The Crisis of Biblical Illiteracy in Today’s Churches
At Huntsville Theological Institute’s recent Pastoral Advisory Council meeting, pastors almost unanimously told us that the number one educational challenge facing most churches is biblical literacy. Most people simply don’t read the Bible anymore. As a result, most congregants and even many Bible teachers at churches simply lack the context necessary to understand and communicate teachings from the Bible. It is precisely this challenge that the Huntsville Theological Institute aims to address.
Teaching biblical knowledge is more important today than ever. A 2022 American Bible Association poll shows that only 10 percent of Christians read the Bible daily (down from 17 percent in 2017), and recent Gallop polling shows that 39 percent of Americans read the Bible only three or four times per year. About half don’t read it at all. This is in keeping with general statistics that show more than half of all people don’t read books after they graduate high school. In other words, part of the problem is a drop in literacy and study in general, although the Bible fares even worse than fiction because most people consider it too long and complicated.
The Startling Consequences of Declining Biblical Knowledge
As appalling as these statistics are, the results are worse. According to Gallop, a record low of 20 percent of Christians believe the Bible is the literal word of God. Most believe it is a manmade book. Part of the reason is that biblical literacy has also declined. Most Americans cannot name basic facts from the Bible, such as the name of the first book or who preached the Sermon on the Mount.
As someone recently told me, America is not a post-Christian society; it has reverted to a pre-Christian one in which people don’t know anything about the Bible, including the meaning of terminology or literary references once known by all educated people.
What Christians Don’t Know—And Why It Matters
The problem is, as one pastor told me, that most Christians simply don’t know what they don’t know. They haven’t even had enough exposure to the Bible to be aware of how little they know. They don’t know that the Bible was originally written in Hebrew and Greek. They don’t know the history of the Jews. They don’t know where to find the gospels. They don’t know which epistles were written by Paul, why, when, or to whom. They don’t know the basic doctrines of their church.
Yet many of these same people teach Sunday School because there’s simply no one else available.
Why Biblical Literacy Has Declined
The reasons for the lack of biblical literacy are many and varied. Some of it’s generational. We’ve already mentioned the decline in reading in general. People read short blurbs or articles on web pages, not whole books, which many find too time-consuming. Reliance on online Bibles to quickly find verses leads people to not spend time memorizing where to find their favorite verses.
Some of it’s being busy. When both parents work and try to raise children and run households, there’s less time for reading and study. Some of it’s simply a lack of hunger for the Word. Some people are satisfied to sit back and receive from pastors or social media instead of pursuing understanding—but a half hour of teaching per week and exposure to one or two verses a day is simply not enough.
Most of these issues would change if people’s lives depended on studying the Bible. In fact, their souls do depend on it, but they simply don’t recognize how precarious their position actually is.
HTI’s Mission: Restoring Biblical Literacy
The primary mission of the Huntsville Theological Institute is to address this issue. Our School of Biblical Studies Program provides a baseline of biblical knowledge that is perfect for teachers and small group leaders who want more biblical knowledge to be more effective and accurate teachers. Yet it’s low-cost, convenient, and simple enough that even beginners will get something out of it. The program can be geared toward both a one-year and two-year certificate with eight classes per year.
Maybe you’re interested in learning more about the Bible, but you simply haven’t had the time to look into it. HTI has already put a program together to meet your needs, which is highly convenient. Maybe you’ve been assigned to teach a class on a biblical book or topic and just need a refresher. We can work with you to develop a program or class that meets your need.
Maybe reliance on your pastor or reading verses or social media memes with Bible verses is simply not fulfilling your desire to really know the Bible. Maybe you want to go into ministry but don’t know where to start. If any of these describe your situation, HTI can help you become the biblically literate Christian that God wants you to be.
