They came for great works by Homer, Shakespeare, and Dickens – and now woke warriors have slapped a trigger warning on the very word of God.
Students of English literature are being warned about violence and murder in the Bible, including Christ’s crucifixion.
Bizarrely, the University of Sheffield advises that the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John include scenes of ‘graphic bodily injury and sexual violence’ as they relate the events leading up to the death of Jesus.
Details of the guidance – issued to students studying biblical and classical sources in English literature – have been obtained by The Mail on Sunday under Freedom of Information laws.
Christians and historians last night said the warnings were ‘misguided’, ‘absurd’ and incompatible with discussions about morality.
One relates to the story of Cain and Abel, the first sons of Adam and Eve. In the Book of Genesis, Cain, the first person to be born, kills his brother, Abel, who becomes the first person to die.
But critics of the censorship point out that there is no mention in the Bible of how Cain kills Abel – and were at a complete loss to explain the inclusion of ‘sexual violence’ in the warnings.
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: ‘Applying trigger warnings to salvation narratives that have shaped our civilisation is not only misguided, but absurd. Singling out the Bible in this way is discriminatory and deeply ill-informed. To suggest that the crucifixion story involves “sexual violence” is not just inaccurate, it’s a profound misreading of the text. The account of Jesus’s death is not a tale of trauma, it is the ultimate expression of love, sacrifice, and redemption, central to the Christian faith.’
Students of English literature are being warned about violence and murder in the Bible, including Christ’s crucifixion
Monsignor Michael Nazir-Ali, the former Anglican Bishop of Rochester who converted to Catholicism, said: ‘Knowing the Bible is essential if you are studying English literature.
‘Students have to be exposed to what is unpleasant and frightening so they can learn to deal with that. The Bible is very restrained in how it describes both the murder of Abel by Cain and the crucifixion, particularly if you compare the accounts of the Evangelists with something like Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ.’
Jeremy Black, the author of A Brief History of History, said: ‘Biblical and Classical narratives oppose good and evil, in the cosmos, in society and within individuals. These struggles are elemental and fundamental… Students need to be exposed to the power of the texts, their uncompromising character, and the violence of the passage into redemption. There is no need for trigger warnings when morality is concerned.’
The University of Sheffield said: ‘A content note is a standard academic tool used to signpost when sensitive or graphic content will be discussed. It’s purpose is to ensure subjects can be highlighted and discussed openly and critically, while preparing students who might find such details difficult.’
