Trinity Lutheran Church

Did you know…

• 1 out of 10 teenagers identifies Moses as “one of the 12 apostles”?
• 25% of teens believe that the statement “David was King of the Jews” is false?
• 51% of teens don’t know what happened at the “Wedding in Cana”?
• Only about 8% of teens attend a school offering a course on the Bible?

AND, did you know…

• 90% of High School English teachers consider it important for both college-bound and “regular” students to be biblically literate?

The vast majority of college English teachers, when asked, “What book should students read before attending college?” respond: “The Bible”? That only 8% of American students attend a high school that
teaches a course in biblical literature?*

A few thousand years ago, when Freda was working on her doctoral dissertation I remember being surprised, in reviewing her work, how often Charlotte Bronte alluded to the Bible in her writing. But then again, how often do we see the symbolism in Shakespeare echo the Bible? (“Zounds!”…Google it!)

Or even (to use a far more recent work), how often does Harry Potter remind us of biblical teachings? (In truth, all of the time! The idea of sacrificial love, present from the beginning, only becomes more and more of a focus as the story moves forward!)

Almost any artist of “depth,” be it in music, theater, art, sculpture, papier mache, whatever, uses imagery from the Bible in rendering their tales.

This year at Trinity, we are embarking on a program called “Stories of the Family.” This is YOUR chance to learn the stories of the Bible. It’s also YOUR CHANCE to teach them to your children. Week after week, we will focus on the seminal stories of the faith. Stories that will not only broaden and strengthen your understanding of God’s work in your life, but stories that will also help you see…
•Where Disney got the idea for a whale in “Pinocchio”
•Understand the depth of the supernatural conflict in “Macbeth”
•See the symbolism when Harry Potter goes into the Forbidden Forest to sacrifice himself because he has been infected by an evil which must be stopped…

•Realize something is up when the Grinch’s heart grows “three sizes that day,” (or when he finds the strength of 10 grinches, plus two!)

•Understand that you cannot fathom Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath” without understanding
the Exodus
•Even see how death and redemption have a role to play in “Desperate Housewives” (really!)

The point is simple. The stories of our faith are important for us, and for our children to learn on
a “religious” level, but they are also vitally important to understanding who we are and where
we have come from as a people!

In fact, in the “Bible Literacy Report,” commissioned by the Templeton Foundation and
compiled by the Gallup Organization, 40 out of the 41 leading High School English teachers in
the survey said that Bible knowledge gave students a distinct advantage in school!

Don’t miss this opportunity! Bring the family along and join us for worship in the coming year. Learn the stories. Learn about God. And yes, even learn a little bit more about you!