A VISUAL translation of St Luke’s Gospel which took nearly four months to draw has been published by the Christian illustrator Ian Long. It is thought to be the first translation of the Gospel not to use any words.

Mr Long, who co-wrote the Blob Tree resources for Routledge, is currently translating the New Testament, with the aim of finishing in the next four years. He began two-and-a-half years ago, and has already produced visual translations of Matthew, Mark, Luke, Jude, Philemon, Jude, John’s Letters, Titus, 2 Thessalonians, Ruth, and Jonah (News, 9 January 2015).

“The idea of turning the Bible into a wordless book came to me in church,” he said last week. I believe it came from the Lord, as I had been praying for new ideas.”

The books — described as “not comics”, or “quiet comics”, because the characters do not speak — are currently self-published, and available in full colour, and in black and white, for colouring in. They could be used in school assemblies, religious education, and personal reflection, Mr Long says.

“We remember only ten per cent of what we hear in a Bible reading during church or in a school assembly,” he said, “but we remember 40 per cent of what we see.”

The illustrations cover St Luke’s Gospel in 240 pages, including the Christmas story, parables such as the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son, and the crucifixion and resurrection, besides “unique insights” into the women in Jesus’s ministry.

The downloadable St Luke’s Gospel is £8, and can be purchased at: www.lulu.com/shop/ian-long.

Church leaders can also request sample chapters from Mr Long by emailing ian4m@yahoo.co.uk.