Posted on 06/09/2013 8:00:12 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
OSLO, NORWAY:
It may sound like an unlikely No. 1 best-seller for any country, but in Norway — one of the most secular nations in an increasingly godless Europe — the runaway popularity of the Bible has caught the country by surprise. The Scriptures, in a new Norwegian language version, even outpaced "Fifty Shades of Grey" to become Norway's best-selling book.
The sudden burst of interest in God's word has also spread to the stage, with a six-hour play called "Bibelen," Norwegian for "the Bible," drawing 16,000 people in a three-month run that recently ended at one of Oslo's most prominent theaters.
Officials of the Lutheran Church of Norway have stopped short of calling it a spiritual awakening, but they see the newfound interest in the Bible as proof that it still resonates in a country where only 1 percent of the 5 million residents regularly attends church.
"Thoughts and images from the Bible still have an impact on how we experience reality," said Karl Ove Knausgaard, one of several famous Norwegian authors enlisted to help with the translation.
Scholars aren't surprised at the success of the plays or the new Bible translation, explaining that faith is a deeply personal matter in this nation of taciturn Scandinavians who regularly withdraw from city life to spend holidays at remote cottages in the solitude of the mountains, fjords and forests.
"Church attendance is a poor measure of the Norwegian state of faith," said post-doctoral fellow Thorgeir Kolshus at the University of Oslo. "Religion is a very private thing for Norwegians."
Anne Veiteberg, publishing director of Norway's Bible Society, said that increased immigration also probably has been a factor.
More than 258,000 immigrants have settled in the country during the last six years alone, adding diversity of race and religion.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
Well, that’s good. That’s a start!
May all hear the word of our God
Another contributing factor may be the current state of the world. For a people with a long term understanding of the Christian faith, the current events today should be very revealing of where we actually are.
Another contributing factor may be the current state of the world. For a people with a long term understanding of the Christian faith, the current events today should be very revealing of where we actually are.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
There is unexplainable power in scripture.
No matter how bad this country and this world gets, God is in control, and if the people turn to Him, he will turn to us.
I agree, in Jesus’ Saving Name
Agreed.
And as more of the pieces fall into place, we realize again the power of scripture.
” - - - More than 258,000 immigrants have settled in the country during the last six years alone, adding diversity of race and religion. The Church of Norway estimates that around 60 percent of immigrants are Christian, while the rest are Muslim, Buddhist or Hindu.
“Now that we’re exposed to other faiths, Norwegians have gotten more interested in their own faith,” Veiteberg said. - - - “
Yup.
Interesting that popular authors were used rather than theologians or other biblical scholars. With that in mind, I have to question how accurate this new Bible is.
Never before needing to defend his faith, Olav Squarehead suddenly finds that he needs to get his hands on a Bible.
The TRUTH! He Loves Us!
Perhaps the pendulum has begun its slow course back to the right.
Truth can still reach those with an open mind. God is still accessible! Bob
I wonder how much it has to do with that spiral vortex that opened up in the sky a couple years ago... Seeing something like that in the sky would sure give me pause. Something evil this way comes....
The Bible is and has been the #1 best seller in every country for many many years. They don't put it on the best-seller list for the same reason they never put dictionaries on the best-seller list: The list would be boring, showing the same books week after week, year after year.
Note that the story comes from CBS, which has a newsroom jammed with young liberals (aka "the new morons).
RE: O Store Gud (Oh Mighty God)—a Swedish hymn popular in Norway—and the US.
For those who don’t know... this is the great and timeless hymn: “How Great Thou Art”
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