Two recent pieces in the newspaper have given me reason to reflect.
The first was by the Jewish satirical journalist Giles Coren, who uses his Saturday column in the Times on the weekend before Lent to declare that he would turn atheism into ashes!
This was followed last weekend by a fascinating report that there seems to be a remarkable interest in Christianity amongst Generation Z.
It outlined a significant shift in attitudes toward God among Generation Z, who are more likely to be open to spiritual things than Generation X or Millennials.
There is clearly a cultural shift going on among those in Generation Z, who might choose to visit a sauna or a gym instead of a church. Part of this cultural shift in attitude is reflected in rising Bible sales.
According to the article there was an increase of 87% increase between 2019 and 2024 — from £2.69 million to £5.02 million — over five years, according to figures compiled by SPCK Group, the Christian publishers.
Whilst this might in part being explained by the the changes related to the Pandemic that occurred during this period, I guess that the daily reminder on the news of the death toll made all of us re-evaluate life, God and the universe.
Yet, while this can be partially explained by the Pandemic there does seem to be a bit more going on in the Generation Z age group.
I was interested to read that one of the most popular Bibles is the Good New Bible Youth Edition (2018). I remember the first editions of the Good News Bible when it came out in in the 1960"s. The GNB was probably one of the features that interested me during my Religious Education Lessons. The GNB was written in clear language and it contained simple line drawings that illustrated the biblical message.
Some people thought that the GNB dumbed down the Bible. This is probably an unfair criticism that reflects prejudice and and intellectual snobbery.
My own view is that making the Bible accessible to a wider group of readers is a vital thing to do. This is something that Eugene Peterson has achieved very effectively throught his hugely popular translation The Message.
Think about Peterson on this well known section on Scripture:
“Stick with what you learned and believed, sure of the integrity of your teachers — why, you took in the sacred Scriptures with your mother’s milk! There’s nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another — showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.” (2 Timothy 3:14–17)
Then as a preacher I appreciate how Paul continues in the next chapter to speak about my task:
“Proclaim the Message with intensity; keep on your watch. Challenge, warn, and urge your people. Don’t ever quit. Just keep it simple.” (2 Timothy 4:2)
Perhaps this is the genius of preaching to any generation? To remember that Scripture speaks in profound terms about how we can be transformed by God but does so in simple terms that anyone can understand.
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