Welcome to Opening the Bible!
Welcome to Opening the Bible, the Diocese of Southwark's new online resource for equipping its parishes and schools to engage with the Bible confidently and creatively, in informed, relevant, and transformative ways.
Opening the Bible was launched in May 2011 as part of the Diocese of Southwark's celebrations of the 'Year of the Bible' which marks the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible. May 2011 seems a very fitting time for the birth of this website: many believe the KJV was indeed printed in May.
Our hope is that this website continues the KJV's legacy of opening up the Bible to all people, across traditions, in a language that they can recognize, including today's multimedia languages and art.
Image: Pentecost by Jesus Mafa, with kind permission
Opening the Bible in Churches
Multiple resources to support well informed, relevant, and confident engagement with the Bible in churches, including: preaching aids, Bible studies, resources for opening the Bible with children and young people, and more
Opening the Bible in Schools
Resources for teachers and clergy responsible for engaging with the Bible in RE or Collective Worship in primary and secondary schools.
Opening the Bible with Scholarly Tools
Resources for engaging with the Bible in more depth through drawing on the tools and insights provided by biblical scholarship, including: maps and atlases, different translations, language tools, historical background, narrative tools, and more
Opening the Bible through Art
Links to various online art resources: from international galleries with strong biblical collections, through illuminated manuscripts to contemporary artists and children’s artwork, and more
Celebrating the King James Bible
Resources for parishes and schools wishing to explore and celebrate the KJV, ideas for celebrating the Bible in 2011 in South London and East Surrey, the KJV in the news, and more
We hope you enjoy exploring the wealth of resources gathered within these pages and visit again soon. Please contribute to the developing project by emailing Opening the Bible with feedback, broken links, or suggestions for additional resources.