Pornography and sex feature in controversial youth bible

A CONTROVERSIAL youth bible which discusses pornography and sex aims to help young people understand the Good Book, it was reported yesterday.

The Contemporary English Version Youth Bible describes sex as “fulfilling” and admits masturbation “can provide a release”, according to the Sunday Telegraph.

Writer Nick Page - who has also produced The Tabloid Bible and pens articles for Youthwork magazine - says “it’s safe to say that it’s the only bible around that is enthusiastic about civil disobedience”.

Exam anxiety and drinking are also dealt with in the work, which has caused concern among some traditional religious organisations.

The Rev John Roberts, general secretary of the Lord’s Day Observance Society, told the newspaper: “The bible is a book that one shouldn’t denigrate with this kind of sleazy language. This is gimmicky, and it is a real worry. We need to be very careful we don’t lose all concept of what the bible is about by trying to make God pally. He is not pally, he is too great to be brought down to our level.”

The edition is written in everyday language and contains sections on how biblical principles can be worked out in the real world.

Contributions from leading organisations are included, together with introductions to each bible book, facts about the bible’s “heroes”, and young people’s thoughts about passages.

The Contemporary English Versions are backed by The Bible Society and published by HarperCollins. The company was unavailable for comment yesterday, but a spokesman told the Sunday Telegraph the bible “had changed with the times.”

A Church of England spokesman said they had not seen the book, but said: “People should treat this as a biblical paraphrase and hope that it is a means of introducing new audiences to reading accurate translations of the bible and familiarising themselves with it.”