UK University Slaps Violence Warning on Bible, Citing the Crucifixion and Cain and Abel

Michie · Sunday at 9:04 AM

English Literature students at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom have been warned: Scripture contains some “graphic bodily injury and sexual violence.” Specifically, the institution highlighted the Old Testament account of Cain killing Abel and the gospel accounts of Jesus’ crucifixion.

Other literary works also receive trigger warnings, the university explained. In a statement, it said that type of “content note is a standard academic tool used to signpost when sensitive or graphic content will be discussed.”

But critics called the move a form of censorship, saying it is “misguided” and “absurd” to label God’s Word as potentially triggering.

Bible Receives Trigger Warning from University of Sheffield

Continued below.

UK University Slaps Violence Warning on Bible, Citing the Crucifixion and Cain and Abel

English Lit. students at the University of Sheffield in the U.K. have been warned: Scripture contains “graphic bodily injury and sexual violence.”

churchleaders.com

Hvizsgyak · Sunday at 9:25 PM

Michie said:
English Literature students at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom have been warned: Scripture contains some “graphic bodily injury and sexual violence.” Specifically, the institution highlighted the Old Testament account of Cain killing Abel and the gospel accounts of Jesus’ crucifixion.

Other literary works also receive trigger warnings, the university explained. In a statement, it said that type of “content note is a standard academic tool used to signpost when sensitive or graphic content will be discussed.”

But critics called the move a form of censorship, saying it is “misguided” and “absurd” to label God’s Word as potentially triggering.

Bible Receives Trigger Warning from University of Sheffield

Continued below.

UK University Slaps Violence Warning on Bible, Citing the Crucifixion and Cain and Abel

English Lit. students at the University of Sheffield in the U.K. have been warned: Scripture contains “graphic bodily injury and sexual violence.”

churchleaders.com

Batten down the hatches, Christianity is going on a very bumpy ride because of many people's misconceptions of Christianity and unfortunately, alot of our fellow Christians setting poor examples of the Faith. I pray that God will guide us thru the turmoil

.

A New Dawn · Sunday at 10:14 PM

But Fifty Shades of Gray probably got a pass.

rebornfree · Sunday at 11:08 PM

Maybe it's significant that this is an English Literature course, not a Theology one. There are violent descriptions in the Bible and the students are viewing it as literature, rather than seeing the events in a spiritual context of God being perfectly loving and violence being the result of mankind's and Satan's sins.

The University may have students who have seen or suffered from serious violence and/or sexual abuse, for whom they have a duty of care. Certain descriptions need to be put into a wider context. Imagine telling a victim of a grooming gang about Lot offering his daughters (Genesis 19 v 8). Until you understand the Lord's love and holiness, how wicked the local inhabitants were, and who the visitors were, you may get a different message from the incident to the one intended.

As a Christian, I would encourage an enquirer to start with reading a gospel so that they can understand the Lord's love and compassion and the way He healed people and raised the dead. When they are grounded in this, it may be time to move onto the more difficult passages, as by then they hopefully would understand how holy, gracious and loving the Lord is. Literature students are not even enquiring so they would probably be blind to the wonder of the gospel and see the violent things out of context. Hence trigger warnings may be necessary.

DavidTheGnome · 2025-11-10T00:08:21-0600

Here is my warning for everyone who hears the prophecies in this book:
If you add anything to them, God will make you suffer all the terrible troubles written in this book. If you take anything away from these prophecies, God will not let you have part in the life-giving tree and in the holy city described in this book.

Revelation 22:18-19

rebornfree · 2025-11-10T00:31:04-0600

DavidTheGnome said:
Here is my warning for everyone who hears the prophecies in this book:
If you add anything to them, God will make you suffer all the terrible troubles written in this book. If you take anything away from these prophecies, God will not let you have part in the life-giving tree and in the holy city described in this book.

Revelation 22:18-19

Absolutely. Scripture must not be changed. However I think that it should be taught by born-again believers in a way that encompasses the whole Bible, as the Lord wants us to understand it. I'm not suggesting that an individual's potential triggers should be avoided, but that the person concerned might need some support with understanding that their triggers are from their own experiences and not from the Bible.

I doubt that this would happen in an English Literature degree course because they are not basing their studies on the reality of God and the truth of His word, but on analysing the text. So all sorts of misconceptions might creep in. I really don't like the Bible being studied as literature alone.

Bob Crowley · 2025-11-10T07:01:36-0600

Apparently university students between 18 and 21 years old have to be molly coddled against historical accounts that depict actual violence.

Better warn them if they study history they're actually going to come across even more violent episodes, some quite recent.

ChubbyCherub · 2025-11-10T07:38:34-0600

This is not the first time in history England has censored, revised etc the bible. We might forget but God doesn't.

Delvianna · 2025-11-10T08:01:30-0600

DavidTheGnome said:
Here is my warning for everyone who hears the prophecies in this book:
If you add anything to them, God will make you suffer all the terrible troubles written in this book. If you take anything away from these prophecies, God will not let you have part in the life-giving tree and in the holy city described in this book.

Revelation 22:18-19

slapping a warning label on the bible isn't changing the book though.

Delvianna · 2025-11-10T08:02:34-0600

Michie said:
English Literature students at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom have been warned: Scripture contains some “graphic bodily injury and sexual violence.” Specifically, the institution highlighted the Old Testament account of Cain killing Abel and the gospel accounts of Jesus’ crucifixion.

Other literary works also receive trigger warnings, the university explained. In a statement, it said that type of “content note is a standard academic tool used to signpost when sensitive or graphic content will be discussed.”

But critics called the move a form of censorship, saying it is “misguided” and “absurd” to label God’s Word as potentially triggering.

Bible Receives Trigger Warning from University of Sheffield

Continued below.

UK University Slaps Violence Warning on Bible, Citing the Crucifixion and Cain and Abel

English Lit. students at the University of Sheffield in the U.K. have been warned: Scripture contains “graphic bodily injury and sexual violence.”

churchleaders.com

How long until the bible is banned and misinterpreted as "inciting violence" or some other nonsense they'll say? I mean, it's banned in China if I'm not mistaken already, so it's only a matter of time before it comes to the West.

eleos1954 · 2025-11-10T12:26:42-0600

Michie said:
English Literature students at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom have been warned: Scripture contains some “graphic bodily injury and sexual violence.” Specifically, the institution highlighted the Old Testament account of Cain killing Abel and the gospel accounts of Jesus’ crucifixion.

Other literary works also receive trigger warnings, the university explained. In a statement, it said that type of “content note is a standard academic tool used to signpost when sensitive or graphic content will be discussed.”

But critics called the move a form of censorship, saying it is “misguided” and “absurd” to label God’s Word as potentially triggering.

Bible Receives Trigger Warning from University of Sheffield

Continued below.

UK University Slaps Violence Warning on Bible, Citing the Crucifixion and Cain and Abel

English Lit. students at the University of Sheffield in the U.K. have been warned: Scripture contains “graphic bodily injury and sexual violence.”

churchleaders.com

There isn't anything written in the bible that isn't or hasn't been going on in our world ... it's truth and we shouldr

People have to learn to handle these things ... there is no getting away from it ... it's there and always will be there. We have great evil in our world and that's not a hidden fact and it can't be hidden.

johansen · 2025-11-10T12:34:05-0600

rebornfree said:
However I think that it should be taught by born-again believers in a way that encompasses the whole Bible, as the Lord wants us to understand it. I'm not suggesting that an individual's potential triggers should be avoided, but that the person concerned might need some support with understanding that their triggers are from their own experiences and not from the Bible.

It has taken me a long time to figure out that the entire chapters of genesis, judges, etc, that we read in the bible at night every night after dinner.. did indeed leave my 4 to 10 year old mind traumatized in various ways.

However, once you get to university, (by which point a third of women have already been sexually assaulted at least once) ...there comes a point when if you're not mature enough to put down the content you're consuming that is harming you, you need to examine yourself and ask.. how am i going to survive in this world?

2PhiloVoid · 2025-11-10T12:42:13-0600

Michie said:
English Literature students at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom have been warned: Scripture contains some “graphic bodily injury and sexual violence.” Specifically, the institution highlighted the Old Testament account of Cain killing Abel and the gospel accounts of Jesus’ crucifixion.

Other literary works also receive trigger warnings, the university explained. In a statement, it said that type of “content note is a standard academic tool used to signpost when sensitive or graphic content will be discussed.”

But critics called the move a form of censorship, saying it is “misguided” and “absurd” to label God’s Word as potentially triggering.

Bible Receives Trigger Warning from University of Sheffield

Continued below.

UK University Slaps Violence Warning on Bible, Citing the Crucifixion and Cain and Abel

English Lit. students at the University of Sheffield in the U.K. have been warned: Scripture contains “graphic bodily injury and sexual violence.”

churchleaders.com

I assume, then, that the University of Sheffield has also placed a label warning on books of Greek mythology, the Quran, as well as on the Bhagavad Gita.
I also have some old Marvel and DC comic books and Star Wars movies they might want to include too. :ahah:

Geez, Louise!!

RileyG · 2025-11-10T15:00:48-0600

A New Dawn said:
But Fifty Shades of Gray probably got a pass.

Blows my mind!

RileyG · 2025-11-10T15:00:54-0600

Ridiculous!

rebornfree · 2025-11-10T22:17:21-0600

2PhiloVoid said:
I assume, then, that the University of Sheffield has also placed a label warning on books of Greek mythology, the Quran, as well as on the Bhagavad Gita.

I assumed it was on all the works they study not just the Bible. If it was just the Bible, then that would be completely wrong.

rebornfree · 2025-11-10T22:21:17-0600

johansen said:
It has taken me a long time to figure out that the entire chapters of genesis, judges, etc, that we read in the bible at night every night after dinner.. did indeed leave my 4 to 10 year old mind traumatized in various ways.

However, once you get to university, (by which point a third of women have already been sexually assaulted at least once) ...there comes a point when if you're not mature enough to put down the content you're consuming that is harming you, you need to examine yourself and ask.. how am i going to survive in this world?

That's a fair point. I'm just worried that teaching it as literature misses the point of the gospel and misses God's love.

Michie · 2025-11-10T22:27:42-0600

rebornfree said:
I assumed it was on all the works they study not just the Bible. If it was just the Bible, then that would be completely wrong.

They should placing a warning on fairy tales then. That stuff was read before college and it intensifies as the student matures.. why single out the Bible? It really makes no sense when you look at the big picture.

johansen · 2025-11-10T22:29:00-0600

rebornfree said:
That's a fair point. I'm just worried that teaching it as literature misses the point of the gospel and misses God's love.

well, its a secular college.

they are likely prohibited in various mechanisms from teaching anything other than what can be scientifically studied....

rebornfree · 2025-11-11T00:32:36-0600

Michie said:
They should placing a warning on fairy tales then. That stuff was read before college and it intensifies as the student matures.. why single out the Bible? It really makes no sense when you look at the big picture.

Well I suppose kids have their parents available should they get too distressed, but I agree that it makes no sense to single out the Bible.

UK University Slaps Violence Warning on Bible, Citing the Crucifixion and Cain and Abel

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