Four men dressed as priests from the Bible tabernacle in the desert walk through the streets of Toledo, Spain, carrying a full-size replica of the Ark of the Covenant. Passersby are curious and approach to take a closer look. Many start asking questions.
“What are you doing here?” they ask. “What is all this about?”
Seventh-day Adventist church members, who double as actors, are ready to answer questions and talk with those interested in knowing more.
For several years now, Seventh-day Adventists in Spain have used an exhibition they call ExpoBiblia to highlight the historic role of the Bible, calling people’s attention to God’s Word. Adventist leaders in Spain say this is a prime method to reach out a society where most call themselves religious but hardly anyone reads the Bible regularly.
Advertised as a free “didactic and dynamic exhibition about the most widely read book,” ExpoBiblia has toured scores of cities and towns across Spain. It usually combines marches such as the one featuring the priests carrying the ark of the covenant and a “high priest” in full costume with a tent where Adventist volunteers answer questions about the history of the Bible and its importance for contemporary society.
The tent, usually set up at a public park or public square, includes an exhibition of rare, hard-to-find editions of the Bible and model-sized replicas that illustrate Bible stories and teachings, including Noah’s ark, Herod’s temple, and the statue described in Daniel 2, among others.
“ExpoBiblia helps people to quickly and dynamically learn about the origin, culture, and history of the Bible,” Adventist leaders in Spain recently stated in a text promoting the initiative. “It also seeks to instruct people on how the Bible has influenced music, architecture, and art in general.”
At the same time, Adventist leaders explained, ExpoBiblia seeks to showcase how the Bible has crossed political, cultural, and religious boundaries. Above all, ExpoBiblia helps to transmit Bible values, which include “equality, solidarity, justice, respect, tolerance, forgiveness, and love,” they said.
The recent national congress held by the Adventist Church’s Spanish Union of Churches Conference in Fuenlabrada, Madrid, in June was a prime opportunity to remind the more than 4,000 Adventist church members who gathered there about the outreach initiative.
“ExpoBiblia has proven to be a very valuable tool to make thousands of Spanish people aware of the importance of God’s Word for society,” Spanish Union evangelism director Gabriel Diaz said during the convocation. “A recent exhibition drew around 1,000 people to the ExpoBiblia tent, where they could get acquainted with Bible stories, reflect on the importance of the Bible, and ask questions of Adventist member volunteers. Our plan is to keep organizing exhibitions like this one, so more and more Spaniards can get to know about the Bible and decide to study it.”
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