Biblical and Theological Illiteracy

The problem of biblical and theological illiteracy among congregants has been well documented by George Gallup and the Princeton Religion Research Center.

A personal experience helped me to understand our current situation. A newspaper reporter interviewed me about the history of the Yokefellow Movement. To help him understand some background, I quoted the great "Yoke passage" from Matthew 11:28-30: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." The response from the reporter was certainly not what I expected. He said, "That is beautiful. Are you quoting from someone or did you write that yourself?" Searching for a twinkle in his eye that would have revealed a hidden taint of sarcasm, I was dumbfounded when he continued to stare at me straight-faced, waiting for a response to what was, for him, a serious question. This man was the "religion reporter" for his newspaper!

Much of the illiteracy of church members in the areas of Bible knowledge and theology is, in some respects, linked to the general decline of our culture's ability to educate effectively. Three best-selling books, The Closing of the American Mind by Allan Bloom, Cultural Literacy by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., and Killing the Spirit by Page Smith, as well as numerous government studies on "Why Johnny Can't Read" or "Why Jane Can't Do Math," and Carnegie Foundation Studies of the same sort, decry the terrible decline of the educational system in America. Among the many reasons for our difficulties in education in general, is one specific concern that anything old cannot contain contemporary truth. What is the Bible in the eyes of many in contemporary culture, including some within the Christian community, except an old book? This is chronological snobbery. Truth is truth regardless of the time in which it is written.

If biblical knowledge is weak, then we would surely be forced to classify our understanding of theology as very weak. The major problem with the theological enterprise is that it has become so professionalized that the average church member is confused by the technical terms that keep this discipline so elite. Words such as "justification," "sanctification," "eschatology," "epistemology," and even "sin," "atonement," "revelation," and "conversion" carry little meaning in the lives of contemporary Christians. At its core, however, theology is simply the process of reflecting on God's past and present moments in our lives. Whenever we reflect on our doubts, anxieties, and questions, we are theologizing—whether we know it or not. And yet "theology" remains a mysterious word for most laity.

This concern about biblical and theological illiteracy among congregants carries more with it than just their inability to spew forth biblical and theological information. The important question is not whether we should teach more bibical and theological information, but rather this: How do we make the Bible and theological information meaningful and life-changing on the farm, in the office, or in the classroom?