Bible for people with learning difficulties launched

-30/05/06

A set of resources aimed


Bible for people with learning difficulties launched

-30/05/06

A set of resources aimed at giving people with learning difficulties easier access to the Bible has been launched by two British agencies.

The initiative comes from a new partnership between Scripture Union and Causeway ñ one which will benefit an estimated 1.2 million people currently living with a learning disability across the UK.

Scripture Union says that the needs of people with learning difficulties are insufficiently catered for in many churches, and it hopes that these materials will help to correct that lack.

The new Bible Prospects books each contain 30 short Bible readings, notes to encourage understanding, and short prayers.

ìWe hope the books will be transformingî, says Causeway Prospects director Tony Phelps-Jones.

ìThe series is written [in a way] that people with learning disabilities can understand, and the applications are relevant to the circumstances they often find themselves in,î he explains.

Lin Ball, Scripture Unionís Editor for Bible Resources believes the new series of Bible Prospects is useful for a wide range of people: ìThe Bible is a big book that many of us find daunting, but if youíre dyslexic, or if youíve missed out on education, or English isnít your first language, then reading [it] becomes a tremendous hurdle.î

This is the first in a recent spate of Bible versions aimed at communicating the foundation texts of Christianity to a new generation ñ and in a post-Christendom context. in 2006 a ‘100 Minute Bible’ was launched at Canterbury Cathedral.

Other popularized renditions of the Bible include The Message (Eugene Peterson) and As Good as New: A Radical Retelling of the Scriptures (John Henson) ñ which has a forward by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and caused controversy over its translation of passages concerning sexuality.

In October 2005 the Bible Society in Australia announce that the entire 31,173 verses can now be downloaded for free and transmitted by mobile phone. ìIn da Bginnin God cre8d da heavens & da earth,î it begins.

ìThe old days when the Bible was only available in a sombre black cover with a cross on it are long gone,î declared Michael Chant, executive director of the Bible Society in South Australia.

[Also on Ekklesia: Radical new translation makes Bible accessible to unchurched; 100 minute bible knocks ‘Purpose Driven Life’ off bestseller list; In the beginning was the text message; Rowan Williams contrasts radical Jesus to ‘exotic mysteries’; Israel pulls plug on televangelist’s Bible theme park;100,000 copies of speed-read Bible sold; New exhibition examines bizarre Bible syndrome; Greek myths tell same stories as Bible, says new book; New inclusive Bible translation launched in UK]


Bible for people with learning difficulties launched

-30/05/06

A set of resources aimed at giving people with learning difficulties easier access to the Bible has been launched by two British agencies.

The initiative comes from a new partnership between Scripture Union and Causeway ñ one which will benefit an estimated 1.2 million people currently living with a learning disability across the UK.

Scripture Union says that the needs of people with learning difficulties are insufficiently catered for in many churches, and it hopes that these materials will help to correct that lack.

The new Bible Prospects books each contain 30 short Bible readings, notes to encourage understanding, and short prayers.

ìWe hope the books will be transformingî, says Causeway Prospects director Tony Phelps-Jones.

ìThe series is written [in a way] that people with learning disabilities can understand, and the applications are relevant to the circumstances they often find themselves in,î he explains.

Lin Ball, Scripture Unionís Editor for Bible Resources believes the new series of Bible Prospects is useful for a wide range of people: ìThe Bible is a big book that many of us find daunting, but if youíre dyslexic, or if youíve missed out on education, or English isnít your first language, then reading [it] becomes a tremendous hurdle.î

This is the first in a recent spate of Bible versions aimed at communicating the foundation texts of Christianity to a new generation ñ and in a post-Christendom context. in 2006 a ‘100 Minute Bible’ was launched at Canterbury Cathedral.

Other popularized renditions of the Bible include The Message (Eugene Peterson) and As Good as New: A Radical Retelling of the Scriptures (John Henson) ñ which has a forward by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and caused controversy over its translation of passages concerning sexuality.

In October 2005 the Bible Society in Australia announce that the entire 31,173 verses can now be downloaded for free and transmitted by mobile phone. ìIn da Bginnin God cre8d da heavens & da earth,î it begins.

ìThe old days when the Bible was only available in a sombre black cover with a cross on it are long gone,î declared Michael Chant, executive director of the Bible Society in South Australia.

[Also on Ekklesia: Radical new translation makes Bible accessible to unchurched; 100 minute bible knocks ‘Purpose Driven Life’ off bestseller list; In the beginning was the text message; Rowan Williams contrasts radical Jesus to ‘exotic mysteries’; Israel pulls plug on televangelist’s Bible theme park;100,000 copies of speed-read Bible sold; New exhibition examines bizarre Bible syndrome; Greek myths tell same stories as Bible, says new book; New inclusive Bible translation launched in UK]