The episode presents a critical examination of the alarming decline in Bible literacy, particularly among American teens. The speaker, Yvon Prehn, shares insights from significant studies conducted by the National Bible Literacy Project and the American Bible Society, revealing that a mere 28% of high school students could identify Moses as the recipient of the Ten Commandments, a stark decrease from previous years. She highlights that even among evangelical teens, biblical knowledge is diminishing, prompting concerns about the effectiveness of current teaching methods. Furthermore, the speaker underscores the broader cultural implications, noting that biblical references in literature are increasingly lost on students, indicating a collapse of biblical literacy not just in churches but across society as a whole. To address these pressing issues, she emphasizes the role of Bible 805 in providing resources and strategies to reverse this trend and foster a deeper understanding of Scripture.

Takeaways:

• The alarming decline in Bible literacy among American teens reveals a significant gap in their understanding of fundamental biblical stories and figures.
• Many students today struggle to grasp biblical allusions that were once universally recognized, indicating a broader cultural disengagement from Scripture.
• Despite evangelical churches emphasizing Bible teaching, research shows that even their teens are experiencing a decline in biblical knowledge.
• The findings suggest that churches must not assume any prior knowledge of the Bible among their congregants, which poses a significant challenge for educators.
• Notably, studies indicate that some teens from other religions demonstrate a better understanding of biblical narratives than their Christian peers, raising questions about religious education effectiveness.
• The podcast emphasizes the importance of targeted strategies and resources, such as those offered by Bible 805, to combat the trend of declining biblical literacy.

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Bible 805
• National Bible Literacy
• American Bible Society

Welcome to the Ministry Miscellaney Podcast A collection of tools, strategy and challenges for Bible Teachers from me, Yvon Prehn, someone who's been teaching the Bible ever since As a third grader, I started to teach the kindergartners at my church about Jesus. I've never quit doing that, and along the way I've picked up some practices, strategies and resources that might be useful to you.

Our topic for today is truly upsetting.

Facts about Bible Literacy and a reminder that Bible 805 could help reverse the slide.

My purpose in Bible 805 is to help, you know, trust, apply and teach the Bible.

The two studies that both measured current Bible literacy in the US are first of all, a study by the National Bible Literacy and second, a State of the Bible study done by the American Bible Society. Next, I'll share six facts from the studies and then give you a few closing comments.

63% Confused the story of David and Goliath with Greek mythology when they were given mixed narratives among the mainline Protestant teens. Again, these were churchgoing ones. Only 19% could correctly summarize the Good Samaritan.

A quote that goes along with this particular Bible literacy fact is from Dr. Brown Henderson, who is a lead researcher on the project, and he said passive scrolling through verses doesn't build the narrative understanding that comes from regular reading or Sunday school instruction.

I must just say something right here that this is one of the things that Bible 805 really addresses is I have lengthy content intensive studies that go through and give you the narrative context for lessons that is so important. But I don't want to get all on Bible 805. Now let me go along with the rest of this study.

The second Bible Literacy fact, Bible literacy fact number two is that biblical allusions are now meaningless to most students.

The same study reports that biblical references in literature, which were once universally understood, are now lost when students encounter the Valley of The shadow of death in poetry or the writing on the wall in Shakespeare, these allusions are increasingly meaningless to them. This confirms that biblical literacy has collapsed not only in churches, but in the broader culture. Current biblical literacy fact number three.

The American Bible Society records that Bible engagement has declined for years. In their state of the Bible they report that they report a concerning decline in US Bible engagement.

They had a quote that goes along with this particular one where they say over the past few years our research has revealed a concerning decline in US Bible engagements. Fewer people are reading, understanding or applying scripture, even among those who identify as Christians.

Next, the current Bible literacy fact number four. Even evangelical teens are losing biblical knowledge.

Observation number five. Other religions sometimes know the Bible better than Christians.

One surprising finding to them was that 42% of Muslim teens scored higher than Christian teens on stories about Abraham and Joseph. And their comment is that this reflects a stronger narrative teaching in Islamic education compared to many Christian contexts.

That may be true, but I must say, and I have some, actually some lessons on the Bible 805 Academy on this. What the Quran though teaches about Abraham, they might know about it, but it's incorrect.

And so you know, you might want to look at that a little bit more closely.

But again, just getting back to this study, finally, current Bible literacy fact number six is their conclusion that the American Bible Society came up with. And here's what they say. Listen carefully. This is quite significant and I'm quoting them now across multiple sources. The data is clear.

Biblical literacy is collapsing among all age groups. Young people, including church kids, know less about the Bible than any previous generation.

Cultural references to Scripture no longer make sense to most Americans. Even basic Bible facts, the Gospel, Moses, David and Goliath are no longer known. Churches cannot assume any background knowledge whatsoever.

Let me repeat that. Churches cannot assume any. And I'm going to put the word in any Bible background language whatsoever.

This is so important for us to realize when we are doing teaching of any kind. It's extremely concerning for all of us.

And I know that includes many of you listening who care deeply about obeying the Great Commission from Jesus where he said not only to share the message of salvation, but but to teach everything Jesus commanded in closing to solve the concerns listed here and to turn the tide of biblical illiteracy into a growing knowledge of God's Word in our world. That's the goal of Bible 805, and I have many resources that will help you do that. Check out www.bible805.com for links to all of them.

I trust you found the content in this episode of Ministry Miscellany useful.

For links to any resources mentioned and lots of free material to help you know, trust, apply and teach the Bible, go to www.bible805.com Let me close now with a reminder from the book of Daniel 12:3 where it says, those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens and those who lead many to righteousness like the stars, forever and ever. That's you, someone who leads many to righteousness.

And in doing that, may you be ever growing in your reliance on the power of the Holy Spirit, in the deepening of your friendship with Jesus, and in your trust in the goodness of God the Father, never forgetting in all the hard work you do that you have a glorious heritage where you will shine like the stars forever and ever. Amen.