Monday, March 26, 2012

The Translation of the New Testament and Hymns

The book mentions the translation of the New Testament into the Lisu language as well as several Lisu hymnbooks.  J.O. Fraser had completed the translation after many years of hard work.  He developed the Fraser alphabet and translated the Bible using his alphabet. I have included a link below to a website that provides more details and examples of the Fraser alphabet, which was eventually recognized as the official script for the Lisu language.

http://www.omniglot.com/writing/fraser.htm



The Kuhns and the Lisu Christians were ecstatic when the New Testament translations arrived.  They truly understood the value of scripture.  As Psalm 119:72 says, "The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold."  The Bible is God's very word given to us.  He reveals Himself and His character to us through the Bible.  Without the Bible translated into their language, the Lisu people could not read God's love letter to them for themselves.  Today, I think many Christians take the Bible for granted and sometimes lose the appreciation for the great gift we have been given.  Bibles are in great supply in the English language.  We have more versions of the Bible than we can count.  I can hardly imagine what it would be like to only have the New Testament translated into my language.  J.O. Fraser also translated many hymns into the Lisu language for them to sing.  I found a video of members of the Lisu tribe singing Handel's Messiah.  The video is amazing and shows how God used J.O. Fraser and the Kuhns to spread his name throughout the earth.  A German- British Baroque composer's song performed in cathedrals and concert halls is now being sung by a tribal Lisu choir in the mountains of rural Asia.

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