Typical of the accusations made by the WTS concerning the lack of Bible teaching in churches have been these, taken from the Awake! magazine:
Bible Neglected
Although the Bible is the best seller, the reading of it is being neglected by the churches. On this point James D. Smart, a professor at New York’s Union Theological Seminary observed: “The Bible is in a very bad way in the church. . . . In a century during which biblical scholarship has made tremendous advances in America, with literature on the Bible expanding enormously and a number of the new highly readable translations becoming ‘best sellers,’ there has been an increasing frustration of preachers with the Scriptures as a basis for sermons, a steady decline in the educational use of the Bible in the church, and a mounting ignorance of the contents of the Bible among members of the church.” April 8, 1971 page 30
“No Bible Study Is Really Ever Done”
Dr. L. M. Muntingh, head of the department of Bible knowledge at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa, commented on the question “Is theological study too long?” In Die Kerkbode (February 4, 1970, page 161), the official church magazine for the Dutch Reformed churches in South Africa, he wrote:
“During the entire course of seven years, no Bible study is really ever done, as every minister can testify. The result is that many a minister’s knowledge of the Afrikaans Bible leaves much to be desired. The result is that his ministry suffers.”February 8 1972, page 24
Christendom’s Bible Illiteracy
Dr. Harrell F. Beck, Boston University School of Theology professor, bemoans the lack of Bible knowledge in the churches today. He says that “the biblical and theological illiteracy of the parish is the greatest single impediment to Christian ministry in our time.” But Beck himself also claims that the Bible offers little in the way of specific answers to today’s problems. Ministers, he says, must be trained “to interpret the meaning of the kingdom of God for political life.”December 22 1972, page 29
It may surprise, then, to learn that quite the opposite is the case here in New South Wales. Typical is the experience of one church in a country town whose newsletter this week lists the addresses for 26 Bible study groups in its congregation, typically each one having 10 to 20 attending. Upon enquiry, this ozzieposter was told that the attendance is regular throughout the year.
I compare this with the group book studies (I hesitate to call them Bible studies!) in Witness congregations in New South Wales which have for many years now been poorly attended and recieve "attention" from the C.O.s during their semi-annual visits to the congregations.
Where, I wonder, is the lack of Bible teaching?
Cheers,
Ozzie
"It's better to light a candle than to curse the darkness."
Anonymous