In the news: Pass It On

Who built the ark? It’s a good question for many of today’s parents and children, who are “unaware” of Bible stories. Almost three in 10 children do not know that the story of the birth of Jesus is a Biblical tale, research by the Bible Society found.

And many others are unable to identify Adam and Eve or Noah’s Ark as Christian stories.

Although many parents believe it is important for their children to be aware of what is written in the Bible, large numbers of youngsters have never read, seen or heard some of its most well-known stories.

The Bible Society said that these findings point to a decrease in Bible literacy and show that while many people still place great importance on the book, little is being done to promote it.

In the survey of 800 eight to 15-year-olds and around 1,100 parents, 29 per cent of children didn’t realise that the Nativity came from the Bible.

One in five (20 per cent) didn’t identify Noah’s Ark as a religious story and 19 per cent didn’t recognise Adam and Eve.

But almost one in 10 (9 per cent) incorrectly though that the stories of King Midas and Icarus came from the Bible, while 6 per cent thought the story of Hercules was contained in the book.

Nearly a quarter of children (23 per cent) had never read, seen or heard Noah’s Ark, along with 25% for the Nativity, 38% for Adam and Eve and 43% for the Crucifixion.

And parents did not fare much better. Nearly half of those questioned (46 per cent) failed to recognise Noah's Ark as a Bible story, while around a third were unsure of or did not recognise the tales of David and Goliath (31 per cent) and Adam and Eve (30 per cent).

Adults also confused modern day literature with the Bible. The report found that almost half (43%) of parents whose children had seen, heard or read Bible stories said it was important for a child to do so because these tales provided good values, while two in five (40%) thought these stories were important to our history and culture.

Three in 10 (30%) said it was important to ensure that classic stories and books were passed on to future generations.

It also revealed that over a quarter of children (28%) said they would like to read, hear or see more Bible stories.

The Bible Society published the research to mark the launch of its new Pass It On campaign, which aims to encourage parents to keep the Bible alive by passing on its stories to their children.

James Catford, group chief executive of Bible Society, said: "It's clear that parents want to give their children the best start in life. "The Bible's contribution to our culture - language, literature, the visual arts and music - is immense. "It doesn't matter who you are or where you come from.

"The Bible enriches life, and every child should have the opportunity to experience it.

"If we don't use the Bible, we risk losing it.

"We're calling on parents to pass it on." 

Have a blessed week. Yours in Christ, N.

 Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/children-and-parents-dont-recognise-famous-bible-stories-9114255.html

When do you say no?

21 On that day I will answer, says the Lord.
I will answer the heavens
and they will answer the earth.
22 The earth will answer the corn, the new wine, and the fresh oil,
and they will answer Jezreel;
23 I will sow him for myself in the land;
and I will have compassion on No Compassion,
and I will say to Not My People, “You are my people”;
and he will say, “You are my God.”
Hosea 2:21-23

In my bible reading of yesterday, Roger Pooley said something that touched me, I quote, 

Grace is free, outrageously so and it's a mistake to think that we can earn it but it's equally misleading to think that we can treat it lightly and avoid living the way God wants us to. Our attitudes to sex, money, time: they all need to be transformed and disciplined, by the love of God. In a highly sexualised culture, it's all too easy to become just a bit self-indulgent, and then..

How to relate the Word to the world?

Tonight, I have stumbled upon a really interesting site called The London Institute for Contemporary Christianity founded by John Stott a bit more than 25 years ago.  I quote: 'He (John Stott) saw the urgent need to enable Christians to integrate their faith with their whole life - at work as well as in the neighbourhood, in the lecture theatre as well as in the sanctuary. Part of John's genius was not only to be a genuinely great bible teacher, but to see the key issues of the time. When he brought LICC to birth he saw the key issue, 'Is Jesus lord of all, or not?' 'It aims at 'equipping Christians and churches for whole-life discipleship in the world'.
The site is huge and the resources cover six themes, engage with the bible,engage with culture, imagine project, engage with work, engage with youth, John Stott.  and plenty of articles, ..I enjoyed very much listening to John Stott's interviews and browsing the numerous articles. What appealed to me the most is this desire to tell the truth about Christianity.