clipped from: news.bbc.co.uk   
The majority of Britons do not believe the Biblical story of the birth of Jesus, a survey has suggested.

Of 1,000 people questioned, 70% doubted the account, according to the British Market Research Bureau.

Almost a quarter of people who described themselves as Christians shared their scepticism.

St Helen's Church in Bishopsgate, London, which commissioned the survey, has produced a film of "sound evidence" supporting the Bible's account.

Nativity scene
In total, 30% of respondents believed the nativity story re-enacted in schools

More than a fifth of Christians who answered said they did not believe Jesus was both God and Man - another central tenet of Christianity.

Young people were particularly sceptical.

BBC religious affairs correspondent Robert Piggott said the findings suggested a fading influence for the Church's teaching in a secular age.

Nostalgia

"They also reinforce evidence that believers are increasingly willing to pick and choose which elements of the Bible's story they accept," he added.