On 12 February, an ecumenical delegation delivered to the highest authorities of the Swiss Confederation the “manuscript Bible”, a 6-volume opus running to 3,500 pages, all written by hand by over 2,000 people in 2003. Launched by the Christian Churches during Bible Year, the project was supported by large numbers of people who agreed to participate in it with their own writing and in their own language: French, German, Italian and 10 other languages. Those who participated in the project “were say the organizers in presenting the Bible surprised to see a wholly new relation being born with a text that passed directly from hand to heart. Over the last few weeks the volumes have circulated through much of Switzerland”, from the offices of the World Council of Churches in Geneva to parish halls and community centres. Why transcribe the Bible? “Because replies Pastor Urs Joerg, general secretary of the Swiss Bible Society, speaking to politicians the Bible is not a history book… It speaks of war and peace, of man’s relationship with nature, of love stories, of murder, of the rights of the most vulnerable in society, of responsibility and rules… The Bible therefore speaks of issues which you have to deal with every day, whether in Parliament or in the Federal Council. It speaks of the yearning to live in a more human world”.
