel Pantoja of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines and Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches, respectively, said the survey shows that Filipinos are still a God-fearing nation.
“It is good news! The survey shows that the Filipino is a God-fearing nation. It also reveals our desire to know God and make him known all over the country and around the world,” Pantoja, chairperson of the Philippine Bible Society, said.
“In spite of all the trials we have as a nation, our hope is in the Lord and He will guide the country towards our destiny to be a blessing to the world as evangelists and the new missionary and proclaimers of the good news,” he added.
Bastes said the survey means that the work of those engaged in biblica ministry such as him has paid off.
“This is a very good news! This news is very rewarding especially for me because my very special ministry in the Church is to promote the Bible among our people. This means that the collective efforts of all persons engaged in the biblical ministry have borne fruits,” said the former head of the CBCP Episcopal Commission for the Biblical Apostolate.
Bastes recalled that they introduced the “May They Be One” biblical campaign when he was head of the PBS which sold complete Bibles in different Philippine languages at a subsidized rate of R50 per copy.
He said about 10 million copies of the Bible have been distributed to Filipino families in the past 10 years.
“If families have an average number of five members, 50,000,000 Filipinos have a chance to read, pray, and share their insights of the Bible, putting the Word of God into action in their lives! Hence, the Bible is indeed the most read book in our country,” said Bastes. (Leslie Ann G. Aquino)
