Funny Place England!

There are 16,000 Church of England church buildings across the land, widespread as is the ignorance of the faith they supposedly proclaim.

I heard bible readings each morning at school for 17 years, and at church on Sundays when I accompanied my parents, but if you had asked me – or countless others of my generation – just two questions you would have discovered an uncomfortable truth.

Question 1: What does the word ‘gospel’ mean?

Question 2: What is a Christian?

Try it on friends, family and work colleagues.

Answers for Q1 will include: ‘Books in the New Testament?’ or ‘Truth – like ‘gospel’ truth’. Or, if you’re of a certain age, an incorrect answer, ‘Isn’t it the name of a musical?’ 

In more recent years there’s been a resurgence in ‘Gospel’ music and choirs. But I’ll bet you a tenner no one can tell you the right answer, despite growing up in a ‘Christian’ country with countless church buildings of all denominations in every city, town and village.

Answers to Q2 are often like an anagram.

Funny place England. Things are not quite what they seem.