Why do many believers not use the bible? What do you think?

[anewman1993]

because if they don't read the bible they don't have to think, they don't have to change their lives, they don't have to acknowledge God may want them to change the way they act. Its laziness, and ultimatally they are either extremly young in the faith or they arn't saved at all. Because the bible is the main way we meet with God to know his will, without it we don't have a solid ground to stand on.

 

[Liechtenstein]

Just curious as to why many believers don't use the bible? What do you think? Too boring, hard to read...?

Laziness is likely a large part of the reason why. It is just so much easier to listen and adopt the result of someone else's Bible study. Think of it like buying a cake in a bakery versus the one you make at home. The bakery cake looks great! All you had to do was shell out money for it and everybody at your party will say WOW! beautiful cake!

The cake you make at home will be tasty, but requires a lot of work.

 

[Rosary Mart]

There could be one simple reason of not following catholic bible is that they don't believe in the psalms and verses written in the bible.

 

[SeventyTimes7]

There could be one simple reason of not following catholic bible is that they don't believe in the psalms and verses written in the bible.

I am a philo-protestant creationist, and I am the owner of a catholic jesuit bible, and of various protestant bibles. They are all the same (except the Message Bible which is everything but not a true Bible), but the protestant Bible rejects the same books rejected by Jews (the only people able to set a canon of the old testament cause they were the direct testimonies and keepers) but those are included in the catholic bible; despite some of these books have been found historically correct (like the books of Maccabeans) they cannot be classified as doctrinally correct (for to know more check the Hebrew Bible canon).

The very huge, but not critical (some scholars consider it devastating) difference is in the New Testament; briefly, the protestant new testament is more complete and it comes from the majority texts (1st century a.d. years of the apostles) and the catholic new testament was only 1 single text coming from the hypothetical but not real mount sinai (350 a.d. years in which it was more possible to find sects which used to corrupt the new testament) and many verses are missing.

For my experience is which I can understand the plan of salvation and the divinity of Christ both from the protestant and from the catholic bible, and Psalms are present in catholic bibles.
So both if you are a catholic or a protestant you can read the Bible and understand it.
My first Bible was a catholic Bible, and reading it I've learned of the plan of salvation and I've read of the 10 commandments (which in the catholic catechism have been terribly modified and that's why I'm a philo-protestant now).
P.s. we are a little OffTopic I guess

 

[AlexDTX]

Just curious as to why many believers don't use the bible? What do you think? Too boring, hard to read...?

When I came to Christ with the new birth 30 years ago, I was told I should read 3 chapters a day, then I would have read the Bible in one year. I asked a woman I had known at that time, how long she had been a believer. She told me for 20 years. I dropped my jaw and exclaimed, Wow! You must have read the Bible 20 times, then! She lowered her eyes in chagrin and said, No.

There have been many answers that contribute to answering your question: laziness, difficulty of translations, eclecticism, lack of critical thinking skills, etc, and, in this example a lack of systematic study. But I think there is a bigger answer, at least for the United States, that has not been addressed.

We are in a generation who do not like to read. Texting, sound bytes, fast commercials and fast editing have shortened American attention span in general. When I was a child, reading was a form of entertainment. I remember going to the public library and checking out 8 to 10 books to read for summer vacation. My parents encouraged me to read at an early preschool age. I found the skill exhilarating for it opened up a whole world outside my home.

Another basic foundation against reading is the public school systems. In my opinion they have not only gotten worse, they discourage reading by the way they teach it. I often advise parents who say their children are struggling in school with reading to let their children read what they are interested in reading. Public education is boring. History has been presented in a dry format of dates and incidents without any real over all understanding of the significance of history. Many who graduate high school have to relearn how to read and write in college because the academic standard is so low they can not continue on with college level education. My God, look at how many write in the forum and misspell words. Why don't people use spell checkers? Spelling is improved by copious reading.

So if people don't read in general, why should we expect them to read the Bible?

 

[Albion]

We are in a generation who do not like to read.

As it concerns the question of this thread, I think there's a lot to what you have said here.

 

[SeventyTimes7]

When I came to Christ with the new birth 30 years ago, I was told I should read 3 chapters a day, then I would have read the Bible in one year. I asked a woman I had known at that time, how long she had been a believer. She told me for 20 years. I dropped my jaw and exclaimed, Wow! You must have read the Bible 20 times, then! She lowered her eyes in chagrin and said, No.

There have been many answers that contribute to answering your question: laziness, difficulty of translations, eclecticism, lack of critical thinking skills, etc, and, in this example a lack of systematic study. But I think there is a bigger answer, at least for the United States, that has not been addressed.

We are in a generation who do not like to read. Texting, sound bytes, fast commercials and fast editing have shortened American attention span in general. When I was a child, reading was a form of entertainment. I remember going to the public library and checking out 8 to 10 books to read for summer vacation. My parents encouraged me to read at an early preschool age. I found the skill exhilarating for it opened up a whole world outside my home.

Another basic foundation against reading is the public school systems. In my opinion they have not only gotten worse, they discourage reading by the way they teach it. I often advise parents who say their children are struggling in school with reading to let their children read what they are interested in reading. Public education is boring. History has been presented in a dry format of dates and incidents without any real over all understanding of the significance of history. Many who graduate high school have to relearn how to read and write in college because the academic standard is so low they can not continue on with college level education. My God, look at how many write in the forum and misspell words. Why don't people use spell checkers? Spelling is improved by copious reading.

So if people don't read in general, why should we expect them to read the Bible?

You got the global point of course, thanks for this pearl brother.

 

[jaugu]

Love without fact is useless, if you love you don't kill, if you love you respect and honour your parents, etc:


1 John 5:1-3King James Version (KJV)
5 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.
2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

i agree

 

[DiscipleHeLovesToo]

i figure the reason many Christians don't use the Bible is because it might conflict with what they believe

 

[SeventyTimes7]

i figure the reason many Christians don't use the Bible is because it might conflict with what they believe

The first time I've read the Bible in the time I was an adult I was pretty shocked and I didn't know what to believe and from where to begin.
Now-days instruction-system put the maximum economical and psychological effort to brainwash people since they are little kids and to set them to deny the 7 days of the creation.
So whoever opens a Bible will close it after reading the first words.
I don't feel to judge who don't read the Bible cause I think you should feel your soul called to read it, called by the Word of God.
I was just a miserable man as all the other men, but I felt called when I heard one of my relatives speaking of Bible verses so that way I went to read the New Testament first and I got converted, and that happened cause God liked so, and that happens to many believers as well cause of the mercy of God.
It's our task to set little doubts, verses inside the hearts of people, the Word of God will be like precious fresh drops of rain upon a dried soil for those who are known by God.

 

[Harfelugan]

I've dedicated years of study to better understand God and his Word. The reward has been greater than the effort spent on it. One maxim from Christian history is, "the unveiling of God is the highest form of worship." Yet I constantly hear the cop out, "it's all about the relationship". This teaching enables modern people to disregard study as if they can come to know God through relationship. God is only revealed through revelation, relationship is best used a a verb in the context involving God. Therefore relationship is how we live out the revelation we've received. Not reading the Bible means your not receiving God's revelation of himself. Which means your either having a relationship with yourself, or a version of god you've created in your own mind. But hey, it's all about the relationship! RANT RANT RANT

 

[AlexDTX]

I've dedicated years of study to better understand God and his Word. The reward has been greater than the effort spent on it. One maxim from Christian history is, "the unveiling of God is the highest form of worship." Yet I constantly hear the cop out, "it's all about the relationship". This teaching enables modern people to disregard study as if they can come to know God through relationship. God is only revealed through revelation, relationship is best used a a verb in the context involving God. Therefore relationship is how we live out the revelation we've received. Not reading the Bible means your not receiving God's revelation of himself. Which means your either having a relationship with yourself, or a version of god you've created in your own mind. But hey, it's all about the relationship! RANT RANT RANT

I could not agree more. Too many people worship a god of their imagination, hope or wish fulfilment; or a god they are told about. A genuine relation with God is based upon your understanding of Him as revealed by the Scriptures and your own track record of how He genuinely relates to you in real life.

 

[The Federal Farmer]

I don't study the Bible...any longer. When I was newly born again I greedily read everything I could get my hands on. Now I no longer study.
When I was learning my trade, I read everything I could about the profession. After the first few years or so I stopped reading about it too.
I practice my trade and my faith in the real world. Unlike my profession, living by faith as a Christian isn't that difficult.

As an aside to all you scholars posting before me, the folks 'round here say that only the KJV 1611 is the true Word of God.
The original KJV 1611 comes with the Apocrypha. Yet I've met very few Christians who've ever heard of it, and only a smattering of them who have ever read it. (I particularly like the book of Wisdom, better than Psalms in some respects, IMHO)

 

[Harfelugan]

As an aside to all you scholars posting before me, the folks 'round here say that only the KJV 1611 is the true Word of God.
The original KJV 1611 comes with the Apocrypha. Yet I've met very few Christians who've ever heard of it, and only a smattering of them who have ever read it. (I particularly like the book of Wisdom, better than Psalms in some respects, IMHO)

You may be a solid Christian and excellent in your profession but I wouldn't want to go to a surgeon who was educated in the 60's and thought his knowledge was as good as one educated in 2010. We can always go further into Christ. While living in the so called real (empirical) world.

As pertaining to saving faith, it can't be added to. Study won't grow it. So hey, we got that going for us.

KJV only Christians are a minority among Protestant denominations, usually they are relegated to fundamentalists. There's no real danger in being a KJV only Christian unless their placing judgments of doom on any other Christians not using KJV.
It was only natural that the Apocrypha be included in the 1st edition of the KJV being that Catholicism had carried it within their tradition for so long. The question should be, did the compositions authors intend for it to be cannon or appendage?

 

[Albion]

As an aside to all you scholars posting before me, the folks 'round here say that only the KJV 1611 is the true Word of God.
The original KJV 1611 comes with the Apocrypha. Yet I've met very few Christians who've ever heard of it, and only a smattering of them who have ever read it. (I particularly like the book of Wisdom, better than Psalms in some respects, IMHO)

As you say, the original KJV came with the Apocrypha. However, those books weren't considered to be Scripture, i.e. divine revelation, even though they were included.

 

[Quasicentennial]

In this sin-attached money-hungry world, there seems to be so much importance in size and volume, quantity of knowledge, and not just quality of wisdom. If I died on the cross alongside Jesus, I wouldn't have a clue what the Word of God is back then in the past, but it is supernaturally a timeless book of wisdom and knowledge that will be thoroughly reviewed when Jesus returns and transforms us with new genius-intelligent minds and measure-perfect bodies of Christ.:
The wisdom and knowledge of the Word of God with our future-then new minds of Christ will definitely be a very eye-opening experience into the supernatural secrets of Creation, such as Adam and Eve from dust - dust that contains miraculous chemicals, minerals, metals, elements, as in the foods and fluids we eat and drink, and also in technological marvels such as our tablets and home internet-enabled Smart TVs:.
All non-Christians must convert to accept and believe Jesus Christ if this Expo-like visual and audio information feast will satisfy our hunger for facts into the mysteries of our planet Earth, universe, heaven, the kingdom of God for our free-for-all home accommodation, besides all life that will become harmless, including ours as eternally healthy human beings if Adam and Eve hadn't sinned in the first place .;'*';.

 

[Goodbook]

I help with a ministry called bibles in schools and i think the reason people may be believers but not be actively reading their bibles could be..

They dont actually have a bible.
They are not in the habit of daily reading.
They watch too much tv or have too many distractions.
They dont think its important, maybe they think going to church where they hear bits of it is enough.
They cant read, have dyslexia or something, as i originally posted
People tease them for reading the bible, esp unbelievers.
They would rather read Harry Potter or twilight or hunger games, or whatever the lastest occult novel is, to keep up with their worldly friends

 

[Gary the Kid]

Agree, and I'd add:


Exodus 20:3-17King James Version (KJV)

3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

13 Thou shalt not kill.

14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.

15 Thou shalt not steal.

16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

Every one breaks the Sabbath and graven image ones...........If you see a image created by man, of a bearded image of Jesus and you think God, you break the law.............Because the god image comes from the mind of another man.......
Regarding the 7th day, it aint the first, but everyone becomes lawyers trying to explain their beliefs and way they now call the Roman day of the Sun the Lord's day.........

 

[SeventyTimes7]

Every one breaks the Sabbath and graven image ones...........If you see a image created by man, of a bearded image of Jesus and you think God, you break the law.............Because the god image comes from the mind of another man.......
Regarding the 7th day, it aint the first, but everyone becomes lawyers trying to explain their beliefs and way they now call the Roman day of the Sun the Lord's day.........

Don't you have respect for the scriptures right? where does your statement come from? show Bible verses, don't show your own lust