Gordon Brown has been presented with a copy of the Bible which highlights passages which refer to social justice.
Chief Executive of Bible Society, James Catford, presented a copy of The Poverty and Justice Bible to the UK Prime Minister, during a visit to Downing Street.
The Poverty and Justice Bible is the first ever to highlight more than 2,000 passages that refer to poverty and injustice.
It is aimed at challenging the notion that the Bible has relevance to the biggest contemporary social issues.
James Catford was at Downing Street as part of a delegation of Christian leaders to launch the government’s new faith consultation, Believing for a Better Britain.
The Prime Minister, who has been commended by aid agencies and others for his work in tackling social justice issues, particularly in the cancellation of debt in the developing world, quoted the Kings James Version of the Bible in a party conference speech last year. He read Mathew 19.14 which says, ‘suffer the little children to come unto me’– to make his case for an end to child poverty, and told his audience, “No Bible I have ever read says: ‘bring just some of the children.'”
James Catford said, “From international politics to healthcare, the Bible has a role to play in public life, leadership and decision-making. It was a privilege to be able to present a copy of The Poverty and Justice Bible and to stress these important issues to the Prime Minister.
“For us in this country, issues of poverty and justice have increasingly become front and centre. What The Poverty and Justice Bible shows is that on the topics that challenge us every day, God got there first. The Bible has something to say about life. In fact, there’s nothing on earth that we can experience that the Bible doesn’t tackle.”
You can get the Poverty and Justice Bible from The Bible Society
You can find hundreds of other bibles in Ekklesia’s bookshop here