Bible references dropped from nativity tale

A CHRISTIAN charity has removed mention of the Bible and simplified its version of the nativity story to avoid confusing children who do not go to church.

The Scripture Union slimmed down its annual book telling the Christmas story, which it aims to send out to 100,000 children, because it said many of them did not know the basics. While previous versions have included references to Biblical verses and prompts for children to compare the story to the Gospels, this year’s story is a simplified nativity, which assumes children know very little about the birth of Jesus.

Jennifer Babb, church and community fundraising manager at the union, said the removal of explicit references to the Bible “takes that barrier away – it makes it more of a simple story”. She added: “When we realised that children don’t even know the basics of what they are celebrating, then the traditional, simple story is the best way.”

This year’s booklet, written by Gemma Willis, tells of an angel visiting Mary, Joseph’s dream, the couple travelling to Bethlehem and the birth.

In 2014, a survey showed that one in three children aged 10 to 13 did not know that Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus.