Editorial November 22, 1993 Issue

The Bible: book of hope

Mary Metzner Trammell

Not many of us have had to hold on to our Bibles the way Gregory Crow did. In 1556, he fled on shipboard from his hometown of Malden, because—like most Protestants living in England during the reign of the ruthless Queen Mary—he was being persecuted for his religion. And he wasn't allowed to read his Bible.

Midway across the English Channel, though, Crow's ship sank. As he clung to the wreckage, he suddenly spotted his copy of the New Testament floating in the water nearby. He struggled to grab hold of it and stuff it in his shirt. Then, for days on end, he held on to the splintered remains of the ship and prayed.

Even when all hope seemed lost, his faith somehow kept him afloat until—almost miraculously, it seemed—a kindly sea captain on course for Antwerp rescued him. The very first thing Crow did, once he was safely on board the ship, was to fish out his beloved Testament—thrilled to discover that it was still intact!

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