Back in the 70s, Duncan (a friend of mine) and I plotted to purchase a bunch of Bibles, carefully wrap them in plastic, put them in a box, and then bury them.

We had even decided on what version we would use, NASVs.

And when the Bible was ultimately banned by governments, we would secretly dig up this treasure trove and share it with other believers.

At that time, we were thinking the Bible would be banned in a matter of years, which it wasn’t. We also had no idea of the radical technological changes that would take place in society, where everyone would have a Bible on their phone.

Though we never got around to doing it, Duncan and I discussed the idea several times. Nearly 50 years later, I am not sure what kind of shape those Bibles would be in today if we had.

But maybe it’s time I gave Duncan a call, and we revived that old plan.

A disturbing survey out of Britain revealed that up to a quarter of young people are open to the idea of banning the Bible because of hate speech, Christian Today reports.

In its survey of 2,088 adults in November 2023, Whitestone Insights asked them to respond to this question:

“Unless the offending parts can be edited out, books containing what some perceive as hate speech should be banned from general sale, including if necessary religious texts such as the Bible.“

The survey which specifically cited the Bible found:

• 23% of those between the ages of 18 to 34 agreed with the statement that the Bible should be banned if it didn’t have the offending parts cut out.
• 17% between the ages of 35 to 54 supported the statement, and
• 13% of those over the age of 55 also agreed.

In other words, nearly a quarter of those in the younger age group (18 to 34) believed the Bible should be banned if the offending parts were not eliminated.

In a matter of a few years, this group will fall into the older age category of 35 to 44, and they will be replaced by a new batch of younger adults.

Like the old analogy about boiling a frog, we are barely noticing the gradual changes taking place in society.

But there was a qualifier, the survey suggested they were fine with allowing the Bible to stay as long as the offending parts, which ‘some perceived’ to be hate speech, were cut out.

It is such a broad and ambiguous statement. I mean, if you cut out the parts that offended people, what would be left:

• The evolutionists are offended by the creation story.
• The thieves are offended by the admonitions not to steal.
• Animal activists are horrified by the animal sacrifices.
• The occultists are offended by the dozens of provisions against dallying in dark arts, and
• How many would be offended by the ban on taking the Lord’s name in vain?

The list is endless, and we haven’t even dealt with the morality issues yet.

At best, we would be left with a few tattered pages.

READ: Young Brits Open to Banning the Bible ‘Unless the Offended Parts Can Be Edited Out’ AND Nearly a quarter of young Brits open to banning the Bible