“It ain’t those parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand.”
– Mark Twain
The majority of churchgoing adults reject the accuracy of the Bible, reject the existence of satan, don’t evangelize, and believe that if they are a good person god will forgive their sins.
Other findings document an overall lack of biblical knowledge among Christians including:
- Less than one out of every ten believers possess a biblical worldview as the basis for his or her decision-making or behavior.
- When given thirteen basic teachings from the Bible, only 1% of adult believers firmly embraced all thirteen as being biblical perspectives.[1]
- 50% of Christians polled by Gallup stated that atheists could go to Heaven, and 66% answered that those with no religious faith were heaven bound.
Research done at Wheaton College[2] tested biblical literacy of incoming freshmen. These students represented almost every Protestant denomination in the United States from every state in the country. The results were as follows:
- One-third could not put the following in order: Abraham, the Old Testament prophets, the death of Christ, and Pentecost.
- One-third could not identify Matthew as an apostle from a list of New Testament names.
- When asked to locate the biblical book supplying a given story, one-third could not find Paul’s travels in Acts, half did not know that the Christmas story was in Matthew, half did not know that the Passover story was in Exodus.
Biblical Illiteracy by Denomination
In a study of the beliefs of mainline Protestants (including Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, and Episcopalians), only 35% believe Christ was sinless; 34% believe the Bible is totally accurate; 27% agree that works don’t earn heaven; and 20% believe Satan is real.[3]
Of Baptists in America, only 34% believe Satan is real. Only 43% believe that works don’t earn heaven. Only 55% affirm that Christ was sinless, and 66% hold that the Bible is totally accurate.[3]
Christianity Today
Most churches today teach almost exclusively as a self help group. Quick steps to a better you. This teaching very intentionally ignores the basis of Christian theology. If churches taught the entirety of the bible, membership would drop dramatically and there would be less money in offering plate. Solution: teach about the happy Jesus.
People like the warm fuzzy feeling Christianity gives them in the current model. Biblical literacy requires believers to acknowledge the conflicting and evil teaching throughout the bible. Many happily choose to remain ignorant.
Having been a biblically illiterate Christian for most of my life, take my advice and read the book you’ve based your life on. If you are going to believe in Jesus, at least know the foundation for your faith.
[1] Barna Research Online, “Discipleship Insights Revealed in New Book by George Barna.”
[2] Gary M. Burge, “The Greatest Story Never Read: Recovering biblical literacy in the church.”
[3] Barna Research Online, “Religious Beliefs Vary Widely by Denomination.”
Tags: Bible, Christians, illiteracy, literacy, Theology
February 26, 2009 at 1:11 pm |
Good point: “If you are going to believe in Jesus, at least know the foundation for your faith.”