Bible Society: Take your Bible to work Monday or are you too embarrassed?
Christian Today is reporting on a Bible Society initiative encouraging Christians to take their Bible to work on Monday 25th October. As part of this they commissioned some research which I found particularly interesting:
Here’s some snippets:
While most Christians said they would feel fine having their Bible at work, 43 per cent said they would feel uncomfortable actually getting it out to read and almost a third were worried about what work colleagues might think.
In fact, Christians are more likely to feel uncomfortable about having their Bible on display at work than their work colleagues. Seventy five per cent of atheists questioned said they would not consider it to be a problem.
[.....]
It found that while Christians may feel uncomfortable about reading their Bible at work, in breaks or at lunchtimes, only 14 per cent of workers would feel uncomfortable if they did it and as many as half would be happy to talk about the Bible with Christian colleagues.
[.....]
Reacting to the survey results Ann says, “There are a variety of issues here from a misplaced fear about a hostile reception to having a Bible at work to a lack of certainty about what to do with it if you do to take it to work. This makes the need to break down the divide between the sacred and the secular all the more urgent. We need more training on the significance of the Bible in our everyday lives.”
A few years ago I worked for a large American pharmaceutical company here in the UK and as was my wont, on the approach to Easter, I would have a large cross shaved into the back of my head.
Yep, I really am that mad.
I would always find an empty table in the cafetiere at lunch time as my preference is not to hold conversation whilst eating, and the day of revealing my new hair style was no different.
After five minutes or so of eating I became aware of others around me and when I looked up from my meal, I had been joined by around eight other workers, none of whom were eating and were silently watching me eat.
One of the guys at the table enquired about my shaved cross and I simply said I was a Christian and this was part of my Easter celebration.
One by one, they all confessed to being Christian and not one of them knew the others were Christian, which was all the more remarkable as some of them had worked at close quarters for many years.
The upshot was meeting together regularly for prayer and visiting one another’s church and so on. We were asked for prayer from other colleagues and generally emboldened and encouraged one another.
Sometimes it’s just as simple as sending out a visible sign to others that you are Christian and you just never know what might come of it.
Tags: Christian Life
October 22nd, 2010 at 10:14 am
How about Not Ashamed? http://www.notashamed.org.uk
October 22nd, 2010 at 11:38 am
If it’s acceptable to read at work – then go for it. If it’s not, well – I can easily see one of these cases being spun into “persecution” somehow or other.
October 22nd, 2010 at 11:57 am
What a strange idea!
I always thought of reading the bible as a more contemplative activity. Usually all I could concentrate on in breaks from a busy work schedule was a newspaper or some potboiler of a thriller written for an attention span compatible with my break times. What understanding would anyone hope to get from a few snatched minutes or seconds? I suppose one could reread a favourite passage already well known, but you could probably do that from memory anyway.
In the far off days of my youth , ostentatiously carrying a bible would have elicited tolerant amusement amongst my fellow Christians and suggestions that I was ‘going through a phase’ and would grow out of it.
Oh well, it takes all sorts and there’s nowt so queer as folk.
October 22nd, 2010 at 1:44 pm
One by one, they all confessed to being Christian and not one of them new the others were Christian, which was all the more remarkable as some of them had worked at close quarters for many years.
A Christan Archipelago in a tempestuous sea of equality.
October 22nd, 2010 at 2:48 pm
I have a Bible in my bookcase at work and i’m an Atheist! What’s the big deal? What is not ok is to read it during the time you are being paid by the company – unless it is a work related task. I had a very devout Muslim in my group, and he would disappear off sevral times a day fro his devotions. This was fine as long as he got the work done. The problems started when his breaks got progressively longer and longer, and he would not come n on Friday at all, despite being contractually obliged to do so. And guess what – when he was given a warning about his increasingly lengthy absences he played the religion card for all it was worth, and it was very tough to fire him.
As an Atheist I have no problem at all with people bringing in whatever religious paraphernalia they like, just so long as they don’t expect to receive special treatment, resulting n an an increased workload for the rest of us.
And as for the “Not Ashamed” campaign – Whoever thought up that dreadful idea? If I have a good product to sell, I tell people it’s good. I don’t say “I’ts not bad”.
October 22nd, 2010 at 2:52 pm
Oops. Mistakenly hit the submit button before I had finished. Excuse the many typos!
October 22nd, 2010 at 2:58 pm
Jim – does your Bible get read or does it remain on the bookshelf? I ask because there are Biblical references involved in the name, that you might not have realised. Plus, your example doesn’t work. The statement is that [I am] not ashamed. But the ‘product’ is not me, it’s the good news about Jesus.
October 22nd, 2010 at 8:19 pm
Paul.
Actually yes – I do dip into it quite often. The Bible is full of interest and insight, which can be equally appreciated by a non-believer, and I frequently look up texts quoted by others so I can understand the context. Actually it would be great if you could explain the context of this particular phrase.
Regarding the statement – I would argue that if you are making a very public declaration then the true meaning must be apparent to more than a select few. Of course, that is just my opinion, which you can take or leave as you choose. I just thought it might be helpful to highlight how it appears to an outsider. But maybe that’s not the point of the statement? I did not mean the sales example to be an exact match – I was just using it to illustrate my point. I take your point about the true subject of the expression.
October 23rd, 2010 at 4:10 am
”For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” Romans 1:16
October 23rd, 2010 at 9:21 am
Many thanks Warren. Much appreciated.
October 23rd, 2010 at 11:28 pm
Interesting and well thought.