1 in 3 Britons believe in virgin birth

More than a third of Britons believe that the virgin birth really happened, according to new research published today by Theos, the public theology think tank.

In the poll of over a thousand adults, undertaken for Theos by ComRes, 34% of people agreed that the statement "Jesus was born to a virgin called Mary" was historically accurate. Only 32% considered it fictional. Women are more likely to believe in the virgin birth (39%) than men (29%).

56% of Britons believe that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Surprisingly, the research reveals that people are more likely to believe in the virgin birth than angels. Only 28% believe the Bible's account of angels visiting shepherds to announce the birth of Christ actually happened, compared with 32% who think it is fictional. 37% of people believe that Herod ordered the death of infant boys in an attempt to kill Jesus.

In terms of the significance of Christ's birth, 52% agree or strongly agree that the birth of Jesus is significant to them personally. 72% of people think that the birth of Jesus remains significant culturally.

The research may support recent reports that carol services are growing in popularity. 44% of Britons plan to attend a Christmas church service this year. St Paul's Cathedral is holding identical carol services on the two days before Christmas in order to accommodate the number of people wishing to attend.

57% of people will be celebrating Christmas as a religious festival. Significantly more men (48%, compared with 36% of women) do not celebrate Christmas as a religious festival. Scotland ranks as the most religious nation. 66% of Scots celebrate Christmas as a religious festival.

Commenting on the research, the Director of Theos, Paul Woolley said:

"The extent of religious belief will no doubt surprise people, but these
findings are consistent with other research we have undertaken.

The number of people who believe the birth of Christ is significant to them
personally is especially striking. In periods of financial uncertainty, when
there is concern about losing jobs or homes, perhaps people are more open to
thinking about life’s ultimate questions."

Despite all of the hype around the recent success of recent books promoting
atheism, it is clear that, for most people, religious belief cannot be explained
away so easily."

To read the full findings of the poll, click here.

Same old, same old

Once again we are witness to a terror attack on the planet. This time a group of young men brought fear and death to Mumbai. The danger for myself is that I become numb to these attacks, that death through them becomes statistical. Just because something is commonplace doesn’t make it something to gloss over.

The economic situation continues to dominate the media too. This week we’ve heard the news that two iconic high street traders in the United Kingdom have gone into administration – Woolworths and MFI. Both are well known names but it seems they may have had their day, and the time has come for them to disappear.

The United Kingdom has been told to expect a cold winter this year. At the same time many will feel the need to cut their fuel costs by turning down the heating. So it is with interest that we see ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ voted the best Christmas Carol.

The news reports seem to be stuck with an endless repetition of atrocities, economic woe and seasonal ‘Dead donkey’ stories (hopefully no pun intended there). There is nothing new. Names and places may be different but the stories are essentially the same.

As we progress through Ecclesiastes this week we can hear similar sentiments echoed millennia earlier. Stuff happens and life goes on. The sentiment that however wise and clever humanity becomes, we still end up in difficult situations, is as true today as it was then.

Both the news reports and Ecclesiastes can be seen as a little depressing. They appear to offer little hope. But dig into both and you will find good news, for there are times both to weep and laugh.

Darren

First Advent Podcast

WordLive normally gives you a podcast for each weekday. But for a treat, as we enter Advent, we've got something special for you. For the next four weeks, on Saturday and Sunday there will be a specially recorded Advent podcast. You can download this or listen to it at WordLive, but that isn't all.

To go with the audio podcast we have created an enhanced version. This can be found at WordLive but is also available at the WordLive channel on YouTube. And because we love you so much it is also below...

Bible Illuminated The Book. The New Testament in magazine style

You can find out all about a new, glossy, magazine-style New Testament by following the link below. Whilst the article is very interesting and well worth a read (thanks Mr T), it is the comments that I find most enlightening.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7750842.stm

Prepared for Action

We are in a financial crisis. A common feature of the ongoing arguments about how the current crisis might best be resolved is criticism of the Government for not being better prepared for the global economic downturn. Why, opposition parties ask, was money not set aside in the good times for a time such as this? Meanwhile, as the political debate drags on, we must all prepare for tough times ahead. We must watch the pennies all the more closely when the pound can’t look after itself. And it happens that we must do so even as we prepare for Christmas, until now a celebration increasingly characterised by financial excess as opposed to restraint.

Looking ahead to the New Year, workers at Honda’s factory in Swindon must prepare to find something else to do with their time for the two months when it will close down due to the drop in demand. And rail users must prepare themselves for yet another significant increase in the price of their fares.

The repeated emphasis in our readings this week is the need to be prepared for the second coming of Christ. Put differently, our adherence to a biblical worldview, wherein it is certain that Christ will one day come again, has implications for the way we live now. And they are practical implications. True, we’ll hear Jesus telling us to ‘keep watch’ for his coming, but – as his parable of the talents and teaching about the final judgement using the imagery of a shepherd separating sheep and goats makes clear – that’s far from a summons to complacency and inactivity. On the contrary, our confidence in Christ for our salvation, and our certainty that he will return is to provoke us to bold, imaginative transformative action.

If we are prepared at all for the future coming of Christ, it will be demonstrated in our willingness to act in his name in the here and now.

Nigel Hopper

Accountability

As details of the appalling suffering of Baby P emerged in recent days, shock and disbelief gave rise to questions of accountability. Quite rightly, no one doubts that the men who inflicted such horrific injuries on the 17-month-old caused his death, but could social services have acted to prevent it? Could the government have acted to address alleged failings in Haringey social services’ child protection?

It’s in order to answer these kinds of questions that various inquiries into the tragedy have been launched. ‘If there are failures,’ commented children’s minister Ed Balls, ‘then there’s got to be accountability.’

Similarly, we might view the suspension of Jersey’s police chief as the natural consequence of his being accountable for the now discredited investigation into alleged abuses in the Haut de la Garenne children’s home. Elsewhere, Chelsea’s Didier Drogba has been informed that he must account to both the police and the FA for his altercation with members of the crowd at a recent match.

This week’s readings see Jesus hold the teachers of the law and Pharisees accountable for their pastoral failings of God’s people. As we’ll discover, Jesus doesn’t mince his words – a biblical precedent for taking issues of accountability seriously.

Several times over, Jesus labels their failings as hypocrisy – a charge often levelled at Christians today. Hypocrisy is play-acting – an outward charade that consciously and deliberately masks the inner reality. This is what Christ so savagely condemns.

Doubtless we can be guilty of hypocrisy, and these readings might well give us cause to repent. We need to be careful, however, that we don’t allow misjudged accusations to cause us to interpret as hypocrisy the honest mistakes that are inevitable as we journey and grow in faith.

Like us, Jesus’ first disciples were far from perfect, yet our readings this week close with Jesus assuring them that those who persevere in the faith will be saved.

Nigel Hopper

Back and running

In case you hadn't noticed, WordLive is back up and running again. The essential maintenance has been carried out and been completed. We're back.

WordLive interruption

There is a bit of work happening on the WordLive server tomorrow (actually it is the big daddy Scripture Union server) and unfortunately that means WordLive will be offline for a while. So for a hopefully short time on 11th November we'll be offline.

The power and the glory - topical thoughts

Power is wielded by all sorts of people in all sorts of ways for all sorts of reasons in our world.

• The American people have exercised the power of their votes to send Barack Obama to the White House.
• The defeated John McCain has exercised his power as a politician and media figure to call his country to unite behind the President-elect.
• In DR Congo, government troops, rebels and UN Peacekeeping forces are all caught up in a power struggle, with disastrous consequences.

Closer to home, in a dramatic bid to kick-start our floundering economy, the Bank of England has exercised its power to cut interest rates. And a jury has exercised its power to judge Corporal Daniel James guilty of abusing the power entrusted to him in his role as a translator for a British General in Afghanistan by spying for Iran.

Whilst the exercise of power for good or ill in our world is always everywhere in the news, the all-powerful God revealed in the Bible is seemingly nowhere. Our culture shapers and storytellers just don’t ‘do God’.

The book of Joshua, however, does – and what a God it does! This week’s readings remind us that God has the power to control nature, sustain life, is sovereign over the land, establishes justice and acts mightily on behalf of his people.

This God is our God. He may not make the headlines, but according to the Bible, he continues to work out his purposes through history. As God’s people, we should view the affairs of this world and the events in our lives through the eyes of faith, alert to the reality of God’s involvement in all things.

Such was the perspective of Joshua, who prepared to relinquish his God-given power as Israel’s leader by renewing the covenant, calling them to unity and obedience to God, whose saving initiative defined their national history. This radical perspective is sorely needed in our times, suffering as we are from the consequences of our idolatrous pretensions to God’s throne.

Nigel Hopper

Follow Joshua this week at WordLive

It's Friday and it's...

... ?

That phrase could be finished in quite a few ways depending, rightly or wrongly, how old you are. For those who are at least as old as I am, (I may tell you one day) you may be chomping at the bit to cry out Crackerjack. You may be thinking of the crunchie bar adverts from a few years ago. Or you may be overjoyed that it isn't just any Friday, but Friday the 31st October... Halloween (well, perhaps not).

I'm happy it is Friday because it means the weekend is almost here and that means a little rest. I'm also aware that it is 31st October, which means when I get back in the office next Monday, we'll be in November. The beginning of November marks the beginning of editing the content for WordLive that will appear on the site in February 2009.

The content for the site goes through several stages before it appears on, downloads to or is fed into, your digital devices. It is written, edited, recorded, drawn, animated, videoed and uploaded. This process involves many people and I'll try and introduce you to them as we go on. In the meantime, I'm Darren, and I'm glad it's Friday, and may your Friday be blessed.

For such a time as this…

There’s no escaping religion it seems. In London, humanists – with the help of finance from Richard Dawkins – have been putting reassuring posters on the side of buses: ‘There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.’¹ Who’s keeping God on the public agenda now?

In Kabul, however, religious faith is seen in much more serious terms. The murder of Christian charity worker Gayle Williams puts ‘enjoy your life’ into a different perspective.

According to Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, she had been executed ‘because she was working for an organisation which was preaching Christianity in Afghanistan’. Her mother said that, ‘Gayle was serving a people that she loved, and felt God called her to be there for such a time as this.’²

Sadly, bravery is not always valued highly by everyone. In South Wales plaques from a war memorial have been stolen for the scrap value of the metal.³ For this year’s Remembrance Day event a mounted and framed image of the former plaques will substitute.

This week’s readings are clear on one thing at least. Faith in God is no crutch – obedience demands great courage. Yet however bad things may seem, we’re never really alone. Remembering what God has done in the past is vital.

Emlyn Williams

¹ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/3229106/Prof-Richard-Dawkins-drives-support-for-Londons-first-atheist-bus-advert.html

² http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/killed-for-being-christian-967668.html

³ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/7688300.stm

Invitation to a World Premiere at St Paul's Cathedral for Save the Children

You are warmly invited to the premiere of The Cry: A Requiem for the Lost Child which will take place in St Paul's Cathedral at 6pm on Sunday 16 November 2008 in aid of Save the Children.

Composed by Adrian Snell and directed by David Drummond, The Cry is a spectacular and moving musical production that remembers children who've lost their lives or childhood because of warfare, armed conflict or ethnic cleansing. The lead vocalists are Niamh Perry (BBC1's I'd Do Anything) and opera star Mark Stone. They'll be joined by violinist Jeanine Thorpe (BBC2's Classical Star and Maestro), Adrian Snell, the London Oriana Choir, the London Oratory School Schola, keyboard player Dave Bainbridge (Iona) and a host of other talented singers and musicians. The performance will be introduced by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.

The Cry features a rap specially recorded for the premiere by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who says 'I'm delighted to be involved as a rapper for the premiere of The Cry, which gives these often forgotten victims of wars a voice that will lift the roof off St Paul's Cathedral!'

Admission is free, but by ticket only. Tickets can be obtained by sending a stamped addressed envelope, stating how many you require, to:

The Cry, The Chapter House, St Paul's Churchyard, London EC4M 8AD

Further information can be found at www.stpauls.co.uk under 'Concerts & Events' or on Facebook (search under 'The Cry: A Requiem for the Lost Child').

This was passed to the WordLive team and we thought we should share with you all.

A long week…

A lot can happen in a week. And this past week in particular has seen unthinkable things happening in the world of economics and finance. Three Icelandic banks have been rescued¹ (I didn’t know that Iceland had three banks – it’s hardly any bigger than the city where I live). What will have happened to the world’s economy in a week’s time?

Meanwhile the US presidential campaign has moved on from focusing on the economy to personal abuse and back to the economy. Who knows what will happen by the time of the election on November 4? It’s amazing to me that anyone would want to be leader just now. Fortunately, the President of Ukraine seems to know why. Announcing a snap election he said that it’s ambition that drives politicians². Only politicians?

One of the key questions all of this raises is whether we will learn from it? Of course politicians will try to improve regulation. But will we still keep chasing after the same things, imagining that we can all have it all? That really is a fool’s paradise.

Yet again this week’s readings bring a different vision. The acclaimed leader will be killed within a week. The needy are blessed rather than the privileged. And when justice eventually comes, not everyone will think it is good news. That was a long week too.


Emlyn Williams
October 2008

¹ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7660511.stm

² http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/10/world/europe/10ukraine.html?ref=europe

‘Money, money, money in a rich man’s world…’

‘Continuing turmoil in financial markets’
‘Nightmare on Wall Street’

These are strange times. One of Americas largest and oldest banks folds. The UK’s largest mortgage lender sees its share price tumble before being taken over. Governments intervene and central banks throw in billions to shore up struggling economies.

And it’s not just the ‘fat cats’ who suffer. It’s everyone. House prices, interest rates, dwindling pension funds; these things affect us all. On top of that we face rising food prices and escalating energy costs, There is a spirit of uncertainty and fear.

What would Jesus say to this? Well, some startling things.

Give it away.
So goes his advice to the rich young man (Matthew 19:16–22). Money gets in the way of our relationship with God. It becomes a false god. Perhaps we are reaping the consequences of worshipping a false god for too long.

Sort your priorities.
This life isn’t all there is – and it’s the one to come that matters (Mathew 19:27–30). Where is our treasure?

Live by God’s grace.
The Vineyard Workers Union were justifiably upset (Matthew 20:1–16). The same wage for those who worked all day and for those who worked for an hour? Unjust. True – but God doesn’t deal with us on the basis of what we deserve (just as well!), but on the basis of his magnificent generosity.

Be servants.
Don’t get caught up in the power games of this world (Matthew 20:20–28). Learn to use what you have for the benefit of others.

So when things fall apart around us, we can take a longer view. Our final security lies, not in what we have, but in the love and goodness of God. That’s where our focus should be.

Room for all

It has been heartening to see the media coverage, at least in this part of the world, given to the Paralympics. People with disability are too often pushed to the edges. But before we get too excited let’s remember that the coverage is minimal compared to the coverage of the able-bodied Olympics and that we are looking at only a small number of talented people.

Nevertheless Jesus would have approved. In Matthew 18, he gives value to some of the less significant members of society. He even says that children are models for the way in which we enter into the kingdom of God, and find relationship with him.

Any society which ignores or, worse, oppresses its most vulnerable members, be they children, the elderly or those with special needs, has failed to understand God’s desire for justice. The God of Psalm 149 is a God who crowns the humble. Time and time again in the Bible we find people commanded to care for the vulnerable. Leaving aside the coverage of the Paralympics, how does our society treat the vulnerable?

How does our church? Is there adequate provision for children? Do the elderly feel welcome and comfortable? Is there sufficient provision for the hearing-impaired or those with poor sight? Is there adequate wheelchair access?

John Grayston

Slavery today

Last year we celebrated the 200 anniversary of the ending of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. We remembered the work of Christians like William Wilberforce. But the sad truth is that slavery is still very much with us. It affects the weakest and poorest in our world. People are shipped across the world with the promise of a better life only to find themselves in forced labour, the sex trade or foreign armies. Many of them are children. As I was preparing this I heard a BBC news item about a report on prostitution in London. It mentioned the exploitation of women and often young girls, many lured from their own countries.

At the time of abolition the slavers argued that the Bible supported slavery – some people still think it does. But our readings in Philemon and Leviticus 25 tell a different story. They show a God who is passionately concerned for justice for all including slaves, who are to be well treated, properly rewarded and seen as brothers and sisters. In time these ideas led to the end of slavery. Apply them today and we would not have the situations that we have.

To find out more about slavery today and discover how you can get involved in the fight against it go to www.stopthetraffik.org.

John Grayston

It's a small world

it's a small world With the Beijing Olympics over, the flag has been passed on to London. The Global Village may be a cliché, but the fact is we live in a connected world.

Whilst the games took place in Beijing, the focus was the world. More than 200 nations were represented – more than in the UN. And now athletes, officials, media people and visitors have scattered to the ends of the earth.

This connectedness is not just about warm feelings or the availability of information. Events in one place can have a much wider significance than it first seems. Last week’s terrible plane crash in Madrid didn’t just affect Spain. Victims came from 11 other countries. And the Spanish airline involved is owned by SAS, a joint Danish, Norwegian and Swedish company.

The openness of the world also exposes things which some would prefer to be hidden. Last week, women in Swaziland – one of the poorest countries in the world – demonstrated against a shopping trip to Europe and the Middle East undertaken by 9 of the king’s 13 wives. 1

And as for Gary Glitter, his world became a smaller place with 19 countries refusing him entry. He had no option other than to return to Britain. 2

This week’s readings have this global perspective. But look deeper and you’ll see much more, a glorious cosmic vision!

Emlyn Williams

1http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7574824.stm 2http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2601785/Gary-Glitter-vows-to-clear-his-name-after-travesty-of-justice-in-Vietnam.html

Who'd be a leader?

Barack Obama is back home, fresh from wowing millions of Germans.

After months of speculation, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says that he will stand down in September.

The media see the Anglican Bishops’ Lambeth Conference as some kind of a test of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s leadership (maybe they reached their conclusions about the outcome even before it started).

Meanwhile the British Labour Party is facing its own leadership issues.

And – perhaps predictably – the England cricket team’s test match against South Africa has provoked questions about captain Michael Vaughan.

All this without me even mentioning Robert Mugabe… Leadership is as big an issue as ever.

Leadership challenge
Leaders appear to have great power. But the reality is often different. Those they are supposed to lead can soon tire of the leadership they have cried for.

Already, some Germans seem to be a little less keen than they were on what an Obama presidency might bring. Still, they won’t be voting for him or anyone else in the US.

So this coming week’s readings in WordLive may challenge some of our thinking about leadership. Old Testament leaders weren’t too bothered by opinion polls. But then how much do we ask what God thinks?

And as for Jesus, his leadership challenged the religious and national leaders of his day. How would he fare in today’s confused climate?

Emlyn Williams

Word-on-the-web hands over to WordLive!

Church Army's pioneering word-on-the-web ministry is handing over the baton to Scripture Union's new WordLive service to guarantee a future proofed multi-media Bible experience for Christians. Word-on-the-web has been operating since 2000, and has built up a current supporter base of over 7,000 subscribers from over 100 countries around the world.

www.wordlive.org, launched by Scripture Union in January 2008, is a free resource allowing online users a wide range of creative approaches to God’s Word, including audio Bible passages, video clips, worship songs and prayer activities, as well as a daily Bible reading and explanatory note.

Word-on-the-web will begin migrating existing subscribers over to WordLive from Monday 7th July. The final word-on-the-web study will be authored by David and Alison Booker who conceived the idea of web based ministry back in 1999 and produced the very first study. Word-on-the-web has issued more than 20 million daily emails over the course of eight years, covering 37 books of the Bible written by over 400 different contributors.

Captain Neil Thomson Church Army's Online Services Manager comments; "We have been so impressed with how Scripture Union's WordLive service has developed in offering Christians a fantastic range of creative approaches to engage with the Bible via text, podcasts, RSS, web and email. We want to encourage word-on-the-web subscribers to move to what we believe is a very creative way to encounter what God has to say to them through this innovative multi-media solution. Like word-on the-web it is FREE service – something we believe is important"

James Burden, Associate Director of Scripture Union says; "We are delighted to be welcoming subscribers from word-on-the-web to WordLive and in doing so celebrate the pioneering work of Church Army in web based ministry. We are pleased that Church Army will be involved in supplying future content for WordLive and promoting WordLive as part of their future web developments."

WordLive this week

On WordLive this week we take a look at the world through the eyes of Jeremiah. Sometimes he's seen as a prophet of doom, but really he's just speaking a few home truths... that just happen to be inspired by God.

Oh, and you may, you just might want to find an old pot that you don't want anymore. It may come in handy for visualising the odd point that Jeremiah makes.

The end of an era - Delirious? press release

Keeping you in touch with what is going on in the wider Christian world, and also because some of their music has appeared, and I'm sure will continue to appear, on WordLive, I thought you'd be interested in the following press release from Delirious? On a personal note I would like to take this opportunity to thank the d-boys for their encouragement and support over the years, their humility has been a shining example to myself, thanks.

The End of an Era……

We would like to address all our fans, our friends and people around the world who have faithfully supported Delirious? After 14 albums, thousands of shows in front of millions of people, and many extraordinary memories, we have decided that at the end of 2009 we will take a break from recording and playing as a band.

Our decision was triggered by a request from Martin to be released from the band to pursue new projects including his work with CompassionArt and the desire to be at home more with Anna and his children. We have of course honoured this request and made a decision together that now is the time to end this chapter of our lives.

We will continue to play and be excited about our current tours and bookings but will not be adding many more over the coming 17 months. We are all so deeply grateful to our incredible fans who have sung the songs and allowed Delirious? the privilege of providing the soundtrack to many lives over the years. From the school hall in Littlehampton to the stadiums of the world we have many stories to tell our children’s children. Delirious also would not be what it is without our amazing wives and families, and our gratitude to them is immense. We will now move forward to the next part of our lives where new challenges unfold and greater stories will be written.

We want to make it absolutely clear that although this decision has been extremely painful and difficult, we are still great friends and our respect for each other is unquestionable. We love playing in this band together and know that even though 2009 will bring an end to this current journey, there will be more adventures together in years to come.

We always used to say that we were ‘taking it wherever it goes’. The music ended up going further and deeper than we could ever have dreamed, yet we are now at a point where our creative futures will spread out and take on different journeys.

Thanks again for believing in us through all these years. We believe the best is yet to come.

Jon, Martin, Paul, Stu G and Tim

Using WordLive to focus on God at the beginning of the day

Here are three simple and quick tips to help you use WordLive to focus on God at the beginning of the day.

1. Set WordLive as your homepage. Underneath your profile box on the left of the screen is a little link you can click. This will set WordLive as your browser's homepage. That means that whenever you open your web browser, WordLive will be there for you to use.
2. Sign up for the daily email. Click on the My WordLive tab at the top right and then click on the My Details tab and you'll be able to sign up for and set up a daily email to be sent to you. This email will be in your inbox each morning when you turn on your computer.
3. Get the podcast delivered. If you have an RSS reader you can subscribe directly to the podcast feed. Then when you open your reader it will be ready for you to listen. The link to the feed is this:
   http://www.scriptureunion.org.uk/rssfeeds
   /WordLivePodcast/23826.rss

It's Live!

LightLive, the online service that puts Bible-based learning material at the fingertips of children's and youth workers, went live today (Thursday May 8). We'd love you to have a look at it and then pass the news around your networks.

Just to refresh your memories: LightLive gives children's and youth leaders free-of-charge access to a weekly syllabus of downloadable material following Scripture Union's Light programme, for groups aged up to 14. It also gives access to all-age materials.

LightLive

What's been going on?

I haven't been around here recently and I do apologise for that. There are two reasons.

The first is that I took a little break from the hectic day to day schedule and had a couple of weeks holiday. I didn't do too much but I did have a nice rest.

The second is that I, and the rest of the digital team, have been hard at work putting together the second of our digital projects, LightLive. LightLive isn't quite ready for launch yet, but lookout as we enter May. In the meantime you can find out what is happening by checking out the LightLive blog here.

Finally, just in case you've furned up here and know nothing about WordLive then take a look at this:

God's Word everywhere you go

Need an online Bible?

If you ever need an online translation of the Bible, or something to download and browse at your own leisure, then the list at the following may be of help to you. There is pretty much everything covered here, including a translation in Klingon.

Tyndale Tech: Bibles in English and ancient-languages on the web

WordLive hacks: using in a small group

There is no need for WordLive to be limited to personal use. Have you thought about using WordLive in a small group context? There are specific activities on WordLive that can be used this way but you can also use the technology that is around too.

What about meeting in any place that has a wifi hotspot? One or more of your group could bring along a laptop and set it up. Then over a coffee or tea you could share with each other, going through the activities, and meeting with God as a group.

And if any of you do this, we'd love to hear of your experience, let us know in the comments.

Happy Birthday to us

In the fast paced world of the Internet and all things digital the concept of yearly birthdays are a little passe. We measure things by the month, by the week even daily. In fact when it comes to stats we even care about what time of the day people are looking at the site. With this in mind I wanted to point out that WordLive is almost three months old... so happy birthday to us.

I also wanted to share with you some really encouraging numbers we are picking up from our stats. We don't have exact figures yet but WordLive is being accessed by several thousand people each day. This is very encouraging and a wonderful three month birthday gift. So we'd like to thank everyone who has visited the site and we'd also like to hear some feedback from you too. So please leave a comment here if there is anything you'd like to share or ask the WordLive team about.

National survey reveals the depth of our secrets

WordLive has just released results of a survey showing that 3.4 million people in the UK are currently cheating on their partners. For more about this head on over to the link below and see what you think.

Scripture Union - Have we lost our moral compass?

Don't sit back and relax

‘Are you ready? Are you prepared?’

‘For what?’

On 12th march the WordLive Pray First activity starts with these very words. The activity continues with a call to seek God's will, but I want to tell you something else. There have been even more changes to WordLive to make things easier for your good selves.

If you are using the Flash navigation carousel you'll now notice that the activity you are now on is highlighted with a nice blue shadow. Before, the icon was grayed out and gave the impression you couldn't do anything with it. You'll also notice that the carousel can now be paused and restarted whenever you want. The constant wheeling around had been distracting to some so we've listened and acted. Personally I was hoping for a speed up and slow down button too, but we can't have everything. If you are not getting this wonderful new addition you may need to delete your temporary internet files from within your tools tab.

But that isn't all, we've redesigned the daily email. Several of the web based email clients weren't rendering the email code properly, meaning that some people were receiving a lovely black screen. That should all be different now. However, as I type this we are experiencing some minor technical difficulties the email hasn't been sent. But we are working on this, now sorted.

If there are any other things that you'd like us to consider then please do post a comment here and we'll see what we can do.

Spread the word[live] - pimp my site

Have you been looking at your blog or webspace and thinking it really needs a little something to liven it up? Well you can now add a cool banner to link through to WordLive if you are so inclined. WordLive now offers a horizontal or square banner for you to use and to be honest we would appreciate any promotion you could do.

With this in mind there are also some posters and other informational pieces you can download and use. So if you want to promote WordLive, and spread the word around, then pop along to the new resource page we have here.

Assisting your choice

As I mentioned previously (scroll down) WordLive offers a variety of content for you to choose from. But more than that we actually give you a little bit of help in deciding what to choose. This is done quite subtly though and so i thought I'd type a few words on the matter.

As the carousel spins around and you mouseover each of the pretty little icons, you'll notice a lozenge opens in the middle of the carousel. Inside the lozenge you'll see some short text explaining what activity you'll be taken to if you click on the icon. What you may have noticed are that the colours of the lozenge change depending on what icon you mouseover. The colours are very pretty too, and will become prettier in the very near future (more about that in another post). In the meantime let me tell you about the different colours.

Each of the colours represents a particular style of activity. The orange / yellow colour means that the activity is of a general nature. The podcasts, Bible passage and other activities that may relate to a whole week's sessions will be this colour. The purple colour represents activities that we feel are of a practical nature. They won't be too deep or heavy and they won't be overly creative or touchy feely.

On the other hand the green lozenge represents a more reflective approach. These activities may well be creative, meditative and touchy feely. You'll also find a little more music in this stream of activities. That leaves us with the blue lozenge. The activities here are a little deeper in nature and more study based. You may even find the odd theological term thrown in for good measure.

So there you have it. The colours of the lozenge revealed.

Freedom to choose

WordLive offers a large amount of content each day. We do this partly out of love, partly because we can, but primarily because we want to offer the user, you, the best chance of hearing God through the Bible. With this in mind we create different activities for each day, as displayed in the revolving carousel. (If you can't see the revolving carousel, then you'll need to install Flash from Adobe, it is a free plug-in, and makes WordLive even more alive.)

Wordive is built around a central Bible passage. This Bible passage is explored in the activities for that day... BUT you don't have to do everything on offer. Some of the activities will make the same point in a slightly different way, perhaps being more creative, more practical or in a deeper more studious way (it may even use long words). Some activities use music, others images, while others are more interactive.

The point is, there is a lot of material for each day, but you may not find all of it useful. Some content works better for some people while other content works better for others. Of course, you may want to click on everything and that is fine, but after reading the Bible passage, the choice is yours. You can do a little or as much as you like. WordLive is for you.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

WordLive gives you the Bible, prayer and various other items to help you get into the Bible. To help you, understand it a little more, to think over what it said and most of all catch a glimpse of God through its words.


One thing we noticed during our closed beta test was that after the day's Bible passage had been read, and you moved on to a different activity, you couldn't refer back to the Bible passage without closing the activity. This, we thought, and also a large number of you too, wasn't for the best. And so, being the caring souls that we are, we sweated night and day, thinking and creating a solution... actually it wasn't just the royal 'we', it was the rest of the the team at SU and also those lovely people at baigent, but we don't want to give them all the credit (okay, most of the sweating was from them). And that solution is now live on the site.


The first major update to WordLive is now there for you all to use. You'll notice a tab on the top, right hand side of the activity page that is titled Today's Bible Passage. If you click on this, the tab extends and reveals Today's Bible Passage, for you to read alongside the activity you are doing (not too difficult to grasp). Then if you click the little x in the top, right hand corner of the Bible passage window, the window closes. Voila, the Bible passage in all its glory, to be looked at alongside the activity you are doing.

This is the first, but by no means last, development of WordLive.

You talk, we listen and we do our best to improve your experience!

My favourite quote in a coming WordLive activity

What about Christians who are so heavenly minded that they’re no earthly use? Hebrews would regard them as freaks.

I am currently editing material for April on WordLive and the above extract brought a smile to my face. You'll be able to see the whole quote in context in a couple of months, but I thought I'd share it with you now.

WordLive and the mobile phone

Now I need to make sure that I am not a little bitter in this post. You see, a couple of months ago I bought myself a brand new, shiny mobile phone. As we were developing WordLive I looked forward to being able to view it, where I wanted, whenever I wanted, through the power of the mobile Internet.

So imagine my dismay, when I logged onto the mobile WordLive site in January and got an error page displayed. My dismay grew when I noticed others, and here is the merest hint at bitterness, whose phones were older, but of the same make, getting perfect access. What was up? Was the world against me? Was my phone all design over content?

Fortunately, I soon found out that I was not the only one who was having difficulty. It seems that there are quite a few mobile phones that are having difficulty accessing the mobile version of WordLive. However, it is very difficult to say which phones have access and which ones don’t, because the problem is all down to the browser software each phone is using. It doesn’t matter what make of mobile phone you have, it is dependent on the software installed, and this is changed frequently.

But there is a solution. If your mobile phone is unable to access the site, but you can download applications to your phone (most mobile phones with Java can do this), then you should head off and download the Opera mobile browser. All the details can be found at the link below, telling you how to download and install. WordLive will then be totally accessible to you. Opera is possibly the best mobile browser currently available, and that comment is not driven by any personal bitternessJ.

So remember, WordLive is available for your mobile phone. All you need do is log onto www.scriptureunion.org.uk/mobilewordlive and you'll get all the text based prayers, Bible text and activities, whenever and wherever you want (network costs and restrictions apply). However, mobile access to the site can be a little patchy, this isn't anything to with the WordLive site, which is standard compliant, but with the built in browsers of the phones themselves. This can all be solved by installing Opera on your phone. Simply follow the link… Opera Mobile Browser.

Busy, away and a review

I suppose I should apologise for the recent lack of updates... sorry. There, now I have absolved myself I will offer the weakest of excuses. I was on holiday over Christmas, and just before, and since getting back into the office, I have been playing catch-up (that isn't a game, but work). I have also been away at a conference and struggling with getting out of the bed before 9:00am each morning, I suppose that teaches me for not getting up before 9:00am for the three weeks over Christmas.

I'd like to send a big thank you to Lesley who provided all the prayer items for the past few weeks, such a project as WordLive needs a lot of prayer and without the prayer we have received we wouldn't have got this far. However, there is a long way to go, a lot to do and 2008 will keep the whole team extremely busy.

We have also had a great review posted by Mark Brown in Australia. He makes some great points and I wonder whether he has seen our 'to do' list for 2008? I think everything he mentions in his wish list are things that we are thinking about, putting into the mix or are currently covering via Facebook. Anyway, you can read more about what Mark says here.

Now, where is that to do list...

It's live

Well, here we go