Scripture quotes unrecognised despite importance of the Bible

Nearly half of Britons believe the Bible is an important book butmany fail to realise its influence on everyday language, a study hasfound.

Around 12% of people believe the expression "a drop in thebucket" originated from Tony Blair.

That is almost double the proportion that realise its originalsource is the Bible, according to the survey.

The research into the knowledge of 2379 people was carried outearlier this month.

It showed nearly the same proportion believed the phrase "thewriting on the wall" was coined by the Beatles, at 18%, as knew itcame from the Bible, at 19%.

Fewer than one in 10 people surveyed knew the expression "eat,drink and be merry" came from the New Testament, with 41% sayingthey thought it was written by Shakespeare.

The only Bible phrase to be identified correctly out of a list offive by a majority of Britons was the expression "my brother'skeeper".

Around 56% realised this came from the words of Cain in Genesis:"Am I my brother's keeper?"

The findings come in spite of nearly half, or 46%, saying theybelieved the Bible was an important book and had valuable messages.

The survey was released as the Bible Society in England and Walesand the Scottish Bible Society launched a project inviting people tohandwrite parts of the Bible.

They want people to use a digital pen to scribe passages to markthe 400th anniversary of the King James Bible.

The results will be uploaded on to the internet and will beavailable online.

The "People's Bible" tour of Britain will begin at EdinburghCastle on June 19. The date was chosen as it is the anniversary ofthe birth of King James VI of Scotland at the castle in 1566.

Organisers are hoping the project will feature contributions fromsenior public figures and celebrities.

Part of it will be presented at a service of celebration atWestminster Abbey which will mark the 400th anniversary later thisyear.

Luke Walton, culture programme manager at the Bible Society,said: "It's clear that people's knowledge of the Bible is limitedand they just don't realise how significant and wide-ranging itsinfluence has been.

"We hope that this project will help people, once again, to valuethe Bible.

"Making a connection with the text helps us both to appreciateits role in our own culture, history and politics, and it can enrichour lives personally.

"The Bible remains the world's best seller and we can't afford toexclude it from public life."