The Bible and children ” “

The Bible Year that has just ended was characterised by various projects aimed at deepening knowledge of Holy Scripture. Bibel-Entdecker-Tour (BET) is the name of an ecumenical event organised in Germany for children aged 10 to 14. A total of some 120,000 German kids took part in it, comprising 5,940 groups from all the Churches, as well as over 400 groups in Switzerland, 15 in Austria, 12 in Denmark and 12 in Luxembourg and Belgium. It was a kind of hunt for the treasure hidden in the Bible. At the start, each group received a rucksack containing 12 objects aimed at helping children to discover the stories of the Bible. We discussed the project with Albrecht Kaul , vice-president of the evangelic youth organization CVJM, and with Michael Kühn , director of the Service for youth ministry of the German Bishops’ Conference. The event proved a success. What were its positive and negative aspects? AK: “The ecumenical contacts forged were encouraging for “grassroots” ecumenism. Children who knew each other at school recognised each other as Christians. In some regions contacts were further developed. In the Länder of Eastern and Northern Germany, the BET was an event for children who form a minority in their classes and in the places where they live”. LK: The BET, one of the events organised during Bible Year, proved a great success. Its positive aspects included its simple approach to biblical themes, which dispelled the fear of tackling these questions, its enabling children to discover the Bible as “a book of the greatest importance” for Christians, and its refuting the prejudice according to which Catholics are not interested in the Bible. As regards the negative aspects, we would have hoped for greater participation in some regions. What are the difficulties in transmitting the Bible to children and the young? AK: “The Bible is widely considered obsolete, unscientific and anachronistic. From this point of view, atheism (both in the East and West) has destroyed, or has stifled at birth, trust in Holy Scripture. A Bible adapted to the needs of children (as produced by the BET) enables children to grasp, even superficially, that it’s not a boring book. Each rucksack contained one of these Bibles, which are also available for sale. In treating the texts, the children understood that the stories are not “old hat” but have a meaning and an effect today”. LK: “The Bible isn’t a book simply to be handled like any other. In the new generations, knowledge of the faith is declining and children and adolescents are not even familiar with the best-known passages of the Bible. The Bible is not considered an important book, and its truthfulness is doubted. The BET tried to communicate the fundamental facts: the Bible as the Word of God, the history of God’s relation with man, the source of faith for Christians. To help children to discover it, an active and entertaining method of exploration was adopted”. The BET reacted against the alienation of the young from the faith. How? AK: “With this project we only reached children who form part of Christian groups or who participate in lessons of religion at school, strengthening their faith and countering their alienation from religion. If children acquire faith in the Bible and in Jesus Christ, this may mark them for life. Working with children and adolescents is a way of sowing hope – and we sowed in abundance – now it’s up to God to enable that seed to grow. Projects also need to be promoted for children outside the Church”. LK: “The BET was accepted by Church groups, but school groups also participated in it. Especially in schools, in view of the fact that non-practising children also attend lessons in religion, the opportunity was grasped to enable them to gain a first contact with the Bible. We tried to select the Bible stories that succeed in dialoguing also with the young and transmitting a religious experience to them”. Are other similar projects being planned? AK: “The BET was aimed at encouraging small groups and individuals. Such large-scale projects cannot substitute work in the local community, but they can reinforce it by providing new impulses. We are thinking of repeating the project in 4 or 5 years time, because each generation has a right to a great event of this kind”. LK: “In preparations for WYD account will undoubtedly be taken of the results of this project, and ideas derived from its activities: for example, a biblical theme for each month. The ecumenical Via Crucis, organised by the young, reflects the biblical narratives of the Passion. Projects that invite the young to recount a passage of the Bible in their own linguistic or artistic forms of expression are also valuable”.