Your Opinion: Pastors distribute Bibles

Dear Editor:

On March 18-19, there was a happening in Washington, D.C., that I did not see covered by any of the media. This happening was what Awake America called "The Capitol Connection," where independent Baptist pastors from all across America met in Washington for the purpose of meeting with their elected representatives to introduce themselves and tell those representatives that there are still pastors in America that pray for them each day and to present to them a facsimile of the 1782 Aitken Bible.

They received permission from both the House and Senate ethics committees to present each of our 100 senators and 435 representatives with a personalized facsimile of the 1782 Aitken Bible.

During the War for Independence, Bibles could not be imported from Great Britain. This led to a shortage of English Bibles in America. On Jan. 21, 1781, a Philadelphia printer, Robert Aitken, petitioned Congress for both sanction and support for the production of a complete, English Bible for the American people.

A resolution was adopted on Sept. 12, 1782, granting Aitken the authorization he requested for printing the first King James Bible in America. Although financial support could not be gained, Robert Aitken personally financed and produced 10,000 copies for distribution in the colonies. Of those 10,000 copies, less than 30 are confirmed in existence today making it one of the rarest books in the world.

My pastor was able to attend this event and was able to meet with our Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, Rep. William Lacy Clay from St. Louis, and Sen. Roy Blunt. Sen. Claire McCaskill was out of town so he wasn't able to meet with her.

One of the take-a-ways our pastor brought back was they were impressed that these pastors from across America did not want anything from them, they only wanted to tell the representatives that we would be praying for them. Most of the people that our elected representatives meet with are individuals that want something from them, so this was like a breath of fresh air for them.

With all the bad news we see on TV, hear on radio, and read in our newspapers, I am disheartened that I have not seen this event covered.

This event was only good so I guess good news doesn't sell like murder and mayhem. We citizens need to hear good news occasionally.