Churchgoers in France will start reciting a new version of the Lord's Prayer on Sunday in which God will no longer have a direct hand in leading them to commit sins.

For decades, the French have been used to chanting the Gallic version of "Lead us not into temptation", which translates as "Ne nous soumets pas a la tentation" (Do not submit us to temptation).

Starting on Sunday, the first day of Advent, priests will call on French worshippers to ask the Almighty: "Ne nous laisse pas entrer en tentation" (Do not let us enter into temptation) - thus shifting the emphasis of sin more onto the sinner.

Debate between theologians on this line has long been the subject of long, tortuous debate, which dragged on for 17 years. Some insist that it is preposterous to suggest that God could do the devil's work; others have even branded the idea downright blasphemous.

The current ambiguous translation has been used since 1966, after the modernising Second Vatican Council open the door to the use of the vernacular instead of Latin in Catholic masses the world over.