Preachers lie, sometimes intentionally. Other times, they lie out of ignorance, often repeating “facts” they heard as a child or in Bible college. One such lie is this: The Bible is the most read book of all time. Most of us likely heard this claim at one time or another, and believed it with nary a thought.
While it is true most American homes have at least one copy of the Bible, this does not mean that it is the most read book of all time. In fact, the Bible is is the least read book of all time. It is the one book everyone owns, but few people actually read it.
No, the truth is this: most Christians do NOT read the Bible from cover to cover. They might read Genesis, Psalms, Proverbs, the Gospels, and a few of Paul’s books, but most of the Bible’s books are never read outside of hearing their pastors read sermon texts on Sundays. Most Christians are nominal practitioners who rarely read the Bible, and their theology is that of the man who preaches to them on Sundays. Is it any wonder the average Christian can’t list, define, and explain the core doctrines of Christianity?
If the Bible is the most important book ever written, why do most Christians largely ignore the text, choosing to let their pastors to speak for God instead of hearing directly from him (I speak from an Evangelical perspective)? I listen to a lot of debates between Evangelicals and atheists. You would think that apologists would yearly read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, but they don’t. Some do, of course, but many don’t. They are more concerned with studying the passages that reinforce their arguments than they are nurturing their minds and studying the whole council of God.
The Bible is a bestseller, but few Christians read all of it. Don’t let them sell you on the notion that it is the most read book of all time. It’s not. Only ten percent of Americans read the Bible every day.
Do you read the Bible? How often? Are you a former Christian? As a believer, did you read the Bible every day? If not, how often did you read the Bible? Did you rely on devotional books, instead? Please share your experiences in the comment section.
Bruce Gerencser, 69, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 48 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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