Page 23 - Unseen Hands by Nona Freeman

The Search
Tekle was a staunch member of the Coptic church until he finished the eighth grade at the age of twenty- two. He strictly obeyed the rules of its liturgical books and loved to read them aloud daily. His healing brought a new spiritual hunger, and questions stirred in his mind.
He went to the abbot of Tekle-Haimont Monastery, located at Adua Adiabun in Tigre Province. "Which of all these books is inspired and given by God for our salva tion?" he questioned.
"The Bible is the only divinely inspired book," the priest replied. "The others are the imaginative writings of men."
Stunned by this answer, Tekle exclaimed, "Then why doesn't the church condemn the liturgical books and open ly declare the Bible to be the inspired Word of God?"
"The people have believed in these books by unlearned and gain-seeldng men since childhood," the abbot replied. "It's impossible to turn them to the true way now. If we tell them that Jesus is the only savior of men, they would
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