Contact: Deborah Hicks, Bible Literacy Project, 866-633-0585

NEW YORK, April 17, 2014 /Christian Newswire/ -- Congratulations to Ivy League students participating in the Spoken Word 2014 competition last Saturday night which Dartmouth won, Cornell was second and Columbia was third. Students from seven of the eight Ivy League colleges presented at the Scholastic Auditorium in New York in the competition. The Dartmouth presentation based on scriptures from Ecclesiastes and the New Testament, was compelling, as was the interpretative readings and dramatic presentations from their competition.

As a co-sponsor of the Spoken Word event, Bible Literacy Project, publisher of the widely acclaimed academic textbook, The Bible and Its Influence, is especially delighted to see a renewed interest in Oral Literacy, a form of communicating the message of the Bible through interpretative readings, storytelling, and dramatic presentations. It represents a revival of the near-lost art of storytelling that was commonplace in society up until the 16th century.

"We believe a well-rounded education includes a working knowledge of the Bible," said Chuck Stetson, chairman and CEO of Bible Literacy Project. "Student engagement and personal interaction involving Biblical narratives help students to better understand literature, history, music, art and culture and contributes to more positive character for civil society."

Stetson continues, "The Bible has been the basis for so much of the world's Classical Literature, students who are unfamiliar with the Bible are at a disadvantage academically in studying literature. The Spoken Word Competition provided an excellent venue for creative expression of the narratives and lessons contained within the pages of the most read book in human history, the Bible."

Ninety-eight percent of University English professors from 34 leading universities surveyed, including Yale, Harvard and Princeton, were in agreement that a knowledge of the Bible is important to understanding Great Works of Literature and Western Culture and that "an educated person knows the Bible."

About the Bible Literacy Project (BLP). BLP's academic program is currently being taught in 580 high schools in 43 states and has between 5 to 13 percent market share in eight states: Georgia (13%); Alabama (10%); Texas (10%); Indiana (9%); Tennessee (8%); South Carolina (7%); North Carolina (6%) and Kentucky (5%). Since the publication of its textbook, more than 100,000 students have taken the course.

Bible Literacy Project
115 East 62nd Street
New York, New York 10065
www.bibleliteracy.org