Biblical Illiteracy

Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" Matthew 4:4

For some Christians it's been years since they've cracked open a Bible or carried one to church. While most are familiar with well-known biblical accounts of Moses parting the Red Sea, the extraordinary strength of Samson, or how David conquered Goliath, few build upon these basic Sunday school teachings, resulting in what one apologist calls "biblical illiteracy."

In a portion of his new book Unanswered, a volume intended to shed light on several hot-button topics that loom large within the Church, apologist and New Testament scholar Jeremiah Johnston addresses biblical illiteracy and Christians who know "just enough about the Bible to be dangerous."

"The Bible can be stripped down, vandalized, added to, taken away from, and 95 percent of people in the Church would not even know you were doing it because they simply do not know the Bible," Johnston told The Christian Post earlier this month. "We have the most educated Christians of all time — the smartest believers of all time in our churches, and yet they are the most biblically illiterate. They know little to nothing about the message in the Bible." Biblical illiteracy is a needless trend in the U.S., it seems, since the Good Book is so widely available. In fact, 88 percent of American households own at least one Bible, according to a 2015 study by Barna Group. But here's the catch: one in four adults say they never read it.

Millennials have fallen even farther from the faith tree. "Millennials are the first unchurched generation in America," Johnston told CP. The unchurched, also referred to as the "nones," account for 46 million Americans, according to Johnston's book.

"When you add that poisonous mixture with biblical illiteracy, we're one generation away from an all-out heresy or schism in the Church," he said.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15