Biblical illiteracy is making headlines. 

In recent news, the biblical illiteracy of the American church is being scrutinized.  

On the campaign trail, former Gov. Mike Huckabee is making simple, Biblical references that many self-identified Christians don’t understand. You can read the National Public Radio story at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18821021.  Another story aptly entitled Knowledge of religion shallow, commitment deep in U.S.,” by the National Post, can be found at http://www.nationalpost.com/todays_paper/story.html?id=296303.

Boston Religion Professor Stephen Prothero recently released a book and it has stirred up bloggers and reporters alike. 

The author of Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know - And Doesn't, Prothero says the U.S. is one of the most religious countries on earth, but Americans know nothing about religion - their own or the religions of others.  An insightful Pew Forum article can be found at http://pewforum.org/events/?EventID=162.

Biblical illiteracy is crippling the American church.

Consider the following statistics: 

• 65% of Bible-believing Christians have never read the entire New Testament (www.chronologicalbiblestorying.com).
• 43% of American adults function at or below basic literacy levels – making them incapable of meaningful Bible reading (http://ccclib.org).
• 58% of the U.S. adult population will never read another book after high school (http://oralbible.com Aug 2007).
• 42% of U.S. university graduates never read another book (http://oralbible.com Aug 2007).
• Over 50% of teens in America believe that Jesus may have committed sins (www.barna.org) 
• 58% of the U.S. adult population never read another book after high school. (http://bookstatistics.com/sites/para/resources/statistics.cfm)
• 42% of U.S. university graduates never read another book. (http://bookstatistics.com/sites/para/resources/statistics.cfm))