Rare Bible given to Mars Hill

From contributed reports

The 1686 Martin Luther Bible contains elaborate drawings of Bible characters.

Contributed photo

A sacred bit of history has emerged from the distant past to find a home at Mars Hill College.

A 1686 Martin Luther Bible has been donated to the college by Elfriede Ludwig Wilde, resident of Texarkana, Texas and former resident of Hendersonville. The Bible, a rare and priceless book of antiquity, was given in memory of her late husband Harold Wilde and in honor of the Wilde family of Western North Carolina.

Wilde has been in possession of the Bible since 1967. She said its preservation through the years is nothing short of providential.

"The time has come for this Bible to find a new and permanent home, Mars Hill College," she said. "So I am passing on to you as a gift this special book that the Lord has protected again and again for 321 years."

It is unknown how many 1686 Martin Luther Bibles are still in existence, but even without its rarity, the Bible would be valuable for its sheer size, its ornate drawings, its thick leather binding, and the brass moldings on its cover.

Although the Bible descended to Wilde through her family, her husband's ancestry is closely tied to Mars Hill College and Madison County. Genealogy connected her to Mars Hill College more recently, when she met Darryl Norton, the college's Director of Auxiliary Services, as part of his personal genealogical research. It was through their friendship, and after much prayer and thought, that Wilde came to the conclusion that the Bible and Mars Hill College were a "perfect fit."

Knowing the history of the college and its Baptist heritage, she decided that the gift of the Bible would be a proper way to honor her deceased husband and his family.

The receipt of so priceless a gift carries with it a solemn duty, said Mars Hill College President Dan Lunsford.

"There is every reason to believe that this Bible could have been destroyed many times in the three centuries since its publication," Lunsford said. "The fact that it has now come to us at Mars Hill College means that we are the custodians of a rare treasure. We therefore owe a duty to those people through whose hands this Bible has passed, to preserve it for all the people of the present and the future who will learn from its pages."

The Bible is undoubtedly the oldest book in the college's collection, Norton said. He said the donation is significant for Mars Hill College, not only because of the Bible's antiquity, rarity and value, but also because it is a symbol of the history and the values on which the college is based.

"Mars Hill College has always been an institution with roots in the Christian faith," he said. "Over time, the relationship of the college with the Baptist denomination may evolve, but the display of this Bible is one small way that the college can show its intention to remain committed to the core beliefs on which it was founded."