David Bookman

All too often, American Christians take God’s Word for granted. Bibles are readily available in this country; they are available wherever books are sold, from Goodwill to Wal-Mart to Barnes & Noble Booksellers. What’s more, they are freely available on the Internet. It is easy for us, then, to forget that Bibles were not available to commoners throughout most of the history of the Church, especially before the invention of the printing press in AD 1440. Despite this divine blessing, many Christians rarely open their bibles to read them, and even fewer to study them.

The same holds true regarding books about the Holy Bible and the Christian faith: Many bible commentaries, systematic theologies, and similar educational materials are freely available online. Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible is just one example. But how many Christians regularly consult these resources?

There is simply no excuse for biblical and theological illiteracy in modern America. I wonder what Jesus will say about all this when we stand before him on Judgment Day?