USA (MNN) — Bible illiteracy is a major problem in churches
in the United States. That's the message from Back to the Bible's President and
Bible Teacher Woodrow Kroll.
"The problem, Bible illiteracy, is not that people can
not read the Bible, it's they don't read the Bible," says Kroll. "Research
shows that every American (on average) owns three copies of the Bible, but they
don't read any of the three."
According to Kroll, "Bible literacy is not a problems
in the church. Bible literacy is THE problem in the church. It impacts
everything else we do."
Kroll says that's why Back to the Bible started the Bible
Literacy Center one year ago to answer the question, "Why do so many
people own a Bible and so few read it? We have more than 12,000 surveyed people
who have given us insight into what keeps them reading, what gets them going
but they stop. What would be helpful to them."
There's one interesting thing they've learned from the
survey. Kroll says, "There is a direct correlation between how much time a
person spends in the Word and how they believe it's easy to understand. So,
obviously, the more you read the easier it is to understand (the Bible). People
say, 'I can't understand it.' What they're saying to us is, 'I'm not reading
it.'"
Kroll tells us failure to read the Bible robs a Christian.
"We rob ourselves of a moral position if we don't know the Word of God. I
think we also rob ourselves of the ability to move on to spiritual maturity. We
get stuck into spiritual infancy. Certainly (we have an) inability to defend
our faith or share our faith, or even share our faith."
While reading books about the Bible is important, it can't
replace Bible reading. Kroll says, "Faith comes from hearing and hearing
by the Word of God, so we've got to get people between the covers of the
Scripture."
Guilt isn't what's going to persuade people to read the
Bible, says Kroll. "I think we have to show people what they miss if they
don't read the Bible."
If Christians started reading the Bible regularly Kroll believes,
"It will increase the ability of the church to take the message of the
church to take the message of the church to the community."
Back to the Bible has developed survey questions to help you
study and read God Word. Go to BackToTheBible.org to find the survey.
