Have you read the Bible?

[Carson]

On Twitter, I asked skeptics to share with me the one book they’d recommend that Christians read if they want to critically examine their beliefs.

I felt heartbroken by one story I heard in response:

So I did some research. I was surprised that in a survey from 2017, Lifeway Research found that 20% of Americans had read the Bible at least once.

And it was encouraging that 49% of evangelicals reported that they “read a little bit each day.”

Still, there’s a big gap in terms of how well we know the Bible — and even more importantly, how much it has shaped our lives.

How about you?

Have you read through the entire Bible?

If so, what helped you to do so? For me, the #1 secret is to have and follow a plan.

If not, would you like to read the entire Bible?

For instance, what if you signed up for a plan that had you read just one chapter a day? You’d finish the Bible in three years — and have time to reflect on what you’re reading. Plus, if you fall behind for a few days, it isn’t too hard to catch back up on the weekend or another convenient time.

(If anyone would like to start a Bible reading plan in the UP Community, I think it would be exciting to cheer each other on and share what God is teaching us through his word).

[kiko (Kiko Ong)]

Hi Carson, I think that it is amazing that you’re taking the time to reach out to skeptics and reasearch about this topic. Looking at the statistics, it is quite sobering. I’m guessing that quite a lot of Christians rely in the preacher to interpret the bible for them as to personally understanding it for themselves. (I actually relate to them and am admittingly guilty of this myself)

Reading a bit if the bible and slowly progressing over time is definitely the way to go. People have different habits and reading speeds, therefore I think it is important to create a reading plan that is sustainable to one’s habits. Too much and it would be overwhelming, too little and it wouldn’t be enough.

Personally I’ve been using the app ‘Read Scripture’ as a guide to my bible reading plan. I don’t always follow their plan but try to catch up on what I can. It contains videos by the bible project which gives insight into understanding different areas of scripture better.