Biblical Illiteracy and the Solution

Earlier in the week I was asked "Rai, is John the Baptist and John the Revelator the same person?" If you are a theologist you can imagine my surprise at such a question. Especially since it came from someone who is always reading the Bible and seeking understanding of the Scriptures. 

However, it shows a real problem in the church today--Christians are biblically illiterate and it's not just Christians, it's people in general. While we are worried about a secular world view creeping in to our homes, we are neglecting the solution of Biblical Illiteracy.

Researchers George Gallup and Jim Castelli put the problem squarely: "Americans revere the Bible--but, by and large, they don't read it. And because they don't read it, they have become a nation of biblical illiterates." Fewer than half of all adults can name the four gospels. Many Christians cannot identify more than two or three of the disciples. According to data from the Barna Research Group, 60 percent of Americans can't name even five of the Ten Commandments. "No wonder people break the Ten Commandments all the time. They don't know what they are," said George Barna, president of the firm.

Christine Emba writing in the Washington Post, 

According to a survey last year by LifeWay Research, more than half of Americans have read little or none of the Bible. Theologian Albert Mohler has noted, aghast, that more than 10 percent of Americans think that Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife. In 2010, the Pew Research Center revealed that only half of self-identified Christians could identify the four Gospels. (In case you’re wondering this Easter eve, they’re Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.) And as the number of religious “nones” in the United States continues to rise, the amount of even cursory religious knowledge we share seems sure to fall. She went on to say "In response to the Journal’s gaffe, a few wags noted (tongues only partially in cheek, one must presume) that most Americans would be more likely to recognize a Harry Potter reference than a biblical one."

According to Albert Mohler, "Christians who lack biblical knowledge are the products of churches that marginalize biblical knowledge. Even the pulpit has been sidelined in many congregations. Preaching has taken a back seat to other concerns in corporate worship." 

Here is another issue, because we have began to marginalize biblical knowledge, and the pulpit has began to sideline sound teaching, our spiritual selves have began to starve. We are not getting the nutrients we need to sustain spiritual health.

Kenneth Berding tells the story of Stacey Irvine. Stacey Irvine ate almost nothing but chicken nuggets for 15 years. She never tasted fruits or vegetables. She occasionally supplemented her diet with French fries. One day her tongue started to swell and she couldn’t catch her breath. She was rushed to the hospital, her airway was forced open, and they stuck an IV in her arm to start pumping in the nutrients she needed. After saving her life, the medical staff sent her home, but not before they warned her that she needed to change her diet or prepare herself for an early death.

The Old Testament book of Psalms leads off with these words:

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. (Ps. 1:1–3)

The good news is this problem is not new or surprising to God. In fact, God has continued to use and grow His Church for millennia. So how do we solve this problem? I propose three remedies. 

First, we need biblical preaching. Biblical preaching teaches people week in and week out to rely on the text for their spiritual journey. As they see their pastor doing this, they will look to the Scriptures for answers to life and godliness. And when people open the Bible weekly, they will become encouraged to open it daily. When congregations see the Bible treated faithfully and in a way that is hermeneutically responsible, they see a model of how they can and should live that way too. 

Second, we need dependence on the Scriptures and the Spirit. We must not separate reliance on the Scriptures from a dependence on the Spirit, who informs and deepens our knowledge. We must read the Bible, but we must also allow the Bible to read us. We must grow in knowledge so that we may grow in faith. 

Third, we need an experience that is informed by the Word. Experience is essential and normal in the Christian life. God designed and created our emotions and perceptions to contribute to our understanding of who He is. Yet human experiences alone are unreliable. 

As Isaiah says, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever” (Isaiah 40:8, ESV). People and their philosophies come and go, but the Word of our God remains — true and unchanging — throughout eternity. Verse 9 calls us to announce the good news that lifts up the true God in all His glory. 

Experiences rooted in the special Word of God point us to the special Person of God revealed in Jesus Christ. When congregations see their leaders living this way, they will cling closely to the Scriptures as their guide for sound theology and powerful experience.

Let’s point people to the true God through expositional preaching, dependence on the Scriptures and the Spirit, and experiences informed by His Word. Then they will fall in love with the true Savior.