- Noah’s wife was Joan of Ark.
- Lot’s wife was a pillar of salt by day and ball of fire by night.
- Moses went to the top of Mount Cyanide to get the Ten Commandments.
- 7th Commandment is “Thou shalt not admit adultery.”
- Joshua led the Hebrews in the battle of Geritol.
- Jesus was born because Mary had an immaculate contraption.
- The people who followed Jesus were called the 12 Decibels.
- The epistles were the wives of the apostles.
- One of the opossums was St. Matthew.
- Salome danced in seven veils in front of King Harrod’s.
- Paul preached acrimony, which is another name for marriage.
- David fought the Finkelsteins, a race of people who lived in biblical times.
- The Jews had trouble throughout their history with unsympathetic Genitals.
- A Christian should have only one wife. This is called monotony.
From the minds and mouths of our children, these statements are clearly funny, if not understandable.
Not so amusing is it when we turn to statistics reflecting understandings and impressions among adults.
Yes, a 2016 American Bible Society “State of the Bible Report” (powered by the Barna Group) reports that “Americans hold the Bible in high regard. Eighty percent of Americans view the Bible as sacred literature, 64 percent believe the Bible has more influence on humanity than any other text and 75 percent believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God.” (cf., The Bible in America: Do Americans Hold the Bible in High Regard? | Blog | American Bible Society News)
However, what American adults actually know about the Bible belies this sense of value and importance. Other polling work (by Barna and Gallup) reports…
- Fewer than half of all adults can name the 4 gospels.
- Many Christians cannot name more than two or three of the disciples.
- 60 percent cannot name even 5 of the 10 commandments.
- 82% believe that “God helps those who help themselves” is a Bible verse. (But, thank you, Ben Franklin!)
- 12% of adults believe that Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife.
- Over 50% of graduating High School Seniors think that Sodom and Gomorrah were husband and wife.
- One poll even showed that a considerable number of respondents believe that the Sermon on the Mount was preached by Billy Graham.
Altogether, it’s enough to leave Gallup lamenting that “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.” (cf., The Scandal of Biblical Illiteracy: It’s Our Problem – AlbertMohler.com)
It’s a basis (though not the only one, to be sure) for our dedicating the most recent issue of our quarterly/seasonal periodical, Ruminations, to “Searching the Scriptures.” (It will be the first of several coming issues, dedicated to exploring spiritual practices/disciplines.) Yes, we will take time to survey the Scriptures (and point you to still other resources)—to the end that folks have better handles for informational, Bible study. But, true to our focus in other settings, we’ll give attention to the ways we can (and should) foster a formational approach to these texts.
Mind you, we’ve got to be careful—very careful—here! The one thing worse than not knowing the Bible is knowing it and misusing it. What untold harm has been exacted by those who know and even love the Scriptures but use it to support a toxic and/or abusive spiritual program! Sad and tragic it is the way that the Bible has been thought of as a “sword”—an instrument for mowing down everyone who is not in step with the thinking or behavior of some “loving” Christians! Oh, yes, Ephesians 6:17 associates “the sword of the Spirit” with “the word of God.” However, the Scriptures never refer directly to the Bible as the “word of God”–saving that designation for all utterances of God and, more specifically, assigning it to the reality which is Christ. It’s among the distinctions we explore in this issue.
Doing so, we stand to discover and appreciate what it means to search the Scriptures… and let the Scriptures search us!
To download and engage this newest issue of Ruminations, click here.
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