Christians unite to restore confidence in Bible

Christians have united to dispel the notion that the Bible is tedious and to spread the message that God’s Word remains as transformative as ever in today’s world.

The BibleFresh movement has been launched by more than 50 organisations, including the Evangelical Alliance, Scripture Union and the Bible Society, to boost the confidence of churches in Scriptures throughout 2011, the 400th anniversary of the King James version of the Bible.

The movement is being introduced to the nation by a 13-city tour that got underway in Glasgow last month. Tour stops include Belfast, Manchester, Liverpool, Bournemouth and London.

Biblefresh has been launched in response to recent research which found that only one in seven churchgoers felt confidence in their knowledge of the Bible and 76 per cent said they felt the UK was suffering from Bible poverty, where the Bible is no longer at the centre of public of family life.

The tour will encourage Christians to consider whether the Bible is “tedious, taboo and toxic” or “transforming, treasured and true”.

The campaign has been backed by the Bishop of Durham, the Rt Rev Tom Wright, who said the Bible had a transforming effect.

He said: "The Bible is there to enable us to be the people of God for the world, the people through whom God's story becomes the world's story. Bible readers, Bible prayers and Bible understanders are world transformers."

Ann Holt, Executive Director of the Bible Society, said: "The Bible has become toxic for many in British Society and the confidence of Christians to rely on their Scriptures publicly has consequently been knocked. Biblefresh will help confidence recovery."