ITEMS OF INTEREST November 19, 2007 Issue

ITEMS OF INTEREST

with contributions from Kristin Rushowy, Daniel Girard, Louise Brown

A NEW NATIONWIDE SURVEY conducted by The Barna Group shows that six well-known Bible stories are accepted [at face value] by an average of two out of three adults.

Survey respondents were asked if they thought a specific story in the Bible was "literally true, meaning it happened exactly as described in the Bible" or whether they thought the story was "meant to illustrate a principle but is not to be taken literally." Six renowned Bible stories were then offered to adults for their consideration.

Surprisingly, the most significant Bible story of all "the story of Jesus Christ rising from the dead, after being crucified and buried" was also the most widely embraced. Three out of four adults (75 percent) said they interpreted that narrative literally, while only out of five (19 percent) said they did not take that story literally. The more highly educated respondents were, the less likely they were to take the story literally, although even two-thirds of college graduates (68 percent) believe the resurrection narrative is literally true. . . .

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