On Christian Literacy

Although the principals of the Holy Bible are the underpinning of western society, the present state of humanity would suggest the opposite..

The fundamentals of right, wrong, love and charity have essentially disappeared, strongly held ideals now in a state of collapse as Church numbers continue to plummet. Yet, the decrease in Church attendance seems at odds with television evangelists promoting the Rapture every waking hour. All the same, this downturn has not lessened academia’s interest in Christians and their knowledge of the Bible.

Surveys continue to find that belief in the Bible declines as educational attainment increases. The 2011 Gallup Poll showed 46% of Americans with a high school education or less; believe the Bible to be true, when compared to the 22% with at least some college education. The majority with at least some college education believe the Bible is inspired of God. Of Postgraduates; 16% believe the Bible is the actual word of God, though a quarter say it’s a book of fables.

Pew Research exposed a basic ignorance of Christian Scripture as shown in these excerpts from their 2010 report. Over the last 10 years this knowledge gap has continued to widen as non-aligned, agnostics and atheists grow in number. The move away from religion in general being led by the young and disaffected though all ages are represented to some degree.

Can you name the four Gospels in order? If you can, you’re doing better than the over-half of Americans who can’t – only 45% of the participants in the Pew Forum’s U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey could. They surveyed Protestant and Catholic Christians, Mormons, Jews, atheists and agnostics to measure rudimentary religious knowledge among those groups.

This included rudimentary questions about Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Mormonism, and Eastern religions. The average Christian respondent to the survey answered 16 out of 32 questions correctly. Of the questions pertaining to Christianity only 6 out of 10 were answered right. White evangelicals were the most knowledgeable group, answering 7.3 questions correctly, but still not measuring up to the Mormons, who could answer 7.9 questions.

For instance, only 25% of white evangelicals knew that Protestants uniquely teach that salvation is by faith alone. (This is a mistake: the correct teaching is by grace through faith: Eph 2:8. Ed). The good news is the media hype about this survey is somewhat overblown, no group really scored very well on this survey. The bad news is that religious knowledge in general, including knowledge of one’s own religion, is pretty abysmal. This includes ignorance of some very basic teachings, and as such, it is obviously a major contributor to the decline of Christianity as the prevailing worldview that it once was in most Western countries.

Pew’s 2019 survey contains this notation on the present condition of Christianity in the US. The data shows that both Protestants who describe themselves as born-again or evangelical Christians, and Protestants who are not born-again or evangelical have declined as a share of the overall U.S. adult population, reflecting the country’s broader shift away from Christianity as a whole. With other polls reflecting this trend, the future does not bode well for the Church globally in its present state of disarray.

Most people today can name only two or three of the Commandments correctly. But they can name the Beatles.

Most have no trouble with TV personalities or film stars and the characters they play. Phrases like rise and shine, an eye for an eye, by the skin of your teeth, a fly in the ointment, no rest for the wicked, the letter of the law, go the extra mile, apple of my eye, Philistine, Jezebel, kiss of death and the blind leading the blind are routine, even if they’re not sure where they come from. And everyday voice surprise or alarm with Good Lord, Heaven forbid and Oh My God! Out of the mouths of babes… (Psalms 8:2) Yes, it’s also from the Bible.

Around 80% have heard of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon and Jesus, but few can place them in order. Most know Moses led the Exodus, but can’t name all the sons of Noah. Earnest Bible students can name the Books of the Old Testament, and most people can name at least one Gospel. Consistent with Pew and other research, only a handful can be shown to have a good knowledge of the Holy Bible, which is somewhat disturbing.

On the other side of the world, less than half of UK residents believe the Bible is an important book. Few realize that many common phrases actually stem from it, believing they come from a variety of sources including the Beatles, Shakespeare even former Prime Minister Tony Blair. A recent Bible Society poll revealed 46% thought the Bible was a notable book and while they don’t read it often, it has valuable things to say. Only 7% of the 2,379 respondents knew a drop in the bucket came from Isaiah. Popular answers were Blair, Dickens and William Shakespeare.

According to New Zealand psychologist Tim Bates, Christians who believe the Bible is the actual word of God have a lower IQ than those who are less religious. He suggested a reason behind his finding was a tendency for more intelligent people to challenge religious claims. If you believe in religion, you haven’t really questioned things. Brighter people were less likely to feel that religion plays a dominant role in their life.

Co-researcher, Gary Lewis also quoted in the NZ Herald Sept 2011 said: People who claim The Bible is the literal ‘word of God’ are typically less likely to be intelligent, which is of course total nonsense when we consider this very small sample:

Martin Luther, William Wilberforce, Thomas Beckett, Charles Darwin, William Blake, J.S. Bach, Thomas Aquinas, Sir Isaac Newton, Alois Alzheimer, Florence Nightingale, Albert Einstein, Galileo, Solzhenitsyn, Pascal, Tyndale, the Apostle Paul, Queen Elizabeth the 1st, William Turner, Louis Braille, Martin Luther King Jnr, C.S. Lewis, Lord Melvyn Bragg, paleontologist Mary Schweitzer, J.R.R. Tolkien, Cambridge Fellow, Christopher de Hamel, Doppler, Marconi, Max Planck, George Stokes, Lord Kelvin, William Pollard, Faraday, Tolstoy, Graham Greene, et al.

Not forgetting the majority of American Presidents and British Prime Ministers: and the 67% of Nobel Prize Laureates over the last 100 years who profess the Christian faith, and including the many Christians with doctorates and degrees, currently shaping the sciences, avoiding profane vain babblings and oppositions of science falsely so called, which some professing have erred concerning faith: (1Timothy 6:20-1)

Downward slide

It is complicated due to many factors flowing together during the last century in particular as to when it began. Yet, it could be well argued, in the modern era, it started around the time of the Industrial Revolution, which saw the creation of a new syllabus and the industrialization of education to meet the demands of a growing and diverse workplace. Due to the necessary skills of reading, writing and arithmetic called for by trade and industry, the result was a worldlier stripped down curriculum to meet the needs of the day.

Another contributor was The Origin of Species published in 1859.

Darwin’s idea ignited the minds of the curious at a time when archaeology, exploration, science and medicine were pushing boundaries like never before. With the lure of Dispensationalism also at work, breakaway assemblies with independent views on the Gospel caused many to re-evaluate their faith, while having to cope with the prospect all they had learned about Creation was about to go under the hammer. Naturally, none of this anxiety was relieved by Nietzsche’s announcement God was dead. Darwin’s views and Nietzsche’s essay had effectively lobbed a live grenade into the body of the Christian Church.

Several key factors soon followed: Political Zionism and its unholy alliance Communism and Socialism: two long and bloody World Wars: the growth of the Industrial Military Complex: and the dawn of the Nuclear Age. But the most damaging to faith was the turning of the 1960’s.

It has become the most significant social upheaval in history, piercing everything from childcare to warfare; music, the arts, writing, media and journalism, clothing and food, politics, finance, religion, communal orientations, education, industry even the air we breathe. Its resultant drive for personal license has delivered a moral disaster unrivaled since Noah’s day. And here we will stay pending the Rage of Angels until heartfelt regret enters this world.

By knowledge or admission

Literacy is comprehension or knowledge in a specified area and there’s no doubt, bible students are well-read and intelligent. In order to assess and understand its content requires an extent of ability; its words, phrases and message, outside the norm of general conversation. The issue then is not one of consideration, rather to properly discern its content. One might have read the same verse fifty times and not yet seen its meaning. So, is it by intellect or revelation that we learn of its treasures?

🙶 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost

🙶 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed

🙶 With the glory which shall be revealed in us

🙶 God hath revealed unto us by His Spirit

🙶 Now revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets

🙶 For flesh and blood hath not revealed unto thee

Thus scripture is of God’s Spirit: words destined for the heart and mind of those who seek the truth of Christ. Knowledge of God and Salvation, while sought cannot be acquired but is given freely. As Paul writes, understanding comes not from men but the LORD’S Spirit. Think about what I say: and the LORD will give thee understanding in all things. (2 Timothy 2:7)

As we see from Jesus in conversation with Peter, it is not through men that revelation comes: for flesh and blood has not revealed unto thee… (Matthew 16:17) So, it is not by skill or ability that we learn, but through the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ. But the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things… (John 14:26)

So, how is it that one is given and the other refused? Why has Jesus already warned those who think they walk in righteousness to depart from Him? It is for the simple reason their faith was not clean, defiled by laws and creeds. Except when we at last perceive the LORD and His Christ; when we finally believe Jesus is the Mighty God and Everlasting Father, He will begin to reveal His glorious splendor.