The Bible transforms a man and a community

At the CMS Summer School today Con Campbell spoke on 2 Timothy 3 including the verses:

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

To illustrate the power of the Word of God, Con

told a story I had not

heard before. Following the Mutiny on the Bounty. Some of the mutineers settled on Pitcairn island with a group of Tahitians. However, from an idyllic beginning it degenerated into drunkenness, violence, and debauchery. This history by a current resident of the Island recounts:

After a period of four years, the community fell into turmoil. Fueled by homemade alcohol, disputes over women eventually resulted in the violent deaths of all but two of the men – Adams and Young. Six years later Young died of asthma; Adams was left with eleven women and 23 children. Adams turned to the Bounty Bible, which led him to repentance and a new outlook on life. Using the Bible, he educated the children, built a school and organized the community into a Christian way of life.