BASIC INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE LEAVING EARTH

In our Bible studies of late, questions have been coming up about the validity of non-scriptural books, such as the Gospel of Judas, Gospel of Thomas, and other books mentioned recently in the news and in the Da Vinci Code. The promotion of these books and other attacks on Christianity always come up around our major holidays, so I wasn't surprised to see the National Geographic show on the Gospel of Judas come up right before Easter. We see the same thing at Christmas with in-depth television reports on "Was Jesus really born," "Is Christmas really a pagan holiday," etc.

We know this and we expect this. It makes good copy and attracts viewers/readers. It has made Dan Brown a lot of money for his wacky conspiracy theories in the Da Vinci Code. Some of these attacks on the Bible and on Christianity are by well-meaning individuals who are convinced that they are right and Christianity is wrong. Others are merely out there trying to make a fast buck or make a name for themselves.

But, I am more worried over the lack of biblical literacy on the part of Christians in this country. George Barna and other researches have reported that almost 90% of all homes in America have a Bible, and more copies of the Bible have been sold than any other book, ever. But, the evidence is that the church is not reading the Bible and, if they are reading it, they are not absorbing a lot of what they read (just look at the American culture today if you doubt that). Very, very few of our church members have a clue over how the canon of Scripture was formed and why we have the books in our Bible that we do.

This leads to a major problem that we are seeing exploited by Dan Brown and the others. Namely, if you don't know the truth, then you can fall for every passing fancy that comes your way. In other words, if you don't know how and why the canon of scripture was developed, then you can easily buy into Brown's conspiracy theories about the early church throwing books out willy-nilly to promote their own social agenda. Likewise, if you don't know what the Bible actually says, then you tend to develop your theology and world-view from movies, t.v. shows, articles, and other media that don't always portray an accurate picture of scripture. As the old bumper sticker says, "Prevent Truth Decay -- Read Your Bible Everyday!"

I believe in the trustworthiness of the Bible. When Paul wrote to Timothy that all scripture was God-breathed and useful for teaching, preaching, and rebuking, I believe it. When I started at my churches, I told them to never accept anything I said without first checking it against the Bible. I told them to never accept anything that anyone said -- whether it was other preachers, t.v. evangelists, or any one else -- without first checking it against the Bible. I urged them to be Bereans (if you don't understand the reference, look it up!). Perhaps if Christians spent more time reading and applying God's instructions through His written Word, then we wouldn't see such controversies over the Gospel of Judas and we wouldn't see vast numbers of people in our country believing in and following works of fiction such as the Da Vinci Code.