13 Aug 2015

The Bible has over the years played a pivotal role in societal institutions such as marriage solemnisation, comforting the bereaved and taking of oaths as well as during the official gatherings such as the National Assembly and in the courts of law. 

It is against this background that the Bible Society has marked August as the Bible month and has, in collaboration with other stakeholders, commemorated the month at Francistown’s Monarch Customary Court.

The commemoration was meant to celebrate the significance of the Bible in the nation.

Principal of Kgolagano Theological College, Reverend Rabashotho Moshoeshoe said that the key mandate of the Bible Society was to make the word of God available to all people through a language that they understand, at affordable prices and in the format that they can easily use. 

Rev. Moshoeshoe urged churches to bring their pastors and the members of the public to enroll at Kgolagano Theological College to learn the Bible. 

He added that they are working hard to teach theology to interested parties through distance learning.

In addition, the assistant chairperson of Bible Society board, Ms Tjiyapo Mokhosoa said that the society works with communities in language and cultural preservation, especially in the areas of literacy development and Bible translation projects. 

She said they have literacy and Bible translation projects in Kalanga based in Francistown, Shegkalagari based in Kang and Se-Naro based in D’kar, among others. 

Ms Mokhosoa stressed that they work in partnership with churches in their evangelism mandate and societal moral reconstruction by availing the word of God to them for spiritual support.

She said they believe that every citizen has to have access to the Holy Scriptures regardless of their geographical location, culture and socio-cultural background. 

Furthermore, she urged Batswana to partake in the forthcoming Bible road show that will commence in Tati Siding through Tonota to Selebi Phikwe on the 18th of this month.

In his remarks, Kgosi Gunny Moses of Monarch praised the Bible Society for its effort in bringing the word of God to the people. 

However, he decried poor attendance of the event, especially that Monarch has many churches, whose members could have attended in large numbers.

Kgosi Moses said that of recent, Botswana has largely been bedeviled by social ills such as drug abuse, theft, passion killings, women and child abuse and families headed by single parents, opining that those ills can only be addressed through prayer.  ENDS