GQ Magazine
recently claimed the “Bible is overrated.” In an article entitled, “21 Books
You Don’t Have to Read,” GQ lists
some of the classics they think you can pass over. One of those mentioned is
the Bible, the all-time bestseller.
Facts and Trends
magazine reported Lifeway Research “found only 45 percent of those who
regularly attend church read the Bible more than once a week. And a little more
than 40 percent of the people attending read their Bible occasionally, maybe
once or twice a month. Almost 1 in 5 church goers say they never read the Bible.”
So, I partially agree with Jesse Ball at GQ who wrote, “The Holy Bible is rated
very highly by all the people who supposedly live by it but who in actuality
have not read it. Those who have read
it know there are some good parts, but overall it is certainly not the finest
thing that man has ever produced.”
The pretense of those who say they live by biblical
principles but have not read the Bible alarms me. What standard guides their
life?
The Lifeway research changed my writing several years ago.
When I use scripture in my manuscripts, I usually quote the verse rather than
list the reference. I count several novel writers as my friends. Whether it be
a preacher sermonizing, a note passed, or a character reading the Word, they include
the scripture.
Any author will tell you, Paul wrote exhaustingly long
sentences and some epistle writers were uneducated fisherman. Although the
grammar is not perfect, the message is clear.
Yes, the GQ Magazine
article, which encouraged their readers not to read the Bible, should disturb
believers. However, the fact that so many regular church attenders do not read
their Bible should set our hair on fire.
