[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by Mystique

So yes, with the world and society changing drastically as it is in the last 50 years (last 10 with the internet), less people are inclined to go to church, but that isn't pinned down merely the style of the service, but simply to the attitudes of society. Lot more athiests about, lots more agonostic people, lots more others who are willing to use religion as a custom to regluate their lives rather than actually believing in something simply cause they can't see it.

Actually, it's worth asking whether religion is in global "decline", especially in the past 10 to 20 years. When confronted with the mystery of existence, people still tend to seek answers from faith. Quite clearly, despite our apparently secular times, God is still very far from dead.

Saying that, Christianity has been poked at and challenged and parodied so many times esp from the 70's onwards, that those who do feel offended and protest are now seen as 'annoying people'...

...many public places (uk wise) don't allow religion related material in shops, cafes or (in my case, libraries) if it's not part of the business itself, because if it trips one off, others are wanna gonna do the same and we begin again with possible confrontation....

What does that say about us all then?

It says that, all too often, people react before they think.

It seems to me that more people are protesting the perceived trivialisation of Christianity, rather than the supposed weaknesses of the glossy magazine format for transmitting the words of the Bible. Which ought to be surprising, considering how the Bible used to be published, before the days of the printing press. As the article said: "At first the Bible was a collection of scrolls, then illustrated handwritten volumes. When printing was invented they were produced in Latin with pictures."

Wow, pictures. How scandalous.

Simply put, before having seen or read the Bible Illuminated, I reserve judgment on whether it's actually sacrilegious. Until then, I'd stick to my first impression: "Wow, how original. Why didn't I think of it before?"

Glance at the danish event with the muslim comic strip and you saw the reaction there.

As for the Muslim reaction to the Danish cartoons, well, that's a different religion and a different culture, so naturally, a different answer applies. Still, it's worth asking whether Muslims felt insulted because of what the satirical cartoon said about them as a people, rather than what it supposedly insinuated about Islam.

It looks good on a general 'ohh let's have a peek at it', but those not into christianity or have never touched a bible will not gain anything significant from it methinks, nor gain a feeling to suddenly visit lots of various branches of christianity to see what each style of service is like, in addition, "with no chapter or verse numbers" - means that if someone did like a certain aspect of a chapter, they wouldn't be able to relate the passage to cross reference it.
It's like using journals without footnotes, reading a fiction book without page numbers or chapters.

You know, I wonder how many practising Christians have actually read the Bible from cover to cover. And if they have, how many, I wonder, have seriously reflected on message behind the words.

It's not my intention to inflame opinions on the matter. But in the end, the reactions to the Bible Illuminated are not unlike the reactions I hear from theatre critics who debate whether Shakespeare's plays would "lose their meaning" if they are staged with modern sets and costumes.

I hugely enjoyed Baz Luhrman's Romeo + Juliet. If the Bard were alive today, I'd fully expect him to make a movie like that.