Bible Bashed: Kids Vow Good Book ‘Irrelevant’
I do not find this surprising at all. I have found most people that have a problem with Christian traditions, values and teachings realize that they cannot hold themselves to that high of a standard. It is much easier for them to marginalize them and or ignore them.
12 July 2009, SKY News
Only one in 20 Brits can list all Ten Commandments and 16% cannot name any, a damning study of modern-day knowledge of the Bible has found.
-The legal system was partially based on these concepts; the lack of basic knowledge is not surprising in a culture pushing society into socialism. Religion has to be beaten back less the people develop the ability to think freely. It appears the Brits have succeeded.
Young people are especially bad at reciting stories from the Good Book, the Durham University survey of 900 believers and non-believers learned.
Half of under 45s failed to accurately recount information about Samson and Delilah, while a third were clueless when quizzed about the Feeding of the 5,000.
-I would fail that test but I do recognize the contribution that Christianity has made to building our modern societies and establishing a baseline of values to build on.
But the survey, funded by a consortium of national churches, charitable trusts and Bible agencies, also found few among the young troubled by their ignorance.
The majority ruled the Christian tome old fashioned, irrelevant and “for people like (the church-going EastEnders’ character) Dot Cotton”, the research found.
-Our own media also pushes people away from religion and encourages children to question authority and value self-fulfillment over authority.
The National Biblical Literacy Survey 2009 also revealed that 40% did not know that the tradition of giving Christmas gifts came from the story of the Wise Men bringing gold, frankincense and myrrh to the baby Jesus.
One respondent said David and Goliath was the name of a ship while another thought Daniel – who survived being thrown into the lions’ den – was The Lion King.
Despite the success of the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, more than half (57%) of those polled knew nothing about Joseph and his brothers. The researchers say their findings show public figures can no longer make assumptions about people’s knowledge of Christianity.
-I would think most public figures would also have failed this survey and none of them could name two of the Ten Commandments. I base that on seeing them ignore them all on a routine basis.
The Reverend Brian Brown of St John’s College, Durham University, said: “The Church and political leaders should take serious note of the findings and recognise that we can not make the assumptions we used to make about the Bible and its place in contemporary people’s lives and culture.”
-Good luck changing things, I know many professed Christians but few that share, teach, volunteer or help with established church activities.
The initial findings formed part of the evidence behind the Methodist Church’s decision to designate 2011 as the Year of the Bible.
-First I have heard of it. Need to work on better advertising.
Doctor Bulldog & Ronin 
12 July, 2009 at 10:19 am
Its a sad day indeed when the UK no longer believes in the Holy Bible.
Soon they will beg to go back to God when thier islamic masters make them allahs slaves.
12 July, 2009 at 10:51 am
In a sense it is a sad day, but this apostasy (falling away) was prophesied by Jesus Christ, and is a precondition to things to come, such as the revealing of Antichrist…
Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,
who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. (2 Thessalonians 2:3&4)
12 July, 2009 at 10:41 am
As a small boy, I wondered why the Romans persecuted the Christians since they were always working so hard to help others. I wondered if they missed them once they were gone and they had to learn to take care of themselves. As an adult, I am even more confused at why so many people fight so furiously to limit the work of Christians. Is letting the Christians minister to drug abusers, gang bangers and the poor really that bad or are they just embarrassed that they themselves have never lifted a single finger to help others. In the end, my analysis always leads me back to one conclusion; they hate the Christians because the Christians really hold themselves to a much higher standard and their willingness to share with others is a direct threat to all self-righteous elitists. The one weakness I see with the Christians is they are always willing to follow politicians that have a much lower personal moral standard and work diligently against them. To be fair most politicians do claim to be Christians. If I have no problem seeing through that lie then why are the real Christians so easily fooled by them? I guess in the end this battle will outlast me and I will never know.
12 July, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Ronin
The problem with Christians following ANY and I do mean ANY politician is that we are taught from our Bibles to not go against human authority.
UNLESS of course our Churches, Families are endangered.
I think that we Christians need to do some thinking and formulate a better Government based off of higher standards of moral and ethical living.
13 July, 2009 at 8:59 am
There might be another explanation for the poor results of the “Ten Commandments Test” or other Biblical knowledge tests among people living in predominantly Christian societies — our cultural values are not itemized in our thinking but rather they are held as general assumptions. If the survey questions instead were posed in terms of the values expressed, there would be a high correlation with the dictates of the Ten Commandments even if the person being polled couldn’t list the commandments specifically. Most Westerners would be unequivocal in condemning adultery, stealing, and lying.
Now, here’s where it gets interesting: The Islamic value system is based on two elements which are completely absent in the West — the moral example of Muhammad and the sharp distinctions between men and women and between believers and non-believers. So if you asked a Muslim about lying, he would probably make a distinction between telling the truth to a fellow Muslim and engaging in takiyya to defend Islam or a fellow Muslim. Likewise, the moral edicts of Islam do not necessarily apply with regard to non-Muslims. Indemnity for non-Muslims and women is 1/3, for a Zoroastrian is 1/15 that of a male Muslim.
Shariah Law is poorly understood by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Its apparent basis on Divine principles is shattered when one realizes that integral to Shariah Law are stoning of adulterers, FGM, death for apostates, marriage of prepubescent girls, chopping off hands for petty theft, and wiping oneself with three pebbles.
13 July, 2009 at 11:27 am
Good point!
Cheers
13 July, 2009 at 12:08 pm
when public schools were first begun, the Bible and Pilgrims Progress were the textbooks…
16 July, 2009 at 9:29 am
FYI
CORRECTION TO COMMANDMENT #6.
It should read… “Thou shalt not MURDER.”
We are not only permitted, but encouraged to defend ourselves, even to the point of killing an assailant if necessary.
A lot of bad thinking, and subsequently bad leftislation, has been inspired by that error.
16 July, 2009 at 10:25 am
Agreed!
Cheers