THEY SAY it's the greatest story ever told. The Bible has certainly sparked a few blockbusting films in its time, whether it's Charlton Heston in The Ten Commandments, Robert Powell as Jesus of Nazareth, or Mel Gibson's brutal Passion of the Christ.

Now, after four million viewers turned on to the Passion over Easter, the BBC is getting in on the act.

The corporation is producing its own series of dramatisations emphasising the "humanity, miraculous experiences and epic encounters" in the Bible's best-known stories.

But are they? How well-known are the stories contained in the world's all-time best-selling book?

The Daily Echo asked shoppers in Bournemouth to remember their favourite Bible stories - and whether they knew the difference between the Old and the New Testaments.

Recycling worker, Marnie Anderson, 36, of Poole said: "I'm not religious at all; the only story that stands out is the one with the fish and wine - where Jesus fed lots of people with them."

When asked who parted the Red Sea (it was Moses), retired Leslie Elson, 69, of Westbourne said: "I suppose it was Jesus Christ or God, wasn't it? I'm not at all interested in the subject."

Mother-of-two, Deby Boyce, 20, of Bournemouth, knew who parted the Red Sea. "It was Moses wasn't it, to save all those people?" The only other stories she could think of were "When Jesus died on the Cross" and "The one with two of each animal - Noah's Ark".

Elisha Crane, nine, of Moordown said: "The Old Testament is before Jesus was born and the New Testament was after he died. I know the Easter story, but I can't explain it."

Westbourne teenager Victoria Carey, 16, said: "The New Testament is the one with all the disciples. And I know Moses parted the Red Sea to take his people to the Holy Land. I know that because I watched The Prince Of Egypt the other day."

Stephen Gardiner, 61, of Charminster, knew that it was Abraham who was asked to sacrifice his son on the Temple Mount. "But in terms of stories that stick out, the only one that really springs to mind is the one about the woman who was stoned for committing adultery."

Deputy Principal of Christchurch's Moorlands Bible College, Colin Bennett said he was not surprised by the Echo's findings.

"A talk was given to the heads of all the Bible colleges recently and the person giving it said Bible literacy - the level people understand the Bible - is at the same level that it was in the 18th century."

He doesn't agree that part of the Bible's problem is its age: "Not many people seem to realise it was written in roughly the Iron Age - there aren't many books from that era being bought and read so frequently today. And every single book of the Bible is relevant."

His favourite bible stories are of Samuel and Eli, and, in the New Testament, the restoration of Peter. "They are both wonderful and inspirational," he says.

Chapter and verse

THE Bible Society seeks to promote the reading of The Bible which, despite being the best-selling book of all time still awaits translations into 4,500 languages.

The bulk of the Old Testament was written, says the Society, from the 10th to the 2nd century BC.

"These draw on a variety of sources including written and spoken narratives, court archives, personal memoirs and eye-witness accounts genealogies, laws and poetry."

The Bible is a book in constant translation and reinterpretation. Over time some of those who sought to spread the word got into trouble when the words got muddled up.

The Place-Maker Bible of 1562 declared in Matthew 5 that: "Blessed are the place-makers (instead of peace-makers). The so-called Wicked Bible of 1631 urged readers: "Do commit adultery," when of course it should have said do not!