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Brits and the
2.1 BiBle
It’s easy to get the impression that the Bible
is unpopular and viewed negatively by most
British people. However, Bible Society’s own
research shows that this is not necessarily
the case. Many imagine the Bible to be a
book written in old-fashioned language,
containing lists of rules and regulations
that some people try to force upon others.
They are very negative about this idea of
the Bible.
However, most people are surprisingly open
to modern translations of the Bible, agree
that it contains timeless stories and are
intrigued by new, creative ways of bringing
it to life. Audiences respond well to the
Bible if it’s presented like this. So if you’re
considering depicting the Bible on screen, in
print or over the airwaves, it can be helpful
to consider some of the following questions:
is the BiBle Best descriBed
as an encyclopaedia of
rUles, regUlations and
teachings?
The Bible certainly does contain legal
material, letters and instructions, but most
of it is actually made up of either advice
material (‘hints and tips’) or relationship
stories. In fact, it’s estimated that up to 75%
of the Bible is narrative. In many ways, it
resembles a collection of biographies rather
than an official rulebook.
is the BiBle Best depicted
as a Black leather Book,
written in old-fashioned
langUage, with gold
lettering on the front?
Of course, there are lots of Bibles like that.
But the most common Bibles for sale in
the UK and the USA are modern-language
versions with other kinds of covers. The
Bible also exists in many other formats and
its stories are represented in a variety of
different ways (see 7.7, back to the old
school for some examples). Nowadays, the
Bible really is multimedia.
is the BiBle very similar
to lots of other holy
Books?
Sometimes, people assume that the holy
books of different religions are pretty much
alike in terms of their size and subject
matter, but this isn’t actually the case. Of
course, there are similarities, but the Bible
is fundamentally different. The important
difference is that for the most part, the
Bible is a book full of relationship stories.
The Qur’an (which is a fifth of the length of
the Bible) does contain some biographical
material but focuses far more on questions
and answers about specific religious matters.
The sacred texts regarded as revealed within
Hinduism (the Vedas and the Bhagavad-Gita)
contain philosophies, hymns, poems and
ritual texts. The Bhagavad-Gita may only be
a tenth the size of the New testament,
but the Vedas are far larger than both the
Old and New Testaments put together. The
Tipitaka (the collection of holy books within
Buddhism) has three sections and is around
11 times the size of the Bible. It includes
practical teachings of the Buddha, as well as
stories about (and guidelines for) Buddhist
monks and nuns. Comparing sacred texts and
highlighting similarities can be important, but
it’s a mistake to think that they are all much
of a muchness.
2.0 fAcTuAl
AccurAcy And
The BiBle
This section includes
some broad principles
to consider if you are
depicting the Bible on
screen, in print or over
the airwaves.
The BiBle STyle Guide 5
bible society 2008