Bible Illiteracy!

[stephen]

"There is a lot of talk today in 'church' circles about how little people know about the Bible....Biblical illiteracy is not a new trend. It has been around a long time. The underlying cause is explained by the Apostle Paul (Romans 1:18-32)....It seems almost impossible to have an accurate concept of God apart from the knowledge of certain foundational biblical stories.

The biblically illiterate need to begin with an understanding of who God is, and where they are in relationship to their Creator-Owner -- truths set forth in the pages of the Old Testament. They need to know these things before we can expect an accurate response to what Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross."

--Paul Humphreys, GoodSeed Gleanings, No. 6, Sept. 2000

 

[late4dinner]

It is very sad.
At one church I went to a lovely lady didn't know what legalism meant, and at another a Pastor's daughter had trouble finding where Romans was in the bible.
To say this surprised me is an understatement.

I agree with you about what the biblically illiterate need, but what I think they also need is to put the bible before the television.

 

[David777]

Not surprising.

I do not understand why people will not explore the Bible. Considering the phenomenal promises of God regarding eternal life. An eternity spent in joyful peaceful contentment, I'll take Jesus anyday.

 

[dannibear]

It is very sad.
At one church I went to a lovely lady didn't know what legalism meant, and at another a Pastor's daughter had trouble finding where Romans was in the bible.
To say this surprised me is an understatement.

I agree with you about what the biblically illiterate need, but what I think they also need is to put the bible before the television.

When I was a small child, I began reading at the age of 3. My friend Steven taught me to read the Bible after I read some Dr.Suess books. It was KJV, which made me struggle a little, so he gave me a children's Bible. He first taught me to pronounce each book's name, and then memorize them all in order.
He was only a year older than me. All this was because his mother was so
dedicated to teaching him. If we didn't know what something meant, we went
to his mother. I remember once asking, 'Mrs. B, what does anointing mean?'. That memory still makes me laugh.

What I am trying to get at is, when more people who say they are Christians, (in general, please don't think I am referring to anyone here heehee) actually read their Bible more, and refer to His Word when giving advice, and drop it in conversations, people will ask about it. That gets even those who don't believe in God, curious.

We also, including myself, need to help others understand too. Just the other
day, my friend was wondering, 'Why does God have more than one name?".
I talked to her on the phone for half an hour, explaining each name that she gave me, what it meant, and why people call Him that.

Satan knows scripture also. But he twists it to his advantage. We all need to get His word out there, and tell others about who God REALLY is, and not what people THINK he is. I used to think God saw me as a second grade citizen, but now I see He never discriminated. It was just a man made idea.
When someone comes to us with a misconception, we need to PLANT THAT SEED. :wink: