what biblical illiteracy actually is<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n 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, \u201cHow can any evangelical Christian support the racist, bigoted Donald Trump? Don\u2019t you know what the Bible says?\u201d And then he went on to quote some Bible verses which he thought should sway people to vote for Hillary.<\/p>\n
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\u2019t think he was responding to the first post by the other pastor, but the similarities were shocking. \u201cHow can any Christian who truly follows Jesus ever support Hillary Clinton?\u201d he asked. \u201cDon\u2019t you know what the Bible says?\u201d And then he went on to quote some Bible verses which he thought would influence people to vote for Trump.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019t really know the first thing about the Bible.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
(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.)<\/p>\n
12. The phrase \u201cbiblically illiterate\u201d is just a nice way of calling someone a heretic.<\/h2>\n Christians often resort to name-calling tactics when they don\u2019t want to have a substantive argument about the views of someone who disagrees. In the past, we called people heretics. We don\u2019t 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 \u201cbiblically illiterate\u201d instead.<\/p>\n
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 \u201cbiblically illiterate\u201d and move on.<\/p>\n
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, \u201cIf you would just read the Bible, you would know how wrong you are. You are clearly ignorant of the Bible.\u201d And then they quote a verse or ten which they believe disproves the point of my post. I sometimes comment back saying, \u201cI have read the Bible and am quite aware of those verses you quoted. I just understand them a bit differently than you do.\u201d<\/p>\n
So the accusation of being \u201cbiblically illiterate\u201d is often nothing more than a way to ignore or write off those people with whom you disagree so that you don\u2019t have to consider their arguments or seek to understand their position.<\/strong><\/p>\nThe 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.”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
13. The Biblical Literacy Tests Don\u2019t really Test Biblical Literacy<\/h2>\n Have you ever taken one of these Biblical literacy tests? I have taken quite a few. They often include questions like \u201cHow many people were on Noah\u2019s 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?\u201d<\/p>\n
Those questions are somewhat of a caricature of the real biblical literacy tests, but they\u2019re not too far off.<\/p>\n
But look at those. Such questions don\u2019t really test biblical literacy at all<\/em>. What they test is biblical trivia<\/em>. 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?<\/p>\nI think what we should be asking people about is not biblical literacy or biblical trivia, but biblical love, or better yet, love literacy.<\/strong> 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?<\/p>\nI 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\u2019t 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\u2019t know the first thing about Jesus.<\/p>\n
I have another friend who is literally illiterate. He is in his late 70\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
But again, he is one of the most kind-hearted, loving people I have ever met.<\/p>\n
Is he biblically illiterate? Of course! No matter which definition you use, he knows next to nothing about the Bible.<\/p>\n
But he loves.<\/p>\n
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!<\/p>\n
He doesn\u2019t need to read the Bible. He doesn\u2019t need to gain Bible facts and Bible knowledge. He can\u2019t recite the 66 books of the Bible, nor can he list the 10 Commandments, or name the 12 Apostles.<\/p>\n
He knows what he learned about Jesus in kindergarten, and that has been more than enough for him in the 70 years since.<\/p>\n
14. I am more concerned with people developing a biblical worldview than biblical literacy.<\/h2>\n 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.”<\/p>\n
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.”<\/p>\n
One big question I\u2019ve been mulling over for the past five years or so is this \u201cIs 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?\u201d I am not sure the answer is \u201cYes\u201d to either question.<\/p>\n
Take the values of Honor and Shame. I did my Master\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
We might be tempted to say that the values of honor and shame are better, but are they? In today\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
15. Even Jesus and Paul argued against Biblical literacy<\/h2>\n It\u2019s sort of ironic that I am going to use Scripture to defend the idea that biblical illiteracy is not a problem\u2026<\/p>\n
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, \u201cYou search the Scriptures daily, because in them you think you have eternal life, but these Scriptures speak of me\u201d (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.<\/p>\n
Paul says that \u201cKnowledge puffs up, but love builds up\u201d (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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
As a side note: it must be pointed out that Paul doesn\u2019t just want \u201cacts of love\u201d 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).<\/p>\n
Do you have anything to add about Biblical Illiteracy?<\/h2>\n 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.<\/p>\n
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! <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Many pastors are warning us about the problem of biblical illiteracy in the church today. I do not think it is that much of a problem. Here are 15 reasons why biblical illiteracy is not a problem in the church.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42948,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2230],"tags":[12,2550,2547,2549,2117,1235,1238],"class_list":{"0":"post-42819","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-redeeming-scripture","8":"tag-bible-study","9":"tag-bible-teaching","10":"tag-biblical-illiteracy","11":"tag-biblical-literacy","12":"tag-bibliology","13":"tag-church","14":"tag-preaching","15":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\n
15 Reasons Biblical Illiteracy is NOT a Problem in the Church<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n