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Yep, I’m going to grant them a point with this little meme. Congratulations, evangelizing atheists, you scored a hit! You totally sunk my battleship.
Just keep in mind that while the Titanic is so melodramatically sinking, I actually have Someone to sing praises to while the violins play and people are busy rearranging deck chairs….
So, the Christians are completely without excuse here, too. People actually died, they gave their very lives so that everyday, ordinary people in the modern world, could have free, unrestricted access to bibles of their very own.
There are many versions available, too. I prefer the KJV…..but I also kind of enjoy the Passion Bible, too. Regardless, they all pretty much capture the same concepts, although some are better than others. If you can’t really read, you can actually have the bible read to you by this guy with a wonderful Scottish brogue. I kid you not, you can pick the version, the accent you enjoy, even the language you speak.
I really am quite firm about this. Who is totally responsible for your faith? You are.
Not your pastor. Not your “bad” church. Not other Christians who are allegedly doing it all wrong. Not even God Himself. What I mean by that is that rejecting faith and blaming God for it because you disapprove of Him and His ways, is like, a bunch of baloney. If you had even the tiniest understanding of His ways, you’d actually run right towards Him, head first and tripping over yourself trying to get there.
Christians are not called to be members of a book club in which no one has ever read the book. Faith is not like 7th grade English class. We aren’t trying to fake our way through a book report. That is why most pews have bibles. Most pastors quote scripture. John 1:1 tells us, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” We actually call both Jesus and the bible itself, “The Word.” It’s really important that you pour the word of God all over yourself. He will call those scriptures right back into your brain when you really need them the most.
To not be familiar with the bible is kind of like not speaking the language in a foreign country. It can be done but if you have a choice about it, you should really try to learn the language. I can often tell rather quickly whether or not someone speaks the language.
There are even people I don’t like very much, but I do recognize they are still speaking the language. It’s not something you can do by rote, either. You can’t just quote scripture, it has to have some context and evidence of transformational power within you.
One of my favorite misquotes is actually from Matthew 4:9, “and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” Yeah, that’s actually just Satan tempting Jesus. How does Jesus respond over and over again in that chapter, “Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written”…for it is written..for it is written…for it is written…
It is possible to misunderstand what you read. Scripture is a bit like peeling an onion, too. It reveals treasures layer by layer, “..precept by precept, a little here, a little there….” So find a bible study, go to church, get with others.
I don’t wish to shame or condemn Christians who haven’t read the bible, I just want to give you a kick in the pants. Without it you are just like, completely unarmed, vulnerable, unable to speak the a language, and prone to become nothing but a chew toy for the enemy. I don’t “hate you” at all, I just hate seeing you so defenseless.
Also, you just cost me a point in my game of battleship here! Not that I really care about such things as games and winning debates, nor do I mind a chance to practice my death throes and melodramatically sink to the ground in front of a bunch of evangelizing atheists. Actually I rather enjoy singing out, I am slain, slain, I tell you…..alas, parting is such sweet sorrow…
Who is totally responsible for your faith? You are. Get on that.
See, there's this thing called biology... 
Good stuff, IB. Good stuff. I know when I was young and just starting out as an adult, I needed someone to kick me, too. And I’m so grateful. I’ve never been sorry that I’ve read the Bible. Never. It really is a lamp, a light for our path.
Becky
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Great post! I did not get around to reading the Bible until I as was in my fifties. Huge mistake!
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You could say the same thing about Marxism as well…
…not to mention another Abrahamic region where its adherents aren’t too familiar with their own book…
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Tonight in our Bible study (which is an actual open forum study) at church, I taught through Acts 8. When I got to the part where the Philip met the Ethiopian eunuch, I especially focused on the following verse: “Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.” – Acts 8:35 KJV
I asked, “How many here tonight could open up the Old Testament – to ANYWHERE in the Old Testament – and begin ‘at the same scripture’ and lead someone to Jesus?” That’s what Philip did. Unfortunately, too many Christians can’t even use the tried-and-true “Romans Road” method. The fact is not that the atheist arguments are so persuasive that they are drawing away the faithful; it’s that the faithful know so little of their Bible that the most pitiful arguments appear profound.
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Reblogged this on The Recovering Legalist and commented:
When you don’t know your Bible, the arguments of those who hate it appear far more believable. The following article from Insanity Bytes should sting the conscience of many.
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Thanks Anthony, much appreciated.
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Marvelous and so true. I started reading the Bible through once a year every year after reading a Stephen King novel and comparing the number of pages. I suddenly realized that if I had time to read one of his books, I had time to read the Bible. I don’t read King at all now – too much profanity. But I continue with my daily Bible reading and it fills my heart with joy and peace.
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Good point about reading Stephen King. He’s a great storyteller, but profane and just lacking some humanity. Long ago I started reading dean koontz and began to notice how he tries to preserve and honor what is good in the world. It’s fascinating to me how the essence of a Christian can come through even in a horror novel.
Most novels really are longer than the bible and I used to really devour books, but think of reading the bible as it were a chore. That’s all changed now. Reading the bible really does bring joy and peace to my heart.
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So agree that reading the Bible is not as important as inwardly digesting it. I find some new lesson every time I read it, because it’s God’s voice to us. Reciting Bible passages isn’t going to save anyone. Only the blood of Jesus can do that and praise God that he did❤️
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Reblogged this on Citizen Tom and commented:
Are you still a baby Christian? I was. Then I started reading the Word of God.
A Christian who has not read the Bible is a baby, unknowing of evil and far too defenseless before it.
If you are a Christian who has never read the Bible, then take the time to read Ephesians 6:10-20. It is about spiritual warfare; it describes the whole armor of God. Note in particular verse 17. It speaks of the sword of the spirit? What is the sword of the spirit? If you don’t know, please take the time to find out.
In Christ’s name, we each can become a warrior, one who stands on the truth of the Gospel.
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This is a good insight. We seldom read the scripture. And we tend to misinterpret and misunderstand it on those rare occasions when we read. Learning requires effort and that’s not something I like to put forth. It’s not much different from going to the gym or cleaning the attic. I know I should do it, but I don’t.
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And therein lies the genius of the only God credible enough to speak to one and all, ‘in the language we were born.’
His words reach deeply where no human hand could cut with a scalpel, He searches us, and if we pay attention, we give heed to the obvious. Extra extra, read all about it.
But i’m laughing a bit msb, because I have on ice a small tale bout a store………sad, biting, humorous, but most of all true. But agreed, believers are defenseless without scripture; that said, even the sloppiest of Christians is at least walking down the street in the right direction, this can’t be said for the brightest atheist in the bulb box.
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Good post as usual IB and such a good reminder about what this Christianity thing is all about at its core. Like the saying goes, sitting in a church pew each week don’t make you a Christian any more than sitting in a garage makes you a car. You’ve got to study God’s word and it’s up to each person to do that for themselves.
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May the Lord use this to draw people to read the Word!
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I often joke that as an Episcopalian, I have a stack of dusty bibles I haven’t opened in 10 years. Lately, though, as many of my fellow Episcopalians seem determined to turn out church into the theological wing of the DNC, I find myself opening up one of those dusty bibles and throwing some verses at them I vaguely remember from my pre-Anglican days.
My advice on reading the Bible is keep it in context. Be careful about cherry picking single verses, or worse, fractions of verses, from the text. Read the whole chapter at least. Be sure you understand the purpose of it. After all, the Devil himself quoted some cherry picked verses at Jesus as he tempted Him.
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