The Library of the Universidad Bíblica Latinoamericana: 75th Anniversary in the Midst of Changes

This essay offers a brief account of the library of the Universidad Biblica Latinoamericana (U.B.L.) in San Jose, Costa Rica. It has been shaped by a variety of theological outlooks during its nearly seventy-five years of existence. It begins in the “Old Country,” where evangelistic revivals provided much of the impetus for missionary approaches then being taken in Latin America. Another theological wave, as conservative as the European, arose from the United States. In the Sixties, social and political changes in the Latin American region brought about changes in the way theology was produced and practiced, giving birth to a new form, later on embraced by the institution, with significant effects on its library. The U.B.L. library is evolving in the midst of theological changes, leaving behind its “home-grown” character, shifting to a more professional model as it prepares for new challenges. EvangElical Roots in EuRopE I n the twentieth century, following his conversion at the age of eighteen in 1853, the Irish Protestant preacher Henry Grattan Guinness (1835-1910)1 appeared on the European religious scene. The Ulster Revival of 1859 brought nearly 100,000 converts into the Protestant church. Guinness’s eloquent open-air preaching attracted great crowds. His evangelistic zeal enabled him to train and send a great number of “faith missionaries” to different places around the world. Guinness wrote numerous books with eye-catching titles: The Approaching End of the Age (1878), Light for the Last Days (1887), Romanism and the Reformation (1887), The Divine Program of World History (1888), City of Seven Hills (1891), and History Unveiling Prophecy (1906).2 He succeeded in establishing a wellmanaged missionary enterprise, whose activities occupied him almost to the end of his life. In 1873 Henry and his wife founded the East London Missionary Training Institute, also called Harley College. A successful venture, it still continues to this day, training Christians for missions and evangelism. His deep concern for Christianizing the world led Dr. Guinness to found several missionary organizations: Livingstone Inland Mission (1877), Congo-Balolo Mission (1888), Regions Beyond Missionary Union (1898). Guinness would likely have had almost no role in the development of Christianity in Costa Rica had it not been for a Scottish lad who was tremendously influenced by his preaching, and the way that the great Irish preacher conducted his campaigns. Harry Strachan (1872-1945), son of Scottish parents, was born in Fergus, Ontario, Canada.3 In 1874 Susan Beamish, whom Strachan later married, was born near Dunmanway in Cork County, Ireland. When Harry was seven years old, his family returned to Scotland. The Beamish family attended the Anglican Church, but Susan later joined a small Methodist Church in Cork County. At the age of 21 Harry Strachan joined the Bethesda Free Church in Sunderland Street, where he came for the first time under the influence of H. G. Guinness.4 1 A nephew of Arthur Guinness, Irish founder of the Guinness Brewery. 2 The H. Grattan Guinness Archive: http://www.historicism.com/Guinness/guinnesstitles.htm. 3 Nelson, Wilton M. A History of Protestantism in Costa Rica (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton Theological Seminary, 1957), 258. 4 Roberts, W. Dayton. One Step Ahead: the Innovative Strachans and the Birth of the Latin American Mission (Miami: Latin American Mission, 1996), 4. Alvaro Perez Guzman is Librarian at the Universidad Biblica Latinoamericana, in San Jose, Costa Rica.