‘The Bible brings me consolation’

TV presenter Alice Bah takes her ‘Golden Rule’ from the Gospel

UPPSALA, Sweden — “In the Bible you can see yourself in the people who lived thousands of years ago,” says TV presenter Alice Bah. Her copy is always on her bedside table.

“The Bible really means a lot to me,” she says. “It’s a fantastic historical document. It’s like a diary for me. I read it more when I’m sad than when I’m happy,” she says.

Own TV show

Alice has her own TV show. She grew up in southern Sweden. Her mother comes from Sweden and her father from the Gambia. At the age of four she had already come into contact with the Bible.

When she was small she believed everything in the Bible. She explains how she read the Book of Revelation like a horror film in the evenings before going to sleep.

Today she sees Scripture differently, in the sense that she no longer believes that everything in the Bible is something we are meant to follow.

She thinks it is important to remember that the Bible was written a very long time ago and that not all of it can be related to the present day and age. That does not mean that the Bible is just like any old book, however.

“I’m a Christian and I’ve taken the Bible’s message of love to heart,” she says. “The Bible tells us that God is love.”

The Bible brings her consolation and explanations. The stories in it give her an explanation of herself and why she thinks as she does.

“There are verses in the Bible which match different emotional states and which give guidance, whether you’re happy or seeking comfort. If I feel weak there are verses which give strength and stories to find solace in,” she says.

Interested

“If you’re interested in people then the Bible is extremely interesting, whether you’re a Christian or not.”

The Bible verse known as ‘The Golden Rule’ provides her guiding principle : “Do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12). “You can apply that rule to everything in life,” she says. (WR 359/10 - 4/5.01)