What would be you estimate on the % of Christians who've read the Bible?

[LostInAnomie]

Poll question: What would be you estimate on the % of Christians who've read the Bible?

I started attending a Baptist University this semester (because it is closer and cheaper than my old one) and I have been amazed at how ignorant these supposed Xtians are of the Bible.

I am an Agnostic and I can't believe how ignorant these people are of their own religion and what they are supposed to base their life on. So what percentage of Xtians do you think have actually read the Bible?

[unblock]

1. reading is easy

understanding is hard.

[Left Is Write]

6. Bingo.

[Jackie97]

33. Not necessarily.

I used to read the New International Version a lot, and understood most of what I was reading (with the exception of Revelations). The "problem" is that many churches think one needs a bible in Old English.

[Cobalt Violet]

2. The whole thing. 0-10%

[Osamasux]

3. How extensively have they read it is more appropriate.

They read excerpts from it every week.

[LostInAnomie]

4. Whoever put over 70% is greatly deluding themself.

Seriously.

[UrbScotty]

5. I haven't read much. (nt)

[baldguy]

7. It's not so much the reading as it is the understanding.

They never acquired the critical thinking skills necessary to distill meaning from anything they read, much less a complex and self-contradictory text like the Bible.

[jonnyblitz]

8. I have met a few atheists that told me reading the bible is what

made them become atheists. If they hadn't read it they would still be praising jesus. :shrug:

[Bok_Tukalo]

27. I disagree with their assessment

I am agnostic and after reading the Bible (I still do, occassionally), I came away with a much greater respect for the teachings of Jesus Christ.

[cags]

9. I was raised a Baptist and I'll say most of them just listen to the pastor

and only read it while sitting in thier pews following along.

The people that do read it are probably not Baptist anymore. LOL

[Ms_Mary]

12. Did you grow up with an emphasis on the King James version?

I don't recall that being a big issue in the church where I grew up, but since then, I've encounted a lot of people who are absolutely convinced that the King James version is THE only Bible you should use. It's really absurd to me. The primary denomination is Baptist.

[cags]

14. Oh yes, according to them its the only original translation.

[Ms_Mary]

16. How on earth do they reach that conclusion? Really.

[cags]

21. Don't ask me. I unbrainwashed myself in my 20's, and stopped trying to

understand the nonsense.

[Ms_Mary]

25. Me too. I have a hard time with things that don't make sense.

[JVS]

20. KJV-only is a reaction to new translations which conservatives believe...

are motivated by political agenda of the translating bodies rather than in the interests of comprehensibility.

http://www.bible-researcher.com/versbib10.html

[Ms_Mary]

26. I've enjoyed the NIV version myself.

[Solly Mack]

10. if the last few days are any indication

:mad:

alas, reading and knowing what you read are 2 different things...then there's the whole other issue of putting it into action.

[Ms_Mary]

11. I'd say about half have read it all. It's been a while since I have.

[Wapsie B]

13. If they're read any of it,

it's been being led by the nose with their clergy at worship services or bible studies. No way would many of them deal with an in-depth look at the more inflammatory passages of the Bible, or its many contradictions.
To them it's the inerrant word of God, from cover to cover.

[progmom]

23. "Them" being all Christians?

Gotta tell you, I really dislike being painted with such broad strokes. There's a lotta "thems" who are rabid liberals. And a lotta "thems" who don't see it the way you're portraying it.

[Jackie97]

34. I just want to say that I respect liberal Christians....

but I definately don't think they're reading their bible.

Honestly, how can anybody read the whole bible and still come out believing in it? It doesn't make sense when you apply it to life, and it doesn't make sense when you compare it to other scripture. It definately doesn't make sense once you learn about the past similar gods.

Sorry, I'm not trying to be annoying or insulting.

[benny05]

15. I think 11-20% have read it

Those are mainly the preachers or those who majored in theology. My spouse has read it all the way through twice. I have read most of the gospels, Genesis, and some of Hebrews. But I must say that most of it doesn't stick with me, which is one of several reasons why I am not a Christian.

[NYC Liberal]

17. I'd say most of them HAVE read it....

they then just interpret it to fit their narrow bigoted mindset.

[Dervill Crow]

18. The Bible

My church greatly stressed Bible reading and Bible study and encouraged people to read, but the emphasis was on going through with a commentary like "The Daily Walk" or some other kind of study guide. It was reading it cover-to-cover that convinced me that it was an awful lot like today's main stream media, mostly something to get people on their bandwagon.

[SOteric]

19. 75% or more from those that I know.

Now, - how many Americans do you think have actually read the constitution?

[Ivan Sputnik]

22. Too many seem to have forgotten the Beatitudes

Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man.
Rejoice in that Day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep.
Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.
(New Revised Standard Version)

[Seabiscuit]

30. In a nutshell...

Blessed are you who are unhappy
For you will be happy
Woe to you who are happy
For you will be unhappy.

And around and around it goes... where it stops, nobody knows.

[Celeborn Skywalker]

24. Maybe 40%. n/t

[Glenda]

28. When I was about in jr high, my minister said not very many ...

people read the whole thing. So me, always up for a challenge started to.

I should have started with the New Testament, which is more interesting.

Anyway, I might have read around 1/2.

I'm sure most people haven't. I believe the most annoying religious people get their passages spoon fed to them.

[Kat45]

29. I think that very few have read the whole thing.

It is quite long and difficult to get through the entire thing. I made an effort to read the whole thing, NT then OT, and I've been stuck in the middle of Prophets for a long time. I'll finish it eventually. But I tend to think that most people only read bits and pieces of it: the scripture read in church services and other scripture pointed out to them by their religious leaders. Even those who read the Bible at home on their own probably just stick to favorite passages.

[Nikia]

31. Depends what you mean by read

Currently, almost all literate Christians have read at least some parts of the Bible even if it was as part of a study or printed in the church bulletin or newsletter.
Much less have read the entire thing. I have read the entire thing a couple of times, but have read the Gospels (first 4 books of the New Testament) many more times than that. I am a person who reads though. Many Americans don't like to read.

[Jackie97]

32. I used to be a really good Christian.

I went to church every Sunday to hear the "word of God". I read the bible almost regularly. I had most of it read by the time I stoped being a Christian. I read the books of Moses. I read the New Testament twice if I remember right. I read a whole lot of the bible and really reflected on it.

However, when I looked and still look at people professing Christianity, it's like they don't have a clue about what the religion is. They know all the basic stuff the religious right is screaming about (no homosexuality, no abortion, etc), but they don't hardly now squat about the rest of their religion.

I've been really surprised to see how many holier than thou Christians are willing to have pre-marital sex on a regular basis with their boyfriend/girlfriend, cuss, make sexual jokes, hit somebody every once in a while, tell lies, get drunk, etc.

A lot of the rules they break are rules that they do know about, but they're often not rules that the religious right is screaming about. Therefore, these little sheep think these rules are not important.

Sorry to speak so harshly about fundamentalists here. It's just that with their holier than thou attitude toward people like me, they really should be holier. They're not though. They're not holier. They're just self-righteous.

Oh, about the question. I don't think most Christians read even one percent of the bible. You have the Christians that don't go to church (that's a heck of a lot more than you might think). You also have the Christians who like stuff like singing, but not preaching (so how often do you think they're actually reading the bible?). They like Christianity for that feel good high. However, when push comes to shove, they don't actually want to "hear the word of God".