'Blasphemous' Lord's Prayer Corrected by France's Catholic Church

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A 'blasphemous' version of the Lord's Prayer has finally been corrected by the French Catholic Church - 50 years after it was introduced.

France's Catholic Church has finally corrected a "blasphemous" error that crept into the Gallic version of The Lord's prayer half a century ago.

After a 17-year debate, theologians and writers concluded that the French equivalent of "And lead us not into temptation" implied that God himself could lead us astray, rather than help us keep on the straight and narrow, and thus had "blasphemous" overtones.

The French line before read: "And don't submit us to temptation". It now reads: "And don't let us enter into temptation".

The change will be incorporated into a new French translation of the Bible validated by the Vatican that will be published next month. » | Henry Samuel, Paris | Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Archbishop of Canterbury: Children Should Be Taught The Lord's Prayer
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Children are now half as likely to know the text of the Lord's Prayer than they were 40 years ago, according to a survey.

The study, which compared the answers of children aged 6-12 years old and adults who would have been that age 40 years ago, found that children today are less familiar with religious texts than their parents.

However, they are twice as likely to say that religion is important to them compared with those growing up in the 1970s.

Of the 1011 adults surveyed, 931 out of 1011 (92 per cent) said they knew the Lord’s Prayer as a child, while only 571 out of 1040 (55 per cent) of children knew it today.

The Archbishop of Canterbury told the BBC he believed that children should be taught the Lord's Prayer in schools and is worried by news that half as many children know the prayer.

Dr Rowan Williams said: "I'd like to see schools introducing children to the Lord's Prayer, so that they know that it's there, they know what it means and know why it matters. » | Josie Ensor | Saturday, March 31, 2012

Australian Parliament May Drop Lord's Prayer
THE TELEGRAPH: The speaker of Australia's parliament has called for a public debate on whether the Lord's Prayer should be dumped from the start of each parliamentary session and replaced by an acknowledgement of the country's Aboriginal ancestors.

The Christian prayer has opened each day of parliament for more than a century, as part of a tradition inherited from the British during colonial rule.

But Harry Jenkins, speaker of the house, has questioned the relevance of the prayer in an increasingly secular and religiously diverse nation.

He said MPs and members of the public had repeatedly raised the issue with him since he took office in February.

"One of the most controversial aspects of the parliamentary day ... is the prayer," he told the Herald-Sun newspaper. "On the one end of the spectrum is: Why have a prayer?" Mr Jenkins said an indigenous recognition would be in line with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's historic apology to Aboriginal Australians in January for injustices suffered during 220 years of white settlement.

However, his comments angered Christian groups in the country and failed to gain support from Mr Rudd. >>> By Bonnie Malkin in Sydney | October 28, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – Australia) >>>
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