In 2017 Gallup took a poll whose results claimed that only 47% of Americans believed the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Twenty-four percent did not believe so, and 26% believe the Bible is secular. (Read more here.)
In 2018 Barna found that half of Americans are Bible users, Bible use is more likely in Boomers, City Dwellers, and Southerners, and six in ten Americans believe the Bible had transformed their life. (Read more here.)
And also in 2017 Pew Research found that about one-third of Americans say they read the Scriptures at least once a week. Three-quarters of Christians believe that the Bible is the Word of God, but many are divided on how to interpret the Scriptures. (Read more here.)
Lastly, for 2020, many Christians are calling this the Year of the Bible. Pope Francis, Ravi Zacharias, Francis Chan and over 20,000 churches in over 100 nations are coming together for this movement #YearoftheBible. (Read more here.)
If you know me at all, you know that my entire career centers around the Bible. My books are novels taken from the stories of the Bible, all the while trying to remain true to the actual text. From my teen years until today, I have loved God’s Word. So you can imagine that I am happy to know that people are reading this Book that I love. And yet it’s also hard for me to know that this Book is falling under attack, not just for lack of use, but by those who denounce all or most of what is written there.
On the other hand…I’m not surprised by any fiery debate about this Book or any belief vs. unbelief surrounding it because people have doubted it, questioned it, believed it, and vilified it for centuries. The lack of interest in or the division on how to interpret things or the questioning of whether those stories were just that – stories, not truth is something most thinking people will question at one time or another. How many of us can say we have never had a hint of doubt or wrestled with a certain passage?
So why does this Book, above all books, ignite such emotion in us? And why has it remained the #1 bestselling book of all time?
Some might say that it’s been translated so many times, how can we possibly know what it means? Others find the God of the Old Testament (where I spend so much of my time) horrific and nothing like Jesus in the New.
I don’t have time to debate or to argue with anyone, but I would like to make a few observations, based on the many years I’ve spent studying what I believe is God’s Word to humanity.
The God of the Old Testament and Jesus are One. Jesus was there when God created the heavens and the earth and nothing was made without Him. (John 1) The God of the OT was with Jesus every step of the way as He walked the earth. Several times He made it known in an audible voice that this was His beloved Son who brought Him great joy.
You cannot pick and choose what is true in this Book. Let me explain. In order to truly understand anything in the Bible, you have to read it (I know, that’s a given) but you have to read all of it. Not necessarily cover to cover, but that would certainly help. If you can, listen to it on a Bible app in chronological order. The narrators help you get through those long lists of names. The point is, the Bible is a story that begins in Genesis and ends in Revelation and if you don’t see the story as both history and truth, you won’t understand why things like the need for sacrifices and wars are in there.
Just because you don’t understand a passage or it seems wrong to you, doesn’t mean it is. God claims to say a lot of things in this Book, and if you pay attention to what He says, not just the “red letters” that Jesus said, it’s going to become apparent that He has a right to say those things. And honestly? God – if He truly is who He claims to be – can do whatever He pleases because He’s the Creator. We’re the created. BIG difference.
If the Bible is secular and written simply by men, where does it get its power to transform lives? Many skeptics have picked up the Bible to prove it wrong and ended up coming away changed from the inside out. As Barna discovered not too long ago, many people believe the Bible has transformed their lives. The Bible itself claims it has that power, mightier than a two-edged sword. It pierces hearts. It leads us to repent of our sins. (That’s why the law was given, by the way – to show us what sin actually is.)
With 66 different books and about 40 different authors who wrote it over many centuries, how is it possible that it fits together into one cohesive narrative? It has a beginning and an end and it actually makes sense (well to those who truly seek to understand it it does). So if you are honestly seeking as you read it, look for the cohesive narrative. It is God’s story and His grace, mercy, love, and justice flow through it like refreshing morning rain.
This Book reveals prophecies and then shows how many of them came true. It tells of miracles that can be hard to imagine, but again, if the Creator decides to change the way things work, does He not have that ability and right to do so?
Of course, eventually, if you do choose to read the Bible, even with a skeptical view, you will have to decide at some point whether you believe it or not. It’s not one of those books that you can easily forget. It has sticking power, and so much depth of meaning that if you live to be 100 years old you will still be unable to mine its treasures. It is new every day and every year even if you’ve read it a thousand times. Some say – actually the Bible itself says it is a living Book. Perhaps it is that life that once we connect with it that won’t let us go.
I know there are a lot of politically incorrect things in the Bible, but they only seem that way to us if we don’t want to admit that there is a standard humanity should follow. That there are absolutes. I know that’s not popular either, but just look at the laws of science and tell me if they are all subjective. Gravity might not be true on the moon, but unless you’re in a gravity-defying bubble or trying to drop a helium balloon, it is always, always true on earth.
I don’t deny that there are things in the Scriptures that I don’t understand. I ask a lot of questions as I write about a new person in the Bible. I’ll give one example. I’m writing Miriam’s story and came upon the passage where God killed Nadab and Abihu because they offered strange fire on God’s altar. That brings up a whole slew of questions. What was strange fire? Why would Nadab and Abihu offer it if they knew better? Why was God so strict that His law be followed exactly? Why did Nadab and Abihu, after dining in God’s presence, think they could disobey Him without consequence?
I think I came up with a better understanding as I pondered and prayed, but I can’t say I know for sure why or how this happened. Sometimes we’re going to face obstacles that in our human minds we can’t grasp. That doesn’t mean the book is wrong. It means we aren’t the Author. Only the Author really knows what He meant.
As an author of much less significant writings, I have to say, I find it interesting when readers will take a piece of literature and try to figure out what the author is saying. Shakespeare and other writers of the past get this in English or Literature classes all the time. But you know what? As readers, we are not going to truly get inside the mind of the writer. We will enjoy a beautiful story, but what that writer meant by every word or phrase? We can’t know unless she’s told us. If I write that the tiles in the king’s audience hall were blue, that doesn’t mean anything more than I like the color blue and I know it was hard to get back then, so royalty would have been one of the few to have it. It doesn’t mean anything beyond that. And most human authors would likely say the same – unless you really like to hide a second meaning under cover of metaphor.
The Bible is a book that will always intrigue us, but it will not always transform us unless we accept it for what it says. If it doesn’t make sense literally, then realize that it might be poetry or prophesy, but it still has a meaning – we just might not know it yet.
I’m glad to know that this is the Year of the Bible for many Christians. But more than that, I pray that those who once read it or have never touched it, will pick up a copy and read it. If you have doubts about God, ask Him to show Himself in the pages. He promised that we will find Him if we seek Him with all of our heart. And in the end, the Bible can only be understood with the heart.
~Selah
#YearoftheBible #thebible #God’sWord #truth? #transformation
