Why do so few Americans read the Bible they value?

[Tcg]

Americans value the Bible and as many as 9 in 10 households own a Bible. Some own as many as three or four. A recent survey suggests that slightly over half think America would be worse off without the Bible. source Presidents are sworn in using the Bible and in some cases courtroom witnesses are sworn in using the Bible. Clearly, the Bible is held in high regard.

This regard, however, doesn't result in equal levels of reading the Bible. Only 1 in 5 Americans have read all of it and only 9% have read all it more than once:



This leads to these questions for debate:

Why do so few Americans read the Bible even though it is held in high regard?

Is it possible that it is viewed highly because few have read all of it?


Tcg

[Tcg]

[Replying to Tcg in post #46] And I believe I stated in my posting is that the majority of people in this country, i.e., unbelievers do not read the Scripture is because they are just that unbelievers, uncalled, unled, unsaved, and having a bible in the house is meaning less to the unbeliever.

I don't recall you saying that at all. Perhaps you can refresh my memory by quoting where you said this.


Tcg

[2ndpillar2]

[Replying to 2ndpillar2 in post #45] Ephesians 2 4-6 states we were raised with Christ and seated with Him in the heavenly realms, IN Christ Jesus present tense. We are both spiritually here in Christ but we are also spiritually in Christ in the Heavenly realms. When you are given belief Ephesians 2:8-10; Hebrews 10: 16; Philippians 2: 13 it results in righteousness. Being righteous God has place our spirits in Christ, believing you have been saved and are totally righteous and holy in the spirit of your mind, thus believing God has placed us INTO Christ. Romans 10: 10; Colossians 2: 9-10; Ephesians 4: 23

I noticed your quotes are all from the false prophet Paul, or his associates. While Yeshua may be at the right hand of God in heaven, waiting for Ephraim and Judah to confess their transgressions (Hosea 5:15), he is not going to come back and "heal"/revive them until after 2days (2000 years) (Hosea 6:1-2) & Joel 3:12, in the "day of the Lord" (Joel 2:31-32). As for your false gospel of grace/cross, that would be based on "lies", "falsehoods", and "deception" (Isaiah 28:15-17), which is about to be swept away by "hail" and "floods" (Isaiah 28:17 & Matthew 7:24-27), and replaced with justice and righteousness. Righteousness consist of actually being righteous. Yeshua stated that he didn't come for the righteous, but for sinners, so that they might confess, repent, produce good fruit, and get baptized. According to Matthew 13, the "lawless", the tares, were raised on the message of the devil, the tare seed, which is planted next to the good seed in the same field/book, and according to Matthew 7:13, that would be the "many", on the wide "way" to "destruction". As you sound as if you are from the Billy Graham school of salvation, that paradigm is best described in Matthew 13:19-22, which results in fruitless pursuits, and according to Matthew 3, results in being cut down and cast into the fire. When king David sinned, he was cut off from God, and he had to first confess his sin, repent, and produce good fruit to be reunited in the Spirit. He had already been anointed/baptized in the Spirit, and yet he had got himself cut off from sinning. Those who "commit lawlessness", will be the ones "cast into the furnace of fire" (great tribulation) (Matthew 13:41-42).

[TRANSPONDER]

I luv it when denominations fall out.
p.s it seems that I looked at me calendar wrong. The tricky treaters were out today, though. since was teeming down, if they were in costume it couldn't be seen under the raincoats.

[Difflugia]

On an unrelated note, an investment of three hours has rendered me an expert on Jehovah's Witnesses.

If it is unrelated why make it? I have read that the thread is not about Catholics, not about the tiny Amish community, so I can only presume, a post about Jehovahs Witnesses will be dismissed on the same basis.

I was being sarcastic to make a point, but perhaps should have been direct instead.

I don't think that any of those videos accurately portray Jehovah's Witnesses, or at least differentiate them from other Christian sects in any meaningful way. I was challenging the idea that one could "understand the Amish" by watching a few YouTube videos and since I was responding to one of Jehovah's Witnesses, I was doing so by pointing out the same sort of "documentaries" that denigrate Jehovah's Witnesses.

It seemed more clever in my head than it appears in execution.

[Tcg]

.
One of the reasons I created this thread was to question the claim some make concerning the Bible. When reasons are given to support the idea that the Bible is in someway a product from God, the fact that the Bible is the best-selling book of all time is often brought up. I find this a weak argument given how little this best-selling book is read. Based on this, it seems that many base their opinion of the Bible on what others say about it rather then by reading it themselves.


Tcg

[TRANSPONDER]

Indeed. It is used like a propaganda tool rather than information or entertainment. It is churned out like advertising flyers and handed out to anyone too polite to refuse it in the hopes that it's get some business. Ah gotta dream...that one day you can buy a hotel room with a shower, fridge and TV but no Bible in the beside drawer.

[Tcg]

Indeed. It is used like a propaganda tool rather than information or entertainment. It is churned out like advertising flyers and handed out to anyone too polite to refuse it in the hopes that it's get some business. Ah gotta dream...that one day you can buy a hotel room with a shower, fridge and TV but no Bible in the beside drawer.

That brings up what I suspect is another example of this book remaining unread. Who actually reads those Gideon Bibles? Rocky Racoon?


Tcg

[We_Are_VENOM]

Americans value the Bible and as many as 9 in 10 households own a Bible. Some own as many as three or four. A recent survey suggests that slightly over half think America would be worse off without the Bible. source Presidents are sworn in using the Bible and in some cases courtroom witnesses are sworn in using the Bible. Clearly, the Bible is held in high regard.

This regard, however, doesn't result in equal levels of reading the Bible. Only 1 in 5 Americans have read all of it and only 9% have read all it more than once:



This leads to these questions for debate:

Why do so few Americans read the Bible even though it is held in high regard?

Is it possible that it is viewed highly because few have read all of it?


Tcg

Trying to figure out why would an unbeliever be concerned about how often a believer read his/her holy book?

[TRANSPONDER]

Indeed. It is used like a propaganda tool rather than information or entertainment. It is churned out like advertising flyers and handed out to anyone too polite to refuse it in the hopes that it's get some business. Ah gotta dream...that one day you can buy a hotel room with a shower, fridge and TV but no Bible in the beside drawer.

That brings up what I suspect is another example of this book remaining unread. Who actually reads those Gideon Bibles? Rocky Racoon?


Tcg

I don't know. You'd think anyone likely to read the Bible would take their own. Anyone with so little to do that they read the Bible should be asking whether they couldn't find a hotel room with a TV. Yet again I find myself wondering whether the idea is to work for God or to gain brownie points by pretending they are.

[nobspeople]

Indeed. It is used like a propaganda tool rather than information or entertainment. It is churned out like advertising flyers and handed out to anyone too polite to refuse it in the hopes that it's get some business. Ah gotta dream...that one day you can buy a hotel room with a shower, fridge and TV but no Bible in the beside drawer.

That brings up what I suspect is another example of this book remaining unread. Who actually reads those Gideon Bibles? Rocky Racoon?


Tcg

I don't know. You'd think anyone likely to read the Bible would take their own. Anyone with so little to do that they read the Bible should be asking whether they couldn't find a hotel room with a TV. Yet again I find myself wondering whether the idea is to work for God or to gain brownie points by pretending they are.

I think many, many 'christians' are in it for said 'brownie points'. They are the ones that party Saturday night, get drunk and sleep with strangers, then stagger into church on Sunday all 'praisin' jebus!'