GospelsSwedish charismatic church to drop Bibles from drones over ISIS-controlled areas in Iraq

A Sweden-based evangelical church has announced it would airdrop thousands of copies of the Bible onto areas of Iraq controlled by the Islamist ISIS. The church said it was part of an effort to “pass the hope and love of the Christian gospel” to people living under ISIS control. 

C|Net reports that the Livets Ord church in Uppsala in north Sweden said it would fly remote-controlled drones over ISIS-controlled areas – and that the drones will then drop tiny, electronic copies of the gospels into occupied towns.

The text of the gospels has been copied onto a device which looks like a USB drive with batteries.

The church is one of the leading charismatic religious institutions in Scandinavia. Its spokesman said that the Bibles are “the size of pill boxes” and “require no electricity but work on their own.”

He also dismissed accusations by critics of the church who said that the Bible drop was provocative. Rather, the spokesman said, the Bible drop was motivated by an “unfailing and never-ending love” for all people.

The church said in a statement: “Our ambition is to pass on the hope and love of the Christian gospel to a population living in closed areas where they are being denied human rights.

“We start our project in a few weeks and hope to drop thousands of Bibles.

“We believe in an unfailing and never-ending love, given to us by God. And together we try to spread that love to as many people as possible.”

The church has offered any details about the logistics of the operation, but said that the operation is likely to take place “in a few weeks.”

Livets Ord, translated as “The Word of Life,” was founded in the 1980s and has frequently been criticized for being run like a “cult,” according to Christian Today.