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In America are we raising a new generation of children that are mostly unfamiliar with the characters, stories, and teachings of the Bible?

Here’s an article from the UK Telegraph concluding that the Bible has all but disappeared from the lives of children in the UK.

It got me thinking. Aside from the Christian children who still attend Sunday school this may also be the case in America.

The Bible was once front and center in our schools. I remember when. Also, the Bible was once so immersed in the Western culture that most art, writing, and films were naturally filled with Biblically inspired images, themes, and characters. It was the touchstone of our culture and something that everyone was familiar with.

Not so much anymore.

Now if someone presents a character in a novel who has a vision for a bright future but goes through long years of trials and tribulations before becoming successful virtually ‘overnight’ few in the younger generation will catch on that this is a ‘Joseph’ character. If a lead in a movie fights against a new movement only to have an epiphany and ultimately become one of the new movement’s greatest leaders, and you called that one a type of ‘Paul’ many today would no longer know what you were talking about.

Fortunately there are two productions that give me some hope. First the highly successful series on the Bible last year brought many of those characters back into the family rooms of America. Then there is the upcoming major movie on Noah starring Russell Crowe. Regardless of the controversy of whether it is completely faithful to the Biblical record or not, if it is a success then more films on the Bible may be produced in the  future.

It is true that when a successful movie comes along that was produced from a series of books like the Hunger Games those books become even more successful and gain millions of additional readers. I am hoping that the Bible series and movies like Noah will bring readers back to the Bible. For years the scriptures have provided Hollywood writers with themes and character types. It would be a wonderful turnabout if some successful Bible productions brought readers back to the text that once was the foundation of Western civilization. One can only hope.            *Top