(Blog) The Bible Literacy Crisis - Ep. 1011 - November 6, 2026

Nearly two-thirds of churchgoers scored below 60% on a basic Bible knowledge quiz, according to Lifeway Research's Bible literacy findings. In our November 6, 2026, episode of The Smith and Rowland Show, we discussed why those results matter for spiritual discernment.

If you don't know what Scripture teaches, you have little basis for judging someone else's claims about it. Our conversation began with the survey, then turned to the responsibility of churches, pastors, and individual believers to know God's Word.

What the Bible Literacy Findings Show

The research discussed on the show involved more than 2,000 Christian churchgoers. Sixty-five percent scored below 60%, and the average score was 51%. Only 9% earned an A, while another 8% earned a B.

These questions covered foundational knowledge: important biblical people, familiar events, books of the Bible, well-known verses, and basic teachings. They weren't questions designed to challenge seminary professors.

The Lifeway Research Bible literacy quiz brought a practical concern into focus. Before discussing complex interpretations, churches need to consider whether people know the basic contents of the Bible.

We've previously discussed systematic theology and approaches to interpretation, including whether a passage should be understood literally or allegorically. This conversation addressed an earlier stage of understanding: knowing what Scripture says in the first place.

Where Churchgoers Struggled With Basic Scripture

Some familiar facts were widely recognized. Other results showed gaps in biblical history and difficulty distinguishing Scripture from religious sayings.

The examples discussed on the show included these findings:

These results raise concerns beyond missed trivia. They show confusion about the biblical account and about which writings belong to the canon of Scripture.

The stones-into-bread question illustrates the problem. Satan presented that temptation to Jesus, and Jesus rejected it. Remembering a phrase associated with a biblical passage doesn't necessarily mean remembering what happened.

Religious Familiarity Can Hide a Lack of Understanding

We have access to Christian books, Bible apps, podcasts, religious programming, and churches. Yet access alone doesn't produce knowledge.

Jeff described the difference between using religious language and allowing Scripture to shape daily life. People can mention Jesus, pray before meals, and speak comfortably about the Lord without reading the Bible or exercising their faith in Christ.

That distinction also raised questions about preaching and teaching. Are people missing clear proclamation, careful instruction, or both? We considered whether churches have given enough attention to helping believers understand the Word rather than assuming that attendance produces understanding.

Jeff also recalled someone raised in church who searched for an Old Testament passage in the New Testament. Experiences like that made the survey's findings feel familiar. Years around church don't automatically establish a working knowledge of Scripture.

Taking God's Blessings for Granted

Alan connected biblical ignorance with a failure to recognize God's provision. In our discussion, he described life as moving from blessing to blessing because God sustains us.

His warning was that people may fail to recognize those blessings while receiving them, yet notice their absence when they disappear.

We also discussed how a long experience of national prosperity can produce complacency. People can become accustomed to comfort and assume that serious trouble will never reach them. That attitude can grow into an expectation that God owes continued blessing, even when people neglect His Word.

Jeff asked whether people can become so accustomed to God's gifts that they begin cursing their own blessings. Alan agreed that ingratitude can reach that point.

The connection to Bible literacy was direct: without knowing Scripture, believers can lose sight of their dependence on God. Religious habits may remain while gratitude, surrender, and attention to His Word weaken.

How We Connected Biblical Understanding to Public Life

Although the episode opened with a joking refusal to discuss the election, political choices became part of the conversation.

Alan cited turnout figures he had seen and argued that Christian voting patterns reflected confusion about biblical teaching. He viewed support for Democratic candidates as evidence of that confusion. Jeff added that some voters may sincerely believe they're expressing Christian values while relying on an interpretation detached from the text.

We also criticized claims about God's identity, including describing God as nonbinary, and the use of Scripture to advance a political agenda.

The concern was that someone can appeal to the Bible while moving away from its meaning. A religious title, theological education, or experience preaching doesn't settle whether a particular claim agrees with Scripture.

Biblical Ignorance Leaves People Open to Deception

The central warning in our discussion was straightforward:

"A church that doesn't know scripture cannot recognize deception."

That responsibility also belongs to each churchgoer. A congregation's name or a preacher's reputation can't replace a believer's own knowledge of God's Word.

Jesus warned in Matthew 24:4, "Take heed that no man deceive you." We emphasized that spiritual deception was a serious concern in His teaching.

Paul's warning in 2 Timothy 4:3-4 about rejecting sound doctrine addresses people who seek teachers who tell them what their "itching ears" want to hear. As Alan explained, that means wanting a message that feels good rather than receiving correction.

We distinguished correction from mistreatment. Scripture can confront a person's beliefs and conduct without becoming a tool for browbeating or control. The willingness to receive biblical correction matters, but manipulating people with biblical language is a separate problem.

The Bereans Tested the Message Against Scripture

Acts 17:11 supplied the standard we returned to throughout the conversation. The Bereans examined the Scriptures daily to determine whether the teaching they heard was true, even when the teacher was the apostle Paul.

They didn't simply trust a speaker. They compared the message with God's Word.

We connected that responsibility with the priesthood of the believer. Each Christian has a responsibility to examine teaching rather than handing all judgment to a pastor or public personality.

Jeff expressed gratitude that Acts 17:11 is in the Bible. His point was that listeners shouldn't accept his interpretation merely because he offered it. If his teaching sends someone into Scripture, that accomplishes something worthwhile, even when further study produces a different interpretation.

Knowing the genuine helps expose the counterfeit

Our counterfeit-money comparison illustrated the same principle. Familiarity with a genuine bill provides a basis for noticing something wrong with a false one.

Likewise, biblical truth gives believers a standard for evaluating teaching. A counterfeit message won't necessarily announce itself as false.

We weren't suggesting that someone must memorize the entire Bible before exercising discernment. Understanding basic teachings is the starting point, and that understanding should grow throughout the Christian life.

Persuasive Influencers Still Need Biblical Substance

Religious influencers can appear knowledgeable because they communicate well. A likable personality, polished presentation, attractive appearance, or memorable phrase can make a speaker convincing.

None of those qualities establishes that the speaker understands Scripture.

We compared that problem with boarding an airplane. Passengers want a trained pilot, not someone who merely sounds confident about flying. Teaching the Bible also requires more than an engaging presentation.

Our concern included teachers who reinterpret Scripture to accommodate cultural demands. The discussion named teachings about marriage, sexuality, salvation, judgment, and the exclusivity of Christ. We also expressed concern about rainbow flags in pulpits as evidence of churches moving away from the biblical teaching we were discussing.

Social media clips, inspirational quotations, and occasional sermons provide a limited foundation when they become someone's primary exposure to the Bible.

Church attendance alone doesn't settle the issue

Jeff recalled Billy Graham's invitation to attend "the church of your choice" and explained why that wording troubles him.

The phrase "as long as they're in church" assumes too much. Our concern was whether a church reverences, teaches, and gives priority to God's Word.

The congregation's approach to Scripture matters because attendance alone doesn't establish the faithfulness of the teaching.

Discernment Also Requires Surrender to the Holy Spirit

Jeff connected discernment with a fresh, daily infilling of the Holy Spirit. He argued that recognizing teaching taken out of context requires a life surrendered to the Spirit as well as knowledge of the Word.

That concern included pastors. Standing in a pulpit doesn't remove the need for the Spirit of Christ in a person's life and ministry.

We discussed the sadness of churches receiving teaching from leaders who lack that spiritual dependence. Jeff saw this as part of the explanation for distorted interpretation and weak discernment.

Throughout the conversation, Scripture and the Holy Spirit belonged together. The goal was knowledge of God's Word lived out in fellowship with Him.

Foundational Teaching Comes Before Advanced Topics

Jeff pointed out the difficulty of teaching dispensationalism to people who don't yet know which books belong in the Bible.

That observation led us back to foundational instruction. Pastoral care begins with recognizing where people are, then helping them grow in understanding.

Jeff also recalled advice he received years earlier: wherever he was preaching, he should get people to the cross as quickly as possible. The lesson stayed with him because the central truths of the faith can't be assumed.

Bible camp made Scripture learning a daily practice

Jeff remembered attending a Bible camp in Bristol, Tennessee, run by his great-uncle and great-aunt. He was saved at a Bible camp at age six and continued attending camp through his teenage years.

The camp welcomed roughly 100 to 150 children each week. Campers received teaching through the morning, participated in Bible quizzes, and practiced finding passages.

One activity was the "sword drill." A leader named a Scripture reference, and campers raced to find it. The first to locate it stood and read it aloud.

Jeff remembered those activities as deliberate discipleship. He contrasted that experience with what he sees as a loss of sustained biblical instruction for younger generations.

Pastoral Leadership Means Leading Rather Than Driving

Jeff distinguished leading people from pressuring them into compliance.

Driving relies on force. Leading guides people toward where they need to go in a way that allows them to follow.

He connected that distinction with the shepherding role of a pastor. People need direction, but they also need patient care. Repeatedly telling them what they must do can become pressure without producing understanding.

This returned to the earlier distinction between biblical correction and manipulation. A pastor can teach plainly without using Scripture to control people.

Jeff wondered whether a shortage of that kind of leadership has contributed to biblical illiteracy. He raised it as a question about pastoral responsibility, rather than claiming the survey established the cause.

The concern was practical: teaching requires more than identifying what people don't know. It also requires guiding them toward greater understanding.

Creative Worship Can Keep Scripture at the Center

We also considered whether churches have replaced biblical teaching with entertainment.

The discussion included elaborate worship productions, stage presentations, motivational sermon series, and entertainment-driven efforts to attract visitors. However, we were clear that these methods aren't automatically wrong.

Alan emphasized that churches can use creative approaches when the Word of God and the Spirit of God remain central. Jeff agreed that people should offer their best to the Lord.

Skill and excellence aren't automatically self-promotion

Jeff challenged the idea that someone should sing well, but not too well, or play an instrument skillfully, but not so skillfully that someone calls it entertainment.

His point was that musical ability doesn't become wrong because someone uses it well. Worshipers can give their best for God's glory.

We joked about wanting a good show rather than enduring a lifeless service. Underneath the humor was a serious concern: removing production quality doesn't supply spiritual life, and adding it doesn't replace faithful teaching.

The governing issue is what fills the service. Creative methods can support ministry when Scripture remains predominant and the ministry depends on the Holy Spirit.

Regular Bible Reading Was Linked With Better Scores

The clearest practical finding concerned how often people read the Bible.

The figures discussed on the show showed a substantial difference between daily readers and those who rarely or never read Scripture:

Meanwhile, 21% of churchgoers reported reading the Bible every day, while 22% said they rarely or never read it.

Our takeaway was straightforward: people who spend more time in Scripture generally know Scripture better.

Audio Bibles also make Scripture accessible

We closed by discussing the many ways people can encounter the Bible. A phone can provide reading reminders or play an audio recording at a chosen time.

Alan mentioned the appeal of hearing Scripture read in a strong baritone voice, and we referred to Scourby's Bible recordings. Reading on the page and listening through an app both offer access to the text.

Those resources return us to the question raised at the beginning. Access is abundant, but believers still need to spend time with the Word.

Knowing Scripture Gives Discernment a Foundation

The survey's 51% average score brought a larger concern into focus: churchgoers need enough knowledge of Scripture to recognize when a message departs from it. Familiar religious language and persuasive delivery can't provide that standard.

Our discussion returned to regular engagement with God's Word, patient teaching, and dependence on the Holy Spirit. The Bereans' example remains central: examine the Scriptures rather than accepting a message because of the person delivering it.

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