Scripture Engagement

Most of us think of the Vikings as a pretty scary lot, and the recent BBC TV series 'The Last Kingdom' has done little to disillusion us on that front. One thing brought out by the series is the difference between Alfred, a Christian, and the Vikings, who are called pagans by the Saxon believers. The Vikings didn't become Christians until the mid-11th century, and many of their beliefs and customs remain with us today. For instance Wednesday is from  Woden's day , Thursday is from Thor's day . and so on. Once they had converted to Christianity some relics of their old religion remained: 'The pagan "Yuletide" became Christmas, but Scandinavians still use the word "Jul" for Christmas. The fertility rites used in spring to ensure good harvests were substituted by blessings from the Christian priests, but for hundreds of years many farmers also added some of the old rites just to be sure. Each Viking farm had its own "farm-god" ...

A bunch of us just completed an oral storying workshop. I was involved as both student and teacher, and loved it! Many missions are involved in oral storying, or chronological bible storying, as it is a great way of taking oral groups through the message of the Bible from beginning to end, with lots of stories that communicate tonnes to them, perhaps more than they do to those of us from mainly literate societies. Watch the above video to find out more about why oral communities respond so well to storying approaches. Here are some obvious advantages: People don't need to be able to read and write The stories are crafted orally, without pen and paper, so they tend to be much more natural than a written translation The stories are told in fellowship groups, which often turn into churches The method is designed to be reproducible - easily replicated by others It's hard for the authorities to repress an internal message (no books or media are needed, as people learn t...