I was recently interviewed by Thom Schultz, the CEO of Group Publishing, for his “Holy Soup” podcast. We talked about whether or not biblical illiteracy is a problem in the church. Lots of people think it is, and bemoan the fact that most Christians don’t know their Bible very well. Some are calling this an epidemic or a crisis. But as I discussed with Thom Schultz, I don’t think it is that big of a problem. Listen to the podcast to learn why.
I am also doing a series of blog posts on the topic so that I can explain in more depth what I said in the podcast interview.
Here are the posts so far:
By the way, I am also writing about this in a book which I hope to publish in the next month or two. The book is actually about pastoral leadership, but since preaching is a function of pastors, I write about how pastors can transform their preaching to do a better job at making disciples. Make sure you have subscribed to my email newsletter to get news about this book when it comes out.
And just in case it needs to be said, I am all in favor of Bible study. I study Scripture for several hours almost every day. I study Scripture for pure enjoyment, but I also study it for my books, for my teaching and preaching, and for this blog. All I am saying below is that not everybody needs to study the Bible as much as I do. Most do not. Further still, most Christians already know enough about the Bible.
The problem is not a lack of biblical literacy; the problem is a lack of biblical living and loving, and to be honest, you don’t need to know much about the Bible in order to live and love like Jesus.
Anyway, here are the 15 reasons I believe that biblical illiteracy is not a problem in the church:
1. There is no end to the quest for biblical literacy.
If biblical literacy is the goal, how can we know when we have achieved it? How much Bible knowledge does a person need to have?
The answer is always “More than they have now.” It’s like riches: “How much money do you need?” Only one dollar more. The quest for biblical literacy is a quest with no end, and the problem with the Bible is that it has enough ideas to occupy our minds for eternity, which means that if we keep from stepping out to love and serve others until we feel like we know enough, we will never feel like we know enough.
So I would rather have people take what little they do know, and start living it. Then, as questions come up and issues arise, they can return to Scripture for more.
2. Pastoral sermons hinder biblical literacy.
Believe it or not, sermons are part of the problem. Pastors often talk about Greek and Hebrew in their sermons, mention the professional theology training they have received, and put seminary degree placards up on their office walls. This gives the impression to lots of people that if they don’t know Greek and Hebrew, and don’t have the time or money to attend seminary or read all the theology books, then they cannot actually know Scripture. So they don’t even try.
What we have given to the people with one hand, we took away with the other. People hear our sermons sprinkled with Greek, Hebrew, and quotations from theology books, and they realize they don’t have the time or training to do all this study, and when they try with the limited time and resources they do have, more often than not, they get scoffed at or ridiculed by someone with more training and knowledge for having a view that shows their ignorance. So people throw up their hands and say “Why bother?”
3. You can get the Bible to say anything you want.
This is one reason people have given upon learning the Bible. They study, study, study, learn, learn, learn, and then they discover that someone who studied 10,000 hours more than them came to an exact opposite conclusion. It’s disheartening. So some people throw in the towel on Bible study. When there is a such a wide array of opinions and beliefs on what a particular passage means, and there is very little chance for the average student of Scripture to gain clarity or certainty on which view is right, most people think “Why even try?”
4. There is a lack of love among the so-called “Biblically literate.”
The people in our society today who know the Bible best seem to be the same ones who live it least. There seems to be little correlation between Bible literacy and Jesus-like love. In fact, it sometimes seems that there is an inverse relationship between the two, so that as Bible knowledge goes up, the presence of love goes down.
Biblical literacy should no longer be defined as “how much you know about the Bible,” but should be defined instead by “How much you love like Jesus, who reveals to us that God is love.” People typically don’t need Bible knowledge to know how to love others. Quite the contrary, an emphasis on Bible knowledge often leads to a lack of love.
5. There is a difference between information and understanding.
When it comes to information, what is needed is not so much biblical literacy, as it is biblical understanding.
As I mentioned in the previous post on this topic, I would rather have someone understand one Bible verse than be able to quote 100 without understanding. Lots of people can quote Bible verses and get perfect scores on Bible trivia quizzes, but have very little understanding of most of the Bible verses they quote.
Bible explanation is always better than a Bible quotation.
And by the way, understanding a passage does not simply require you to know what YOU think it means, but also requires you to know what OTHERS think it means. Pick almost any verse in the Bible, and there will probably be half a dozen views on what that verse means. Some passages, like Hebrews 6:4-6, have about 2o (or more) possible views. I do not believe a person has understood a text until they have understood many of the views about that text. After all, how can someone believe their understanding of a text is correct if they do not know what other people say about text?
Most people who just quote Bible verses at you think that those Bible verses have a “straightforward and plain meaning.” Typically, the “straightforward meaning” of the text which seems so clear to them, seems to be the exact opposite of the “straightforward and plain meaning” of the text to others. Once a person begins to understand this, they see that “the plain meaning of the text” is a myth. So having lots of Bible information is not the same as having good Bible understanding.
6. Biblical literacy is championed by those who have related spiritual gifts.
One reason we hear about biblical illiteracy so much is because the people who champion it are the ones who have the spiritual gifts of teaching, preaching, and knowledge.
The greatest danger of all spiritual gifts is that some people think their gift is a gift everyone should have. God has laid upon the hearts and minds of pastors and teachers to study the Scripture and teach it to others. And they should fulfill their God-given task and do this. I am a pastor-teacher, which is why I study, preach, teach, and write. But we who have this spiritual giftedness must not fall into the trap of thinking that because such things are important to us, all other Christians must do the same things.
Just because we have these gifts, and God wants us to use these gifts, this does not mean that everyone has this same gifts or desires.
If you hire a pastor who has the spiritual gifts of mercy, or service, his sermons will probably not be full of Bible knowledge and theology facts, nor will he place a heavy emphasis on biblical literacy. Instead, he will place an emphasis on acts of love in the community, and getting out to our friends and neighbors to serve them. He will likely teach about the epidemic of the lack of love and service in our communities rather than the lack of biblical literacy.
Everybody tends to emphasize their own spiritual gifts, and everybody tends to think that everybody else should have the same interests and ministry priorities that they themselves have. But this is just not how spiritual gifts are supposed to work. God gives gifts to each one of us so that each of us can do what God wants us to do for the edification and encouragement of the Body. But if I tell you to stop practicing your gift and start practicing mine because if you don’t, you are not a good Christian, you will only end up frustrated. God wants me to study and teach Scripture. He may not want you to do the same thing.
My wife and I are a perfect example. I am the scholar, she is the server. For years, she felt guilty because she didn’t study more, and I felt guilty because I didn’t serve more. But we have now come to realize that I study and she serves, and we both need each other. I teach her what I learn, and she invites me along when she serves. When we go out to love and serve others, I tend to not know what I’m doing, so I follow her lead and do okay. Serving others is out of my comfort zone, and it’s awkward, but it is perfectly natural and normal for her, and so she helps me learn to love and serve others. This is how spiritual gifts are to work.
7. Biblical literacy is championed by pastors and teachers.
This point is nearly identical to the previous one, but with a focus on those whose salaries depend on people studying and learning Scripture.
Have you ever noticed that those who talk most about the lack of biblical literacy in the church today are those who get paid to raise the level of biblical literacy in the church today? That should raise some red flags.
The need for biblical literacy is championed by those who have the time and training to study it, and by those whose income requires people being dependent upon them for learning the Bible. Notice that those who decry the lack of biblical literacy in the church often say that the solution to this problem is to come listen to their sermons, buy their books, and attend their schools.
Look, along with teaching and writing about Scripture and theology, I also design websites and publish books for other authors, and I get paid a little bit of money to do so. What if I came out tomorrow and started telling people that everybody needs to have their own website and write their own books, and I can help you accomplish this? And if you don’t have your own website or your won book, well, you are not a very good Christian.
If I got enough people to believe that, I would then have more people coming to me to help them design and run their websites and write and publish their books. My income would vastly increase. It is to my financial benefit to get more people to believe that they need a website and must publish a book.
I think sometimes this is what happens when certain pastors and teachers say that Christians must increase the level of their biblical literacy. I wonder if subconsciously, they are simply trying to protect their salaries.
Note that it is not wrong for pastors and teachers to get paid. I get paid for some of what I teach and write, and I greatly appreciate the people who purchase what I produce. So does my family. But I hope that you never feel like I am pressuring you to buy what I publish or teach, or make you feel guilty or like you are less of a Christian if you do not. I believe that what I teach is of great help to people, which is why I make a large chunk of it available for free through this website and my podcast, and so I hope that when you buy one of my books or teaching courses, it is not because you were pressured, but because you simply wanted to learn more.
8. Bible knowledge works very much like an addiction.
The people who do best at Bible knowledge are generally those who have addiction-prone personalities, and the behaviors and practices they engage in to study and learn Scripture exhibit many signs of addiction. They need their daily and weekly fix of biblical insights and Bible studies.
Are there worse thing to be addicted to? Sure. But addictions are never healthy for the relationship of the people in the addiction, and this is true of Bible addicts as well. Bible addicts often have trouble with the relationships in their life, which means that while they may be learning a lot, they are not learning to live it out.
Also, in light of the previous point, this sort of makes pastors and preachers the dealers in this transaction, which is why you will very often find the most Bible addicts in a church where the pastor and preacher places an heavy and constant emphasis on attending church, listening to sermons, daily Bible reading, and going to Bible studies. But very little that is truly relational tends to go on in these churches. If you are in a church like this and don’t believe me, try not attending the church for three months, and see what happens. If people call you and tell you that you have been missed (and that’s a big IF), tell them that you are just taking a break from church. See what they say. Then see how long it takes for the calls to stop.
Many people who are addicted to Bible knowledge are not very good at meaningful relationships, just like most other addicts. And like addicts, they often try to pressure others into becoming addicts also. They tell you that you need your daily Bible fix, and the good stuff is being offered over at the church on Main street. If you turn them down and just say “No,” they will typically not have time for you any longer.
If you think you may have a Bible addiction, try going “cold turkey” for a while. You will have withdrawal symptoms of guilt and fear about what God is going to do to you now that you are not having your “Quiet Time.” You will get pressure from your “dealer” (aka, Pastor) about how your life is going to fall apart now that you don’t listen to his sermons.
I work with a lot of former drug addicts in my job, and I am always amazed at how quickly they turn from drugs to the Bible, which is still a much better trade, but then quickly becomes almost as destructive on their life, their job, and their relationships as drugs were before.
9. Knowing the Bible is not at all the same things as knowing God.
When God wanted to reveal Himself fully; He didn’t give us a book; He gave us a person. He gave us Jesus.
Yes, we learn about Jesus through the Bible, but I have found that most Christians know more than enough about Jesus in order to live like Jesus in their lives.
Let us no longer be people of a book; instead let us be followers of Jesus.
And if Jesus invites us to put our Bibles down so you can better follow Him, who are we to disagree?
10. We don’t need more biblical literacy; we need more biblical love.
We don’t need more knowing; we need more doing. Personally, I don’t see the lack of biblical literacy as a bad thing; I see it as a clear sign that the Spirit is moving the churches. I see God leading people always from the pews and the Bible studies, and out into the real world where we can love, and serve, and laugh, and cry with the people who are out here.
Should we know the Bible? Yes. But it should never be our goal to know the Bible. The solution to biblical illiteracy is not to bemoan the fact of biblical illiteracy and then seek to make people more biblically literate. We don’t need people to know more about the Bible; we need to love more in accordance with the Bible.
How can they do this if they don’t know the Bible? Truthfully, you don’t need to know much about the Bible to learn to live with love toward others. Some of the most loving and caring people I know don’t know much about the Bible.
11. Many of the Biblically “Literate” are Biblically Illiterate
This sort of gets back to the question of what biblical illiteracy actually is, but when I listen to the pastors and professors who are decrying the lack of biblical literacy in the church, I am often amazed to hear what comes out of their very own mouths, and it makes me wonder how biblically literate they themselves are.
One example: Is God on the side of Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump? With either choice, you can find seminary-trained pastors and Bibles scholars who support one candidate or the other and use the Bible to do so, while accusing the other side of being biblically illiterate. I saw a post on Facebook the other day from a popular Northeastern Pastor who basically said, “How can any evangelical Christian support the racist, bigoted Donald Trump? Don’t you know what the Bible says?” And then he went on to quote some Bible verses which he thought should sway people to vote for Hillary.
Not ten minutes later, I saw a Facebook post come through from a popular Southern Pastor who said almost the exact same thing, but this time about Hillary Clinton. I don’t think he was responding to the first post by the other pastor, but the similarities were shocking. “How can any Christian who truly follows Jesus ever support Hillary Clinton?” he asked. “Don’t you know what the Bible says?” And then he went on to quote some Bible verses which he thought would influence people to vote for Trump.
Both of these pastors, I think, would agree that people are more biblically illiterate than ever before. One pastor, of course, would say that Christians who support Trump are illiterate while the other would say that Christians who support Hillary are illiterate.
Of course, my view is that both are illiterate. My view is that anybody who tries to use the Bible to pick a political candidate doesn’t really know the first thing about the Bible.
I listen to pastors condemn the lack of biblical literacy in the church today and then turn around and say the most outlandish things about God or Jesus, and even crazier things about people of other religions, political persuasion, or sexual orientation. Many people hear this and think, “If studying the Bible leads to those conclusions, I don’t want to study the Bible.” This is tragic, because in my view, studying the Bible leads to the exact opposite views about God, Jesus, and other people.
(This is the overall purpose of everything I write and teach, by the way, to rescue Scripture, theology, and the church from these twisted ways of thinking, and to show people that God looks just like Jesus, and Scripture, when properly understood, leads us to love.)
12. The phrase “biblically illiterate” is just a nice way of calling someone a heretic.
Christians often resort to name-calling tactics when they don’t want to have a substantive argument about the views of someone who disagrees. In the past, we called people heretics. We don’t do that much anymore. Well, some do. But most people realize that it is not quite as accepted as it once was to simply accuse someone of being a heretic. So they call them “biblically illiterate” instead.
When someone teaches something that is contrary to your view, rather than take the time to understand their perspective and then deal with it logically and Scripturally, and maybe even correct your own view in the process, it is much easier to just call them “biblically illiterate” and move on.
I get this all the time in my own writing. I occasionally write some challenging things on my blog, and it often seems that when I do, one of the first ten comments is from someone who says, “If you would just read the Bible, you would know how wrong you are. You are clearly ignorant of the Bible.” And then they quote a verse or ten which they believe disproves the point of my post. I sometimes comment back saying, “I have read the Bible and am quite aware of those verses you quoted. I just understand them a bit differently than you do.”
So the accusation of being “biblically illiterate” is often nothing more than a way to ignore or write off those people with whom you disagree so that you don’t have to consider their arguments or seek to understand their position.
The issue of homosexuality is a great example. It is not uncommon to hear the pastors who decry the lack of biblical literacy in the church today to also preach against LGBTQ people. Somewhere along the way they will likely make mention of the many Christians who do not condemn LGBTQ people, and rather than consider and respond to the arguments and beliefs of these other Christians, these pastors will just dismiss them with a wave of the hand and scornful comment about such views being “biblically illiterate.”
You see? The term is often little more than a way to dismiss the ideas and arguments of others so that you don’t have to consider their ideas and have a conversation with them.
13. The Biblical Literacy Tests Don’t really Test Biblical Literacy
Have you ever taken one of these Biblical literacy tests? I have taken quite a few. They often include questions like “How many people were on Noah’s ark? How many plagues were there? How many disciples did Jesus have? Matthew 5-7 is known as what? What is the longest Psalm in the Bible?”
Those questions are somewhat of a caricature of the real biblical literacy tests, but they’re not too far off.
But look at those. Such questions don’t really test biblical literacy at all. What they test is biblical trivia. And is that really what it means to be a disciple or follower of Jesus? That we can score 9 out of 10 on a Bible trivia test?
I think what we should be asking people about is not biblical literacy or biblical trivia, but biblical love, or better yet, love literacy. The true sign of a disciple is that we will be known by our love for one another. What good is knowledge of all things if we have not love?
I have some friends who would probably be classified as biblically illiterate by certain Christians today. They would likely get a 1 out of 10 on that Bible trivia test, and if you asked them anything about sound theology or central Christian teachings, they probably wouldn’t even get one point right. But they are some of the most loving people I have ever met in my life. They are more like Jesus than I ever hope to be. It ticks me off that someone might look at them one day and say that because they would not score well on a Bible Literacy exam, they are not really followers of Jesus. To me, those who say such things simply reveal that they themselves don’t know the first thing about Jesus.
I have another friend who is literally illiterate. He is in his late 70’s and he never learned to read. Furthermore, because his wife has a certain illness, he has not attended church since his mother took him when he was 6. He hasn’t been to church in 70 years. And because his wife is so sensitive to noise, he cannot listen to Christian radio.
So here is a guy who cannot read his Bible, cannot attend church, and cannot listen to sermons or preaching on the radio. I have had many conversations with him, and about the only thing he knows about the Bible is what he remembers from Sunday school when his mother took him as a child. He remembers the basic story about Jesus. That’s it.
But again, he is one of the most kind-hearted, loving people I have ever met.
Is he biblically illiterate? Of course! No matter which definition you use, he knows next to nothing about the Bible.
But he loves.
And when I talk to him, I see Jesus. He has hardly any money, but he cuts and delivers firewood to a friend of his who has less. He hands out pears from his pear tree to people who are hungry. He has faithfully stayed in a difficult marriage for more than 50 years. Talk about a picture of Jesus!
He doesn’t need to read the Bible. He doesn’t need to gain Bible facts and Bible knowledge. He can’t recite the 66 books of the Bible, nor can he list the 10 Commandments, or name the 12 Apostles.
He knows what he learned about Jesus in kindergarten, and that has been more than enough for him in the 70 years since.
14. I am more concerned with people developing a biblical worldview than biblical literacy.
I almost didn’t put this item in the list because I am about as uneasy with the concept of a “biblical worldview” as I am with the concept of “biblical literacy.”
Pretty much everything I have said above about biblical literacy can also be said about gaining a biblical worldview. No one can actually define it, and among those who try, they tend to use the concept of a biblical worldview to ignore or condemn those with whom they disagree. “Oh, well, you just believe that because you don’t have a biblical worldview. But I do.”
One big question I’ve been mulling over for the past five years or so is this “Is there such a thing as a SINGLE biblical world view, and even if so, is it a worldview that everyone should adopt? Is it the RIGHT worldview?” I am not sure the answer is “Yes” to either question.
Take the values of Honor and Shame. I did my Master’s Thesis on this topic. It is the dominant cultural value that permeates all of Scripture. The ancient world of the Israelites, and the world of the Greco-Roman culture, was guided and controlled by the values of honor and shame. It’s a value system based on community rather than the individual, and holds that the honor of the community is more important than the life, health, or well-being of any one person or family in the community. Modern western culture is guided by the opposite. We have radical individualism, and our goals are not honor, but materialistic wealth and individual happiness.
We might be tempted to say that the values of honor and shame are better, but are they? In today’s world, the Middle East is mostly governed by the values of honor and shame. Is there anyone in the Western world who thinks that Middle Eastern values are better? Not many. And yet, the values of the Middle Eastern world more closely resemble the values of the Bible, and therefore, the worldview of the Bible.
Look, worldviews are important. I think that understanding worldviews is more important than understanding Bible trivia and facts. That is why this item is on this list. But I want to be careful to say that just because we seek to understand our own worldview and the worldview of the people in biblical times, this does not mean that we are supposed to adopt the worldview of the people in biblical times. Their worldview was not necessarily better than ours.
15. Even Jesus and Paul argued against Biblical literacy
It’s sort of ironic that I am going to use Scripture to defend the idea that biblical illiteracy is not a problem…
The most biblically literate people in Israel were the Pharisees and Sadducees. Yet notice that Jesus tells them over and over in the Gospels that even though they are Bible experts, they know nothing about God, loving others, obeying the law, or the true meaning of the Scriptures themselves. He says, “You search the Scriptures daily, because in them you think you have eternal life, but these Scriptures speak of me” (John 5:39). If our reading, studying, and teaching of Scripture is not leading us to look, act, and love more like Jesus, then we are not properly understanding or reading the Scriptures and should probably just put them away for a while until we learn to love others more like Jesus.
Paul says that “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (1 Cor 8:1) and later that even if we have all knowledge, and understand all mysteries, and can speak in other languages, but have not love, all that knowledge is nothing (1 Cor 13:1-3). Maybe we could add quoting Bible verses, knowing Bible facts, and scoring 100% on a Bible trivia test. These things are nothing without love.
It is not that Bible knowledge and facts are wrong. Paul is saying that when it comes to knowledge and love, start with love every time.
As a side note: it must be pointed out that Paul doesn’t just want “acts of love” but actual love. He says that even giving away your money and feeding the poor is pointless if not done with love (1 Cor 13:3).
Do you have anything to add about Biblical Illiteracy?
Yikes! I just looked at the word count, and this post is the length of a small book. It’s over 5000 words long! So I will end right here, and pass the pen over to you.
What do you have to say about biblical illiteracy? Is it a problem in the church today? Is it something we should work to correct? What are the dangers, errors, or problems involved? Weigh in below!
#1 would be that many of those warning of biblical literacy are biblically illiterate.
I definitely agree with you that “Pastoral sermons hinder biblical literacy.” That why I stopped the Sunday sermon where I pastor and opened the meeting so that people can freely obey 1 Corinthians 14:26. Thom Schultz also interviewed me about it on his Holy Soup Blog podcast. I have also written a book about it called “Beyond Church: An Invitation To Experience The Lost Word Of The Bible–Ekklesia” available on Amazon @ http://amzn.to/2bdVn24.
I definitely agree with you that “Pastoral sermons hinder biblical literacy.” That why I stopped the Sunday sermon where I pastor and opened the meeting so that people can freely obey 1 Corinthians 14:26. Thom Schultz also interviewed me about it on his Holy Soup Blog podcast. I have also written a book about it called “Beyond Church: An Invitation To Experience The Lost Word Of The Bible–Ekklesia” available on Amazon @ http://amzn.to/2bdVn24.
Love is love is love is love.
1 Corinthians 2:14
The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
I still say, people suffer from Biblical ignorance. Rather than study and seek for themselves, they blindly accept whatever doctrine their leaders hand them.
Shaking my head. Just like Peter unwittingly thought he was serving God and had to be rebuked by Jesus, I Just wonder if the evil one and his minions do a little celebration dance whenever people spew this anti-knowledge stuff. I’m not your judge, God is, and Peter did more good than bad in his service of the kingdom. I hope the same for you, but can’t help but be saddened that this rabid anti-knowledge sentiment is being spread even by someone that doesn’t act anti-knowledge most of the time.
Knowledge bashers LOVE to go to the ‘puffed up’ verse, then white out about 200 other verses that express the opposite. But, keep the flock ignorant and easily manipulated to do their bidding.
There are about 200 things that are sooooo incorrect here, most easily smashed by honest, objective exegesis. I’ll just offer one….for now.
jeremy wrote:
They need their daily and weekly fix of biblical insights and Bible studies.
Yes, and well they should. Jesus commanded ‘Give us this day our daily bread.’
This bread is the word of God. Yes, we should ask for it from the Father DAILY. This is not some sick addiction, it is a commandment, and I suggest if we DON’T clamor for it, DAILY, we are in sin.
Daily bread, noting more noting less. How can you spiritualize that into being the word of God? Even if you would do so what is the word of God, ain’t it Jesus himself?
Ignorant will stay as is.
I know I had/have lots of knowledge and it never did me much good. Learning to love like Christ is much harder and ………………. just that.
Dave, you are correct that we should clamor for the daily bread Jesus spoke of. However, I have seen two different types of clamoring – One is from the heart, and this type of clamoring comes with a loving desire and sincerity that is born of God. The other clamoring is from a desire to simply be more intellectual than another in the church, and comes with a prideful spirit. This clamoring is born of sin.
Ummmm…why are you changing the simple prayer that Jesus gave us to pray. How about bread means…well…bread.
If you must spiritualize it ,then look at the words of Jesus who calls himself the bread of life. We need Jesus daily.
1. The fact that there is so much to learn is all the more reason to keep pursuing God’s word. The goal is not to gain knowledge for the sake of knowledge, but to grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18).
2. I would say many pastoral sermons in our day and age probably do hinder biblical literacy because they really aren’t sermons, but talks and speeches. A sermon should not only lead individuals into a greater knowledge of God’s word, but also instructing believers on how to study God’s word for themselves and not always be reliant on others.
3. You can’t make the Bible say anything you want. You can make it mean anything you want, but you can’t make it say anymore than what it already says. That’s why Paul tells us to study and rightly divide the word of truth. The first rule of Bible study is “what does it say”? Once you see what it says then you start looking at context, comparing scripture with scripture.
4. This sounds like a strawman argument. There probably are Biblically literate.who are unloving, but that doesn’t mean all or even most Biblically literate are unloving. There is no way you could even prove or not prove this point and that’s not being unloving.
5. Knowledge and understanding go together. “For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.” (Proverbs 2:6)
6. This is a valid point. One of the keys to understanding the body of Christ is to realize we have different spiritual gifts and we will have different focuses and emphasis in our outlook.
7. This would go along with number 6.
8. Again this is a strawman argument that can’t be proven. You may have met someone or someones who fit this description, but it would be out of line to make it a rule unless you’ve met all or most biblically literate people.
9. True, but you’ll never really know God if you don’t pursue a knowledge of His word.
10. This is just a repeat of number 4. Truth and love go together.
“Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned” (1 Timothy 1:5). Instruction is not the goal, love is.
“But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ” (Ephesians 4:15)
Jesus wasn’t full of grace and He wasn’t full of truth. He was full of grace and truth (John 1:14).
11. Again we don’t know who these people are you are referring to. Just because someone claims to be Biblically literate doesn’t mean its so.
12. All of us are a heretic to someone. You have to study scripture and take a stand on the truth and not be concerned about what others think.
13. Just a repeat of points 4 and 10.
14. Biblical literacy leads to a Biblical worldview, however I can see where people might differ in their understanding of what this worldview should be.
15. Jesus certain didn’t argue against Biblical literacy. He used the literacy of Genesis to establish marriage was for a male and a female (Matthew 19). In Matthew 4 He stated “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God”. He referenced many OT passages To the two disciples on the road to Emmaus “beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself”. Later on to His disciples He said “these are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me”.
Paul told us all scripture is given by inspiration of God and we are to give attention to its reading, study and rightly divide it.
I see not so much reasons that Biblical illiteracy isn’t a problem; more a list of how we’re doing it wrong. To me, the answer is to keep trying to do it right, not walk away. The writer is all about living out the Word, and he’s right, but to live it out, it has to be in us first. That only happens by spending time with it, and trusting that it really is living and active, and will accomplish what God sent it out to do. If it becomes a dead thing, it’s because we don’t invite God to join us when we open it.
John C Hoogeveen III
Again, I get the “we need more love” idea, but seriously. You give your personal opinion and present it to seem like a fact Or what is ‘obviously clear and straightforward’ to you maybe, but you don’t really back this up. This is an article of opinions.
You say stuff like
“There is a lack of love among the so-called “Biblically literate.””
and
” as Bible knowledge goes up, the presence of love goes down.”
If you think this, fine. But the way you are presenting this makes it seem like a statistic. You haven’t proven or even tried to prove your hypothesis. You just stated it.
And I suppose you probably think anyone who disagrees obviously had a lack of love.
God gave us the bible and the holy spirit since Jesus isn’t around anymore on earth. God is the word. There is nothing wrong with having a God-given desire to study that Word. It’s God talking to us!
Who wouldn’t want to study it! And instead of ONLY memorizing, apply it to our lives! There is only a problem with extensive bible study if you don’t apply what you read.
Don’t go hating on things you might not like to do (such as bible study or praying for people).
Please stop making people feel condemned for studying the bible. Because that is the exact tone I feel from this article.
The problem isn’t with biblical illiteracy, the problem is with the definition.
Biblical literacy isn’t just knowing a bunch of bible verses or getting 100 on a bible quiz. Understanding is (Or at least should be) implied.
Side question to Jeremy: do you have an editor? Do you do all this yourself? Do you read your bible and study it (yes, the dreaded studying) to understand the topics you are talking about? Do you ever pray “God please let only what is true and from You come from me”?
I read with great interest Jeremys blogs, he gets you to think out side of the institutional/traditional church box that has been created by 2000 years of the hybridization of what is actually understood by the teachings coming from scripture. To me the acid test is always what did Jesus teach about this. Additionally in my case, interpreting scripture through the lens of Christ is the key as previously mentioned by Jeremy. The 15 points he makes I have no trouble with as I have experienced every one of them in my walk with God over the past 40 years and found them to be true. I unwittingly tried out Jeremy’s test in regards to attending church less often because of my job (critical incident response) and family care and found myself being challenged over my non-attendance, and told that I won’t ever properly understand scripture unless I hear it first hand from the pulpit every week. In fact I would be considered a backslider for not attending church 60% of the time plus bible studies, plus business meetings etc.. you get the picture. Now I have had 40 years’ worth of listening and delivering sermons so that can’t be the issue, but apparently that is still not enough. I work with the most troubled people you can imagine and its the love of Christ that is the issue, always. Yes you do need knowledge, but a lot more understanding and much more doing in love. Jeremy style of writing from what I can see is to confront our existing Christian views and perceptions with a view of us asking ourselves do they need modifying. My answer has been Yes, Thank you Jeremy for that.
This reminds me of Paul’s discussion of the Law in Romans 7. It was through the Law that we realize our sins. He makes it clear there is nothing wrong with the Law, but the problem is with us. There is nothing wrong with the Bible or being Biblically literate. There will always be those who abuse and misuse the Bible, but that’s no reason to diminish the Bible. The problem is with people. Everything we know about God and His truth is revealed to us through His word and it is His truth that sets us free. As far as knowledge and actions (love), it’s not an either/or. We pursue a further knowledge of God and His truth as a part of growing spiritually. Do you want to be delivered from religious abuse? The truth will set you free.
This piece is excellent, wonderful and thoroughly balanced. God bless Mr. Myers
This article is supposedly about shunning the study of the Bible in favor of a relationship with Jesus only. The writer, however, is clearly a scholar of the Bible. I believe what the writer endeavors to communicate is that knowledge in excess without true relationship is futile, and in some cases when preached with a lack of love from the pulpit, harmful. I love God’s word. It His letter to me. It is the revelation of who He is. Without it I would be left to my imagination to make Jesus into whomever I wanted him to be at the moment. The case of Biblical illiteracy can be argued from both sides. But we’re asking the wrong question. The question isn’t if believers are biblically literate, but are believers reading and allowing God’s word to transform them into the image of Jesus? That is the question we should address.
In His infinite love and mercy,
Yvonne
In Romans 7 Paul tells how the Law pointed out his sinfulness. Was something wrong with Law? No, the problem is us. (Romans 7:7-13). There will always be those who abuse and misuse the Bible, but that does not diminish the importance of being a Biblical literate. Everything you know about God and His truth you’ve learned from His word and its His word that sets you free. You don’t ditch the Bible because others misuse it. That’s all the more reason to be diligent in studying His word. Paul tells us “the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2). You can’t quantify how much love we need versus the amount of knowledge we need. We need both! The truth of God’s word sets us free (did I already mention that?) and keeps us from deception; particularly religious deception and religious abuse.
Amen, ie. the deception – that knowledge is dangerous, or makes you stumble, or makes you unloving, or sinful if you’re not careful. It’s the church’s biggest lie to keep the laity dumb and easily controllable. Centuries ago we used to have the catholics not allowing the bible to be translated into the native tongue because of the ‘dangers of knowledge’, now we have people using a fear tactic that if they know God too well, or know too much about God it will make them unloving.
I think you may be misunderstanding what Jeremy is saying. Look at what he does for a profession, he is not anti knowledge, not anti bible learning, what he is doing is challenging is our belief system and align it with what Christ was saying. Look what He (Jesus) said about the Jewish hierarchy and their pursuit of biblical knowledge at the expensive of loving their people and not even recognizing Him who stood in front of them, who demonstrated He was the ….I am. So what did Christ say don’t just be a hearer of the word be doer of the word (Christ is the word)….or put it another way follow Him daily out into the world. Cant be any clearer really. How many sermons equals doing? How many bible studies equals doing in love? 1, 10, 1000? 1 should be enough to start, after that God the Holy Spirit will lead you back to His word as often as needed then you do some more following.
Hi Grahame,
you wrote:
How many sermons equals doing?
# of problems here. First of all, most sermons in todays church have been dumbed down due in large part to the anti-knowledge sentiment that permeates just about every facet of every church I’ve seen or been involved with. The sermons aren’t based on knowledge, but usually something else: being ‘seeker sensitive'(thus watering down the message, or filtering out anything offensive). Another problem is seeing knowledge itself as part of the problem. It’s not. For every so-called anti-knowledge verse, I can bring 20. The problem isn’t the knowledge. The person who hears 1,000 sermons(or bible studies) and doesn’t love, he has problem, that problem is NOT knowledge, usually, still lack of knowledge. Odds are if you examine it, the 1000 sermons that supposedly are puffing him up with knowledge are just the same hackneyed cliches repeated for the 1,000th time. It’s not knowledge it’s vain repetition.
you wrote:
1 should be enough to start, after that God the Holy Spirit will lead you back to His word as often as needed then you do some more following.
The way you presented it here, this sounds like cold, impersonal, monotonous religion, completely void of God’s involvement or knowledge of God. Service is great, but if it’s service w/o God’s involvement, or any knowledge of God, what’s appealing about that? I can go to any ideology…..Mormonism, Social work groups, peace corps, and do countless works of service and never even have the mention of God, or perhaps the wrong God, but I’m not interested in that. I’m interested in knowing God. I want to know His thoughts. Why is it that people are supposed to know everything about their spouse, their likes, dislikes, their favorite color, their favorite breakfast foods, their favorite TV program, favorite books, hobbies, musical interests, talents, what makes them laugh. But somehow when it comes to knowledge of God all these things are off limits, and we’re told we are selfish if we want to know ‘trivial’ things about God(unless they immediately lead to someone’s salvation….or some other work of service). Either that or, yes, you can do a bible study once in a while, A little knowledge is ok, but we’ve got our eye on you and you better get to work.
You wrote:
1 should be enough to start, after that God the Holy Spirit will lead you back to His word as often as needed then you do some more following.
See, this in my opinion is a problem. No offense, but here I see the thoughts of man supplanting the thoughts of God and the Holy Spirit. So the Holy Spirit will lead you back to His word ‘as often as needed’ then you do some more following? I submit to you the Holy Spirit has ALREADY mapped out how often this should be…..
Give us this day, our DAILY BREAD.
Daily, go to the Word. But it gets lonely, and draining, always, 100% of the time doing it on your own. When you have to work 60 hours a week(no breaks allowed, not even a lunch break) just to pay the bills and the job is so draining that any time off you need to recover to have enough energy to continue working. It would be nice if some pastor, some where in the US, would be willing to equip the Saints and help them get to know God more instead of instilling guilt because they’re not doing enough and when they ask for the pastor to lay off the hackneyed cliches even once in a while, they get something other than ‘knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.’
After all, they are SUPPOSED to equip the saints:
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds[c] and teachers,[d] 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,[e] to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
Thanks Dave, Im thinking we are talking about 2 ends of the same stick. We all need the stick ie life in Christ, but Ive found that believers tend to be at one end or the other depending on all sorts of teaching, expereince, gifting and action. When Im talking about God the Holy Spirit Im talking about the Spirit of Christ. CHrist said the Father and I are one. If you want to see what God looks like, look at Jesus. If thats true we are to do things he did and greater than these becasue he went to His Father (His words not mine). So we are to follow Christ. Not complicated. Now the New Testiment is very good at describing what He did and why. So I will ask one question where did Jesus spent most of his time, answer with people building relationships, providing compassion and healing/forgiving/teaching….and so on. The church I am currently in doesnt put the guilts on us for not going out in to world its the opposite. Stay here in the church, dont worry about anyhting else Gods got that all sorted out there……for the elect only. Im not at that end of the stick. So for my information which end are you at, or perhaps you are in the middle like me….
Well, to be honest, I don’t know who to answer that question, except perhaps neither end of the stick, or, perhaps looking at the stick through a glass darkly. But I’ve been on one end of the stick, involvement in ministries of the church, doing good works, and honestly, the majority of the time, I didn’t feel ‘the life of christ.’ I didn’t feel like I was growing closer to God, instead, it felt forced, contrived, awkward, draining. I did it for years and felt like I had to try to be somebody I wasn’t, I had to be fake. Not sure that it ever resulted in any ‘fruit.’
The only time I feel confident that I’m walking by the spirit, and actually ‘fueled’ to carry that out, is when I’ve discovered something new and fresh about God that I didn’t know about or didn’t understand previously. Then it seems like my faith, hope and love just naturally abound for a while, maybe a couple weeks, maybe a couple of months. It seems to be the spark that kicks everything off and makes the walk natural, possible.
You wrote: So we are to follow Christ. Not complicated.
Well, I agree and disagree. In the simplest terms, sometimes, yes, it is simple, however other times what we’re supposed to do to follow Jesus seems clear as mud.
you wrote:
If thats true we are to do things he did and greater than these becasue he went to His Father (His words not mine).
I find this verse troubling, because in no way shape or form do I feel like I’m doing greater works than He did. Any time I’ve tried the typical things churches suggest it feels like dead works that God doesn’t really want me to do. Sometimes it makes me wonder if God no longer works through the church. After all, he used to work primarily through Israel, then due to their rebellion worked through the church instead. You look at church history after the first century or two, it’s not pretty. Sometimes I wonder if there’s an answer in some sort of preteristic angle.
So I’m in post-church limbo.
Very honest response Dave. Me too… Im in post church dilemma. But I want God to nudge me in HIs certain directions each day and I try and be open to that. I agree HE is now working outsude of the instituational church, through those who are just interested in following Christ where He leads. Church has been made complicated by the clergy it doesnt need to be. Simple is best ie learn, understand and be led. Thats where I am at now.
Responding here as there’s no ‘reply’ tag in your latest comment.
May God richly bless you as you try to follow His lead.
Is the combat that comes in the comments here really necessary.
When I read through the comments I see people arguing about issues that Mr Myers doesn’t really raise. If I read it right, Mr Myers does not at all despise biblical knowledge, he does not want to ditch the bible, how could he, he has been promoting a software package designed to enhance biblical knowledge.
My reading of Mr Myers post is that he is drawing attention to the danger of dead formalism. The Pharisees had good bible knowledge, but it had become dead formalism and they missed the message.
There is a phrase in Paul’s letter to Timothy that apparently talks about unloving “church ” people and says that they are forever learning but never coming to a knowledge of the truth. Paul’s description of their disposition is horrific. It appears that dead formalism is worse than dead
it is anti Christ.
Mr Myers post reminds me of the letter of James, where James talks about the bible as a mirror where we see ourselves and are taught what we are to then go and do. James emphasised that knowing wasn’t enough there had to be action. When I read all the apostles writings I see knowledge as a preparation for action, knowledge leads to godliness says Paul, he didn’t say knowledge leads to a valuable store of expertise.
Of course biblical literacy is required, but it is not the goal, life in Christ is the goal.
Does Mr Myers have exactitude in truth and learning. probably not.
But I think it would be more helpful all round if readers gave him the benefit of the doubt that he is not anti intellectual or anti scripture but making a bona fide encouragement to godliness in life and action based on sufficient knowledge of biblical truth.
p.s. for Dave who gets so anguished at the mention of knowledge puffs up. Please note Dave that the verse does not say biblical knowledge puffs up.
Maybe then the article should’ve been titled something about dead formalism. Maybe it wasn’t his intention, but the article would lead us to believe certain persons in the church are presenting a negative testimony with their unloving, critical. puffed-up attitudes and their problem is due to too much focus on Bible knowledge. These people didn’t get that way from studying scripture and gaining scriptural truth. They were already that way. Now they just present their bad attitude and actions with a coat of religiosity. My personal opinion is that there is a woeful lack of Bible knowledge AND understanding in the typical American church. BTW I like Jeremy’s articles. I don’t always agree with them, but I like the challenge and think he’s seeking good for believers.
Nailed it.
What a thoughtful, well organized response you gave (above) in the 15 points Jeremy had brought up. And this Aug. 25th response also…authentic and just so well said. I was going to write my own comment, but I agree with what you have written, and don’t feel I could say it any better or even as well…and I have been thinking about this article for a few days quite a bit! Usually Jeremy’s words are incredibly uplifting and in my opinion, he hits it out of the park almost every time.
BTW, I read everyone’s remarks. Very encouraging to hear people express themselves.
So Jeremy, what do you think about all of these comments? Would you change anything on your list, or maybe the title of the article? If this was the last article you ever wrote, would you be happy with it?
Great post Jeremy. I agree with everything you said.
Another problem is that when people calk for biblical literacy and then see pain and problems in the lives of others, they either think that a Bible verse will help the other person, OR that the other person wouldn’t be having these problems if they had just known the Bible better.
Either way, the rarely end up actually helping or loving the other person in need.
I think you are right Craig that biblical illiteracy is a symptom of a problem rather than a problem in itself. I read Mr Myers post carefully and I think that is his position also.
I’ll get into trouble here; but when I see problems in the church discussed, it all seems to go back to the same place, the clergy system.
And I suspect that is what Mr Myers is referring to when he encourages people to put less emphasis on the institutional requirements and more on relationships.
There has been a lot of good come from the clergy system, but that doesn’t mean it is what God intended and it doesn’t mean that we should consider that a system that has served a culture of the past will be useful to God’s purposes in the present environment.
The bible says that God never changes but it doesn’t say that God never changes His methods or arrangements.
I wonder if the ” problem ” of biblical illiteracy would fade somewhat if all believers at the gathering together of the church were able to exercise their spiritual gifts instead of being a captive silent audience to the same person, week after week, year after year, lecturing on the bible until the bible becomes associated with dry boring sermonising. It’s no wonder, if so many people aren’t take an interest in exploring the biblical contents.
Are they lacking in commitment or just smothered by information overload.
Is the Bible the only source of truth and knowledge. Certainly the primary source of God’s revelation. But I think that if we go out into the community and love our neighbours as ourselves and forgive our enemies , we learn a lot about God because as Jesus said, that makes us like our Heavenly Father. I think that is what Mr Myers is alluding to.
Wow, another excellent and wise response. Especially the part about God not changing, but His methods changing…we are seeing that today in so many ways. God is most surely doing a NEW THING in this culture, isn’t He? Kind of awesome!
I believe Neville has raised an important point in relation to God never changing, but He certainly isnt constrained in the way he touches people and brings about change. Culture is a powerful determiner of peoples choices, attitudes, belief systems and behaviour. I have no doubt God works within culture so His message is understood. One method works well in one culture and fails in another if we just mimic. As Jeremy often points out, biblical context is important in understanding the meaning of a slice of scripture and just because christian outreach worked well in an ancient Jewish culture it doesnt mean the way it was carried then applies to whether it will work in the 21st century. So my take on Jeremys article is that bible knowledge and understanding is important but HS led action is far more important all generated out of Christs love for us and others.
Great read this, Jeremy.
Indeed, the problem is not Biblical illiteracy. I reckon the problem is lack of Biblical revelation – (Biblical insight birthed solely by the Holy Spirit).
You may know the Bible (what it says), but if the Bible is not revealed to you via the Holy Spirit (that is, if the words do not become flesh and dwell in you a la John 1:14), you can’t be conformed to Christ’s image of selfless love.
It is through revelational knowledge that we take on God’s nature and become more like Him… “and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him created him” – Colossians 3:10.
We do not need more Biblical literacy, but more Biblical revelation. Thank you, Jeremy.
Some Christians have no understanding of what Jesus did on the cross. I have spoken to church going so called born-again believers who believe the way to heaven is too lead a good honest life.