Denmark’s Bible Journey 2000 Adventure

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Thanks to a private financial donation, the Danish Bible Society has been able to offer a free copy of its new computer-driven, interactive adventure story Bible Journey 2000 to every school in the country.

The Society is delighted with the reception the project has received.

“We have received very positive reviews in Denmark,” said Society General Secretary Morten Aagard, “in fact, much more positive than we had ever dreamed.”

The project, which altogether comprises a CD-ROM, a video and a teachers’ manual, is a joint effort between the Danish Bible Society and a production company called MAGIC.

Not sectarian

It has also had the benefit of financial support from the Danish Ministry of Education. Aimed mainly at children between the ages of 10 and 16, it is not sectarian and does not attempt evangelisation. The Ministry has chosen it with a view to extending the teaching materials for religious instruction in Denmark’s non-religious state primary and lower secondary schools.

Mr Aagard said it was his hope and prayer that with the project available as a resource in schools, the Bible would play a more central role in religious classes in years to come.

Using sophisticated 3-D graphics and computer animation, the Bible Journey 2000 offers both an interactive adventure and an enormous amount of information about the Bible and biblical subjects.

The basic story comprises nine journeys to different parts of Israel, which present the best-known stories of the Old and the New Testament. Each journey presents a task to accomplish and travellers meet a number of characters who give them hints about how to accomplish the task.

The CD-ROM also includes a Bible encyclopaedia, a comprehensive atlas, the complete, searchable text of the Bible and a historical timeline.

The CD-ROM was launched at the beginning of August and is being sold through major bookshops across Denmark.

A number of other Bible Societies have already expressed an interest in producing Bible Journey for their own countries. A CD-ROM giving an overview of the project in English is available and there is an English-language website, which includes the images shown here, at www.bible.dk (WR 355/23 - 11.00)