Bible Society Report on AI, Bible Apps, and Theological Bias

From the blurb:

‘Today, millions of people are turning to AI chatbots to deepen their understanding of Scripture. But does generative AI impact how we interpret and interact with the Bible? And do Bible chatbots show theological bias?

‘These questions are raised in a research paper produced by the Cambridge Centre for Chinese Theology (CCCT), in collaboration with Bible Society.

‘Published in January 2026, AI, Bible Apps and Theological Bias is the result of a pilot study that examined how four Bible apps responded to questions that raise different responses across the Church. In doing so, the study sought to understand if the apps privileged certain theological traditions and perspectives.’

More information can be found here, and the report is available as a pdf here.

The Bible in Four Minutes

A few months back, I posted about ‘Six Beats One Story’, a new resource from Bible Society summing up the story of Scripture in six key scenes – Origins, Exodus, Exile, Messiah, Spirit, Home.

A new addition to the resource – ‘The Bible in Four Minutes’ – a spoken word animation, written and narrated by Dai Woolridge, is now available from here, and is well worth checking out.

Six Beats One Story

Borrowing from Andrew Ollerton’s book, The Bible: A Story That Makes Sense of Life, a new resource from Bible Society – ‘Six Beats One Story’ – sums up the story of Scripture in six key scenes – Origins, Exodus, Exile, Messiah, Spirit, Home.

According to the Bible Society website:

‘Summing up the Bible narrative in just six scenes, Dai Woolridge unpacks the big story through colloquial prose, social media type posts and spoken word poetry.

‘The aim is to creatively retrace some of the key beats in the Bible story, and ask the question, “In light of Jesus, what’s this mean for us today?”’

More information, including a four-minute animated overview of the biblical story and tracks of spoken work poetry on each of the six ‘beats’ is available here.

The Bible in Transmission (Spring 2022) on the Church, the Bible, and Racism

The latest issue of The Bible in Transmission, from Bible Society, is available online here, offering a collection of articles on ‘The Church, the Bible and Racism’.

I have taken the summaries of articles below from Joshva Raja’s Editorial.

Joshva Raja

Editorial

Joshua T. Searle

What is Wrong with Racism? A Biblical and Theological Answer

As Joshua Searle reminds us there is a non-negotiable biblical mandate and gospel imperative to confront and combat racism. Racism is more than the expression of a set of bigoted beliefs. It operates on many levels and manifests itself in many different ways. It promotes injustice and inequality, and is a ‘blasphemous violation of the sacred dignity of a human being who bears the divine image’.

Mohammed Girma

Racial Justice and the Church: Orthodoxy and Orthopraxy

Mohammed Girma discusses the struggle the Church has in moving from right theology to right practice when it comes to matters of racial justice. The Church needs to set a biblical agenda and engage prophetically in the public discourse about racial justice. Although the BAME community bears the brunt of abuse, marginalisation and injustice, we should recognise that the spiritual damage transcends racial boundaries. The issue goes deeper than skin colour because it is an example of the depth of human brokenness. If the Church is to change mindsets and become an inclusive and equal community, the goal must be ‘re-humanising by restoring the distorted divine image in humanity’.

Chigor Chike

Creating Space for Diversity within Church Communities

Chigor Chike reminds us that racism is about power. Building on his work in the area of ethnic diversity and inclusion, he argues that one strategy for confronting and overcoming racism is the promotion of diversity within our church communities. Diversity is a good thing. Churches wishing to confront racism should create space for diversity within their communities. This will be uncomfortable for some church leaders but they should commit to working with BAME people in order to fight racism.

Owen Hylton

The Reconciled Church: The Antioch Model

Owen Hylton shows that diversity and racial reconciliation are not purely modern inventions of a secular society. Rather they are at the very heart of God’s purpose: ‘God always intended... one day to display his wisdom through the multicoloured, multi-layered, multicultural diverse Church.’ Reflecting on the example of the Early Church in Antioch, Hylton outlines some of the steps churches can take to become reconciled and more integrated communities.

Jason Shields

Race, Justice and Social Analysis

Drawing on biblical views of justice and righteousness, Jason Shields asks church communities to transform themselves. They should alter their thinking and reimagine their prophetic role in challenging and changing the sinful and discriminatory structures within the Church and wider society. He invites churches to be part of an alternative biblical vision for diverse and inclusive communities, one that recognises the dignity of all people.

Chine McDonald

The God of All People

Chine McDonald writes about her experience of being both black and female in a world that in many ways is designed to elevate both whiteness and patriarchy. ‘White supremacy can come in the form of monochrome leadership, theology and practice.’ This is the status quo. However, the Church should be better than this because it should be actively breaking down the dividing walls of hostility that exist between people. The Church should be like a mosaic of different shapes, colours and sizes that come together to form a beautiful picture.

Ingrid Reneau Walls

Transcending the Dehumanising Effects of Slavery and Racism: Hope and the African American Spirituals

Ingrid Reneau reflects on how the Bible became the enduring vehicle for many forms of radical resistance thinking and actions for those Africans cruelly taken into slavery. Informed by biblical stores of exile, liberation, lament and hope, the African American Spirituals gave those forced into slavery the cultural and spiritual tools to overcome the limitations of their present realities and affirm a right to life. In doing so, those who sang and danced the Spirituals rejected the Christianity of those who enslaved them.

The Bible in Transmission (Summer 2020) on Covid-19

The latest issue of The Bible in Transmission, from Bible Society, is available online here, offering a collection of articles on ‘When a Crisis Strikes: Perspectives on the Impact of Covid-19’.

I have taken the summaries of articles below from Hannah Stevens’ Editorial.

Hannah Stevens

Editorial

Dave Landrum

The Role of the Church In, Through and Beyond the Pandemic

It is because of the conscious recognition of a God who cares for us that the Church has taken the opportunity to respond with outreach in the midst of this crisis. In his article, Dave Landrum discusses how the Church is responding with deliveries of food and medicines, shelter, phone calling ministries and much more. Perhaps this could be part of the reason why there is evidence, as Dave also explores, that people in general are more open to conversations about God and willing to explore church during this time. Historically, the Church’s willingness to stretch out a hand to those crying out for help has helped it grow. It could also be because the fear invoked by a crisis exposes the deeper need for a greater plan and power to be in place. Digital church services, online prayer groups and Zoom meetings also make church more accessible to those who are just beginning to explore faith, as well as supporting regular church members during this time. Dave notes that many churches are coping well despite the closure of their buildings – they are adapting by digitising their content and still ‘meeting’ in each other’s homes digitally, a response which may be going back to a format more in line with the Church’s roots. However, Dave also explores how the Church might respond to the predicted economic crisis through a focus on employment provision and supporting local business.

Peter Heslam

God’s Pandemic Rule and Redemption: Business and the Renewal of the Global Economy

Peter Heslam explores the challenges faced by business with the closure of places to work, shop, learn, socialise, travel and enjoy leisure. Peter notes that social isolation has become a way to ‘engage in a communal struggle’ rather than an expression of individual self-sufficiency. He states that business [sic] are fundamentally ‘other-oriented’, co-operative enterprises and that those most in touch with their purpose are the most successful during the pandemic. They are the ones most engaged with their customers and their changing needs. This drive to meet needs – fundamentally, to serve – is driving three Industrial Revolutions. These are the digital technology revolution, which includes the boom of web-based business such as Zoom; the revolution of local digital production through technologies such as 3D printing, and, Peter hopes, a decarbonising green revolution, aided by the replacement of mass manufacturing and carbon-consuming habits with digital and local alternatives.

Chris Sunderland

So What for the Earth?

Chris Sunderland’s point that deep and lasting culture change is needed to protect the Earth beyond the lockdown. Chris is concerned with environmental issues and makes the point that although much of our response to the crisis has had a positive effect on our environment, this will be short-lived unless we change our view of our relationship to the Earth. For Chris, the collective feeling of dread bought about by the pandemic should catalyse a restructure in our thinking about how we can care for others through caring for our environment. This is grounded in an understanding of ourselves as ‘part of the Earth’s life’, and the Earth as God’s precious creation, a creation that is a continuing process beyond the initial act at the beginning.

Fleur Dorrell

Alchemy for the Masses: Why We Need Art in This Pandemic

Creation is a deeply human response to pain and crisis, which we do as part of our reflection of our creator God. We create to express to others and for the benefit of others. Fleur Dorrell explores the artistic response to the Covid-19 pandemic. She tackles the myth that art is an inaccessible luxury only for the elite, pointing to the democratisation of art apparent during the crisis, such as painting rainbows for the NHS. This, too, is a response that reflects God, because, whether consciously or unconsciously, people are utilising a symbol that invokes God’s promise and protection against total destruction. Just as the biblical rainbow in the sky was and is for everyone, so the artistic expression of solidarity with the NHS and social care is for everyone, from children to the elderly to the disabled. Art speaks to people of all walks of life, and so, Fleur points out, art is a means of connecting and caring for others.

Philippa Taylor

Coronavirus: Some Ethical Issues

A person’s relational health is... a factor in whether they will survive illness, as well as physical health. The truth of this drives us to reach out and provide social interaction to the self-isolating in whatever way we can, as much as we are driven to feed them, because of our shared sense of the ‘high value of human life’, as Philippa puts it. This in turn drives us to evaluate the ethics of the way medical care is being distributed. Philippa explores the ethical dilemmas faced by many medical staff today due to the shortage of resources.

Paul Williams

The Revelation of the Lockdown

Paul Williams discusses the opportunity for a new mission field after lockdown has ended. Paul makes the point that lockdown has revealed the flaws in the metanarratives that influence post-Christian society – science and the courses of action based on science are not always clear, and the world of business and economics is not always stable. He argues that there is a sense we are tired of cynicism; we hunger for ‘the real’, which is expressed in the appreciation of relationships and life, as well as gratitude for the NHS and key workers. Paul has recently written Exiles on Mission, in which he discusses the sense of alienation of Christianity from culture, but even in this he points to the hope that we can be ambassadors for the culture of Christ. Perhaps to the people who are feeling alienated from their old lifestyles as a result of lockdown, Christians can relate and be ambassadors of Christ in the midst of it.

Paul Woolley

News from Bible Society

Ink 5 (Spring 2020)

The fifth issue of ink, published by Tyndale House, Cambridge, is now available, this one looking at ‘those who worked so diligently through history – sometimes under threat of their lives – to make printed Scripture as reliable and accessible as possible’. There’s also a piece from Peter Head, exploring ‘what we know about the letter-carriers who delivered the epistles to their recipients’.

UK residents can sign up here to receive issues through the post, but the publication is also available as a pdf here.

Bible Society on Easter and the Coronavirus

Bible Society released three short videos over the Easter weekend, fronted by their Chief Executive, Paul Williams (whose recently-published book, Exiles on Mission, I am currently enjoying reading).

The videos can be accessed at the links below:

Where is God in our pain?

This is a special message from Bible Society for those in the thick of it taking on the coronavirus crisis, whether in healthcare, as key workers or helping those who are suffering.

Is Coronavirus the end of the world?

Is coronavirus the end of the world? Or just the end of the world as we know it? What does the Bible have to say, and what other wisdom might it have for us as our lives are put on pause?

What if I didn’t have to fear death?

Is there anyone who doesn’t fear death? Apparently so. This Easter Sunday we explore why Christians take strength from the Easter story and how it can give us hope as we face the coronavirus crisis.

The Bible in Transmission (Autumn/Winter 2019) on Debt

The latest issue of The Bible in Transmission, from Bible Society, is available online here, offering a collection of articles on the issue of debt.

I have taken the summaries of articles below from Nathan Mladin’s Editorial.

Nathan Mladin

Editorial

Luke Bretherton

A Christian Ethic of Debt

Luke Bretherton... opens the issue with a brief and convincing plea for a richer and more nuanced understanding of the notion of debt. The language of debt, he shows, is pervasive across time as a means of expressing our personal and communal obligations: to God, to one other [sic], to society and to creation. At its best, debt can express social cooperation and mutually advantageous exchanges. At its worst, debt can be used as a means of bondage, exploitation and domination. Luke’s article ends with a clarion call for the Church to proclaim and embody the gospel story of the God who comes to liberate people from debt slavery and to lavish credit on those the powers-that-be deem to be high risk.

Eve Poole

Debt and Deformation [currently no working link to this article]

Eve Poole... helpfully introduces the idea of creation orders to explain how debt extends beyond the economic sphere. We are all born, she shows, into a form of debt, to our families, to society, and to creation. Eve also highlights the importance of institutions, which she describes as systems of rules. Where the rules are just, society runs smoothly. Where they are broken, they lead to injustice and harm. Student debt is then discussed as an illuminating example of a ‘rule’ that is doing more harm than good – effectively turning students from citizens into consumers, further extending the reach of the market into society.

Barbara Ridpath

Forgive Us Our Debts

Barbara Ridpath... looks at the most common form of debt: personal or household debt. She explains the reasons why people generally borrow, the warning signs of difficulties, the effects of unpayable debt, while also suggesting how practically to help the overindebted. A fruitful question is woven through the piece: what would a more just and loving approach to extending and repaying credit look like? To begin answering this question, Barbara distils the key arguments of the Forgive us our Debts report and offers the Christian ethical framework we put forward.

Hannah Rich

The Church’s Response to Debt

Hannah Rich... offers an insightful discussion of the Church’s response to debt problems. This has been mainly, but not exclusively in the form of debt advice, in partnership with Christians Against Poverty, but also through independent initiatives. Hannah shows how churches are uniquely placed to offer support that is deeply relational and holistic. Churches, she notes, generally address not only people’s economic burden of debt but also their relational and spiritual needs. Their support is inclusive, holistic, and joined up, integrated with other forms of provision. As an institutional voice, Hannah shows, the church has significant capacity to challenge unjust structures. The most notable initiative on this front has been what the media called the ‘War on Wonga’, the campaign led by the Archbishop of Canterbury against doorstep and payday lenders charging interest rates and fees of up to 5000 per cent. But there is, as she rightly points out in the conclusion of her piece, plenty of scope for the church ‘to go further in challenging unjust economic structures and create genuine alternatives’.

Philip Booth and Stephen Nakrosis

Government Debt, Inter-Generational Justice and Catholic Social Teaching

Philip Booth... and Stephen Nakrosis...approach the topic of government debt through the frameworks of Catholic Social Teaching, natural law, and virtue ethics. As with other forms of debt, government debt, they show, is not always and unquestionably problematic. It should be assessed on the reasons why it is incurred (e.g. spending while not taxing properly vs borrowing to invest in infrastructure) and its effects on, among other things, the relationship between generations, and between government and the governed, according to the principles of intergenerational justice and solidarity. They note, however, that any increase in the size and scope of government must be financed through adequate taxation of the current generation.

Paul Mills

Government Debt and the Enslavement of Future Generations

Paul Mills applies explicitly biblical wisdom on debt and stewardship to how Christians should think about government borrowing today. Paul acknowledges that there is no biblical material which speaks directly to the question of government debt, but offers scriptural principles focused on the ‘relational dynamics at work between borrower and lender, and between current and future generations’ which are still applicable to the issue of government debt today. The article ends with a set of suggestions to reduce and make government borrowing more transparent and responsible. In the end, however, beyond anything that policies informed by Christian wisdom may achieve, there is an urgent need, he argues, for ‘a change of societal heart’, away from selfishness towards self-giving. And it is in this context that Christians, shaped by the gospel, have a significant opportunity to embody a spirit of generosity and sacrifice.

The Bible in Transmission (Autumn 2018) on Reconciliation

The latest issue of The Bible in Transmission, from Bible Society, is available online here, offering a collection of articles on the theme of ‘Reconciliation’.

I have taken the ‘tasters’ of articles below from Tony Graham’s editorial.

Tony Graham

Editorial

Sarah Hills

From Estrangement  to Communion: A Theology of Reconciliation

Two of our contributors, Sarah Hills and Gordon Kennedy, remind us that this ministry of reconciliation begins with the transforming grace of God, the wounded healer.

Glenn Jordan & Pádraig Ó Tuama 

Sharing stories: Narratives, Reconciliation and Public Theology in Ireland and Britain

Our second article comes out of the Corrymeela community in Northern Ireland. Established in 1965, Corrymeela’s mission is to ‘transform division through human encounter’. Here Glenn Jordan and Pádraig Ó Tuama discuss, with a focus on the book of Ruth, the importance of creating space to share stories and the power narratives have to confront and transform. As we approach the centenary of the partition of Ireland and face the uncertainty of the UK leaving the European Union, Glenn and Pádraig challenge us to examine ‘the stories that will affect our civic, bordered, political, religious and relational realities. These realities invite deep and complicated reflection on the past, and the ways in which the stories told (or not told) of the past can affect the practice of the present.’ What sort of society do we want to become?

Gordon Kennedy

Broken Relationships

Two of our contributors, Sarah Hills and Gordon Kennedy, remind us that this ministry of reconciliation begins with the transforming grace of God, the wounded healer. As Gordon states, ‘if we long to see reconciliation in our relationships with one another we must begin with our reconciliation to God our Father.’

Fleur Dorrell

Believing is Seeing: Reconciling Caravaggio’s Supper at Emmaus Paintings

Our need for God’s grace is highlighted in Fleur Dorrell’s reflections on Caravaggio’s two paintings of the Supper at Emmaus based on the story in Luke’s Gospel. Here Fleur explores ‘how Caravaggio uses symbol and revelation to reconcile art with reality and faith with salvation to open the disciples’ eyes to Christ’.

Elizabeth Oldfield

Loving your Digital Neighbour: New Media and Reconciliation in an Age of Incivility

As technology drives changes in society, significant interpersonal challenges emerge. As David Goodhart argues, social media has amplified our differences and the tone has changed. We are living in an age of increasing incivility. So how do we deal with difference and what practical steps can we take to help restore broken relationships? Drawing on her own experience of social media, Elizabeth Oldfield reflects on what it means to love your neighbour in a digital age.

Ian Christie

Reconciliation with the Earth? From Ecological Violence to Peacemaking with the Creation

In our penultimate article, we return to the subject of war – our war on nature. Ian Christie argues that in the face of a worsening ecological crisis we need to urgently rethink our ethics and values. The potential for ecological reconciliation is real and Christian communities can take a lead and be ‘exemplars of new ways of living and cooperating that demonstrate reconciliation’ with God’s creation.

R. David Muir

The Windrush Generation: History, Memory and Racial Reconciliation

Social divisions are not new, as David Muir outlines in his account of the Windrush generation, who experienced significant racism and discrimination. ‘The Church can, and should be, the place where all people feel welcome and accepted.’ However, more needs to be done to make our churches more inclusive and our society more cohesive.

Paul Williams

Afterword

The Bible in Transmission (Spring 2018) on Challenging Church: Growth, Change and Diversity

The latest issue of The Bible in Transmission, from Bible Society, is available online here, offering a collection of articles on the theme of ‘Challenging Church: Growth, Change and Diversity’.

I have taken the ‘tasters’ of articles below from Chine McDonald’s editorial.

Chine McDonald

Editorial

David Goodhew

The Theological Foundations for Church Growth

The prevailing narrative coming from research into church attendance suggests that the Church in the UK could now be in irreversible decline. In our opening article, David Goodhew, the Director of the Centre for Church Growth Research in Durham, raises the disturbing question as to whether this decline has, in part, theological roots. Goodhew argues that we need to be liberated from such thinking. As he says, ‘Having a nuanced theology of church growth will assist churches in growing numerically, but doing so in a godly way.’

Rhiannon McAleer

Church Growth – The Numbers

Although the prevailing narrative is of a Church in decline, the picture is perhaps a little more complex than we might think, as Dr Rhiannon McAleer, Bible Society’s Head of Research, explores in her article. McAleer’s statistical overview of the UK Church demonstrates that although there is decline, there are also pockets of hope, in which denominations are seeing signs of flourishing in terms of church planting and growth. 

Israel Olofinjana

The Impact of Black Majority Churches in Britain

Israel Olofinjana, a member of the training team at the Centre for Missionaries from the Majority World, explores the impact of black majority churches in Britain and world mission.

Harvey Kwiyani

Monocultural Churches in an Age of Migration

Dr Harvey Kwiyani, lecturer in African Christianity and Theology at Liverpool Hope University, explores growing churches, migration and multiculturalism in more detail.

Ashley Beck

Church on the Move: A Theological Reflection

Examining the issue of migration from a theological and biblical perspective, Father Beck challenges Christians to properly understand migration so that the Church as a community may more closely reflect what it means to be the people of God.

Linda Rayner

Re-imagining the Church in a Rapidly Changing Culture

Growth is a sign of life. As Linda Rayner explains, the Fresh Expressions movement is just one of the ways in which churches are adapting to the times, changing where they meet and the way in which they do things in order to fulfil the Great Commission.

Jenny Sinclair

Fostering a Culture of Encounter

Another movement that has begun to emerge in recent years is Together for the Common Good. In her article, Jenny Sinclair explains how the principle of seeking the common good can untap the potential of churches, build relationships and strengthen communities.

Jill Hopkinson

Church Growth in Rural Communities

A story we seldom hear in discussions about church growth is the signs of hope and flourishing taking place within rural churches. But it is time to tell a new story, writes Jill Hopkinson.

Growth, Relationship and Action in the Church of England

Introducing the GRA:CE (Growth, Relationship and Action in the Church of England) Project

Paul Williams

News from Bible Society

The Bible in Transmission (Spring 2017) on Children, the Bible and Spirituality

The latest issue of The Bible in Transmission, from Bible Society, is available online here, offering a collection of articles on ‘Children, the Bible and Spirituality’.

I have taken the ‘tasters’ of articles below from Steve Holmes’ editorial.

Steve Holmes

Editorial

Rebecca Nye

Spirituality as a natural part of childhood

Rebecca Nye opens our issue with a discussion of children’s spirituality, founded on her years of work observing children and listening to their explanations of their own lives. She defines ‘spirituality’ as ‘God’s ways of being with us, and our ways of being with God’. We do not need to create spirituality in our children, she argues. God is already with them and if we are attentive to what they say we will discover that they have ways of being with God. She describes childhood as a ‘highly blessed’ stage of life, offering evidence to suggest that significant experience of God is more common in childhood than in our adult years. Nye identities three spiritual needs of our children: to be deeply listened to when they articulate their spiritual questions and experiences; to be respected; and to have space for spirituality (in every sense of the word ‘space’).

Anne Richards

Children in the Bible

Anne Richards takes us to the Bible and what it has to tell us. God calls children to growth and development, she argues, even from the womb; because of this God wants every child to live. God calls and commissions children to minister, and adults need to respect and honour that. God values and blesses children. Richards shows us that these biblical truths about God’s attitude to children bring with them ethical demands about how we act and react. Her biblical exegesis leads to the same conclusions as Nye’s scientific observations: we nurture our children best when we respect and make space for God’s prior presence and activity in their lives.

Anna-Claar Thomasson-Rosingh

Read your Bible... if you want to grow

Anna-Clara Thomasson-Rosingh picks up these same themes as she writes about using the Bible with children. She contrasts a closed-down method of adults instructing children to understand Bible passages as the adult understands them with a willingness to ask open questions and learn together. She commends practices such as ‘Godly Play’ which invite such openness; her perspective reflects a quotation Rebecca Nye offered: ‘the only teacher in the room is Christ’ (Sofia Cavalletti). Thomasson-Rosingh’s perspective finally depends on faith: faith that Christ is present, teaching, when we encounter scripture together; faith that scripture will teach and form both us and our children even when we don’t have good answers for their (or our) questions; faith that the Holy Spirit can use even their (and our) confusion or resistance to grow us into the likeness of Christ. As she says, ‘If scripture is really inspired and inspiring then grown-ups do not have to defend either the Bible or God.’

Claire Smith

Tea towels and  togas: Bringing the Bible to life for every child in every primary school

Claire Smith writes about Open the Book, a project now run by Bible Society that demonstrates just these values in the context of primary school assemblies. Adults and children engage Bible stories together in creative ways, and everyone involved grows in their understanding of the scriptures. This is a huge good news story: thousands of volunteers in thousands of schools reaching hundreds of thousands of children regularly with the Bible and creating new mission opportunities for local churches. The ambition is larger, though: to bring the Bible to life in every primary school in England and Wales.

Trevor Cooling

Children’s spiritual development in school

‘Every primary school’ covers a multitude of communities, varying hugely in size, context, cultural mix and the range of religious backgrounds of the pupils. Trevor Cooling writes about the nation’s schools, secondary as well as primary, and the statutory duty they have to promote the ‘spiritual development’ of their pupils. In particular, he looks at how ‘Christian-ethos schools’ (what the media would report as ‘faith schools’) seek to be both faithful to their church foundation and also responsible to the multi-faith pupil intake they receive. He describes three very different schools that are successfully negotiating this challenge in their own contexts, and two innovative approaches to delivering subjects as diverse as hockey skills and geology within a Christian ethos.

Olwyn Mark

Passing on faith in the home

Because modern British schools receive pupils of all faiths and none, Cooling notes that ‘Christians can no longer expect the school to undertake the nurture of their child’s Christian faith.’This recognition demonstrates the importance of family and church contexts for the development of children’s faith. Olwyn Mark recently wrote a report, Passing on Faith, for the think tank Theos, in which she explores how faith is transmitted at home. She returns to this subject in our next article. The Bible clearly pictures and demands that the great stories of God’s saving work will be passed from parents to children in the home, but this is not happening in many Christian homes. Where it is, parents are fearful both of failure and of success – concerned that their children will be mocked or bullied at school for their beliefs.

That said, the evidence is clear that young people’s faith-identity is largely determined by their home life. Secular parents generally produce secular children. Christian young people are overwhelmingly likely to have grown up in a Christian home. Faith will be passed on most successfully, Olwyn Mark argues, through rituals, repeated embodied practices that instantiate beliefs and values. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the quality of the general home environment is also important: stable, happy, loving families more often lead to children embracing the faith of their parents.

Lucy Moore

Being a church for people of all ages: The messy model

There is also evidence that children will remain committed to Christianity if they experience church as something that belongs to them, not just to the adults. In our final piece, Lucy Moore writes about the astonishing growth of Messy Church, suggesting that what has made the model so successful is a commitment to being church for all ages together, rather than an adult church with children’s activities, or a children’s club with adults as spectators. In Messy Church we also see the creative shared exploration of scripture that our first three articles recommended. Moore also suggests that an orientation towards celebration and a focus on Jesus are crucial parts of the mix. Like Open the Book, Messy Church is a significant success story of our time.

Paul Williams

News from Bible Society

Bible Society You and Your Bible Survey

Bible Society have posted the results from their ‘You and Your Bible’ survey launched last autumn, in which they invited people to share their Bible reading habits.

They asked questions in the following few areas:

• Books of the Bible: What’s your favourite book of the Bible? And what’s your least favourite?

• The Bible: Select five words or phrases that best describe the Bible for you.

• Bible Reading: Outside of church services, how often do you read (or listen to) the Bible?

• Reading Methods: Which of these do you use most often to read the Bible? (options given)

• Reading locations: In the last month, where did you last read/listen to the Bible?

The results from over 3,700 people who took part are available to view here, and to download as a pdf here.