Several years ago, the new pastor of a rural church dropped by a Sunday school class and began quizzing the students to test the effectiveness of the teacher.
“Who knocked down the walls of Jericho?” he asked one little boy.
“It sure weren’t me, Reverend,” the boy said.
Turning to the embarrassed teacher, the pastor said, “I suppose that’s a sample of the kind of teaching you’re giving?”
“Now, Reverend. Timmy’s a good boy and don’t tell lies. If he said he didn’t do it, I believe him.”
Thoroughly upset, the pastor took the matter to the board of deacons. After due consideration the board sent the following message to the pastor: “We see no point in making an issue of this incident. The board will pay for the damages to the wall and charge it off to vandalism.”
This comical little story is amusing but it should also cause you to ask yourself, “How much of the Bible do I really know?”
According to the Barna Research group, almost two of every five adults (38 percent) believe that the entire Bible was written several decades after Jesus’ death. (The entire Old Testament, of course, was written hundreds of years before His birth.)
Amazingly, 10 percent of adults believe that the name of Noah’s wife was Joan of Arc.
Forty-nine percent say that the Bible teaches that money is the root of all evil. (The Bible teaches “the love of money is the root of all evil.”)
Here’s a little quiz to test your Bible knowledge:
1. Can you name all Ten Commandments? (Answer is found in Exodus 20:3-17)
2. Who preached the Sermon on the Mount? (Answer: Matthew chapters 5-7)
3. Is the story of Jonah being swallowed by a whale from Grimm’s Fairy Tales, Aesop’s Fables, or the Bible?
4. True or False: The phrase “God helps those who help themselves” is a direct quote from the Bible.
The first question is worth 100 points (10 for each commandment), questions 2-4 are worth 10 points each…for a total of 130 points. When you finish tallying up your score, why not quiz your family and friends and compare scores?
The Barna Research Group’s study revealed that most people do not know half of the Ten Commandments, do not know who preached the Sermon on the Mount, do not know that the story of Jonah and the whale is from the Bible, and believe that the expression “God helps those who help themselves” is a direct quote from the Bible. (It was actually penned by Benjamin Franklin in the late 1700s.)
You may be wondering, “Doug, why are you making such a big deal about the Bible? I’m busy enough now without adding something else to my ’To Do List’!”
King David said it best in Psalm 119:11, “God’s word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against God.”
God has given us a new year—why not start it right by spending time reading His book?
And for those of you wondering who knocked down the walls of Jericho—the answer is found in Joshua 6:15-20.

Rev. Doug Johnson is the senior pastor at Raven Assembly of God in Raven, Virginia.