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April 2007

“It is sad that… not the whole New Testament has been translated into Dargin”

“I want to appeal to you to reprint the Gospel of Mark in Dargin (2000 copies). I'm writing this request to you because we need to distribute the Gospel in Dargin. To date we have given away all the books that were sent to us…It is sad that only one Gospel and not the whole New Testament has been translated into Dargin… Many people have come to know the Lord lately - there are about 30 Dargin believers. We have distributed the Gospel both in mountain villages and among people of high position in society, and they have gladly received the books.”

This letter was sent to us by a young Dargin Christian from Dagestan in southern Russia. In this mountainous area more than 30 languages are spoken – some ethnic groups are large, like the Avars (757,000) and the Dargins (510,000), while others, like the Bezhta, number about 6,000.

Christianity came to Dagestan as early as in the fourth-fifth centuries.  Three centuries later the Arabs brought Islam to the Dargin people, and Islam became firmly established as their official religion by the 14^th century.

The Gospel of Mark in Dargin was published in 2002, translated by a highly qualified Dargin scholar. Unfortunately, due to the lack of an exegetical advisor for the project, we have not been able to continue the translation work.

A letter from the translator, who is answering some questions about the Dargin project, begins with the words “Peace and prosperity be to You, the Bible!”

“The fact that the Dargins live in the central part of Dagestan has affected their way of thinking,” the trans-lator writes. “The Dargins worked out a code of honour which combined the best customs, traditions and moral and ethical principles of the North Caucasian peoples. For example, a guest is asked about the purpose of his visit only on the third day after his arrival. Also – there is an absolute and uncompromising respect for older people. This allows the younger generation to accept and maintain cultural values. Our generation, born in the time of the Second World War, was brought up in accordance with these principles. The code of honour was not challenged by the atheistic ideology of communism. But several generations have been damaged because they were raised without faith in the Holy God. As a result we find ourselves at the lifeless hearth of morality trying to warm up the soul of a puzzling generation, a generation of violence and AIDS...God is our only hope!”

“I am convinced that the reaction of the Dargins to the Good News will be positive,” the translator continues. “The Koran would not exist without the Old Testament and the New Testament (Tavrat and Injil). Christianity is an appeal for people to love one another.”

Project of the month

We would like to print a new edition of Mark’s Gospel in Dargin as soon as possible. Please support this with your gift this month.

Here you can sign for the IBT Russia/CIS monthly English Newsletter

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