A special Bible will presented to the Scottish parliament to mark 25 years of devolution.
The Bible will be taken to Holyrood by Rt Rev Sally Foster-Fulton, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, during a visit in which she intends to raise key Christian issues with party leaders.
Rev Foster-Fulton, who will be accompanied by Elaine Duncan, chief executive officer of the Scottish Bible Society, will also lead worship at a parliamentary service, and hopes to “have deep conversations with a range of politicians representing different political groups and ideas”.
The black leather-bound book, jointly provided by the Scottish Bible Society and the Church of Scotland, will have the words ‘Scottish Parliament’ and ‘Wisdom, Justice, Compassion and Integrity' on its cover.
Rev Foster-Fulton is spending time at Holyrood this week and plans to discuss a range of important issues with party leaders and representatives, according to a Church of Scotland spokesperson.
These issues will include poverty and deprivation, climate change, violence in the Middle East, assisted dying, ending conversion practices and how people treat asylum seekers, refugees and migrants, they added.
Rev Foster-Fulton said it is wholly appropriate and necessary that the Church fully engages with the political world, adding: “When people say that the Bible and politics don't mix, I ask them which Bible they are reading.
‘The Bible claims for all human beings this exalted status that we are all, each one of us, created in the divine image.’ Two powerful sentences from the late South African theologian, Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
“He preached and taught about the bridge between faith and politics – not in a party-political way but in a way which helped to relate the Christian faith to everyday life, to society and to challenging the great causes of injustice around the world. The cornerstone of his, and our, beliefs remains the Bible - the revealed word of God in the scriptures which are our supreme rule of faith and life.”
