A popular translation of The Bible contains around 774,000 words (depending on the version). But what exactly is the Bible? If You Are To Spend One Day With One Bible Character, Who Would It Be? The Bible Was Written By Approximately 40 Authors. Many black church leaders are from the Pentecostal denominations and the importance placed on the knowledge of the Old Testament in those denominations is reflected in a substantial ethnic difference with 77% of black leaders reporting that congregational knowledge of the Old Testament was very important, vs. 45% of their white colleagues. Here are some interesting findings from the research: Just over half the sample recalled having a Bible in the household. However, most people claimed to read the Bible for faith reasons; because it gave them comfort and strength; “I find it a comfort and I enjoy reading it. With many thanks to Bible Society for these facts and figures. This effect of ethnicity was also seen in the other statements about the relative importance of Biblical knowledge. Vows To Eradicate Christianity, India: Pastor shot, killed On Street After Baptizing New Converts, List Of Books In The Bible From Shortest To Longest, Mississippi Governor Declares Sunday A Statewide ‘Day Of Prayer, Humility And Fasting’, List Of Bible Stories In Chronological Order, List Of Books In The Bible Written By Apostle Paul. That’s the percentage of people who regularly read the Bible who will reach for a King James Version before any other. Books 30 27 66 Chapters 929 260 1,189 Verses 23,214 7,959 31,173 Words 592,439 181,253 773,692 Letters 2,728,800 838,380 3,567,180 Apocrypha. There is a clear effect for informal leaders and congregations to report a higher incidence of teaching from the Bible than congregations and leaders with a formal tradition. It’s familiar and something I enjoy reading.”, “I try to make sense of things when bad things happen.”, “It is stimulating. … This article answers a number of questions about the relationship between the Bible and the Church: The study used two groups of respondents 'Leaders' and 'Non leaders / congregation'. The differences were less marked when we asked which version of the passages respondents preferred to hear being read in public: Good News 38%, New International 34%, King James 27%. God superintended the human authors of the Bible so that, while using their own writing styles and personalities, they still recorded exactly what God intended. Amongst regular churchgoers the figure was 95%, and amongst those who hardly ever or never go it was 36%. Recently, computer-aided programmes have now reduced the time involved. With over 5 billion copies sold, the Bible remains earth’s most-read book. The Bible Was Written In Harmonious Agreement On A Widely Diverse Range Of Subjects And Doctrines. And new discoveries continue to confirm its historical accuracy. These statistics show that 400 years after its first publication the KJV translation is passing from general use by leaders in the church even among congregations with a formal tradition. Thus at least some portions of the Bible have been translated into 3,386 languages. home group leaders) would be classified as leaders in this study as well as those more formally in positions of 'charge' over a church. Leaders generally are more likely to experience most emotions than congregations. In other words 2 out of every three Christians had a Bible in the household. Bible History Timeline 430 Years in Egypt. Approximately 60% of formal and informal congregations agree that the Church should exert more influence in society, for example through the presence of the most senior Bishops in the House of Lords. To what degree is the Bible the focus of teaching in Church? In the Bible, there are not only scientific truths, but also many historical truths. 50 copies are sold every minute. It has 28 chapters. While billions of people believe Jesus of Nazareth was one of the most important figures in world history, many others reject the idea that he even existed at all. Of those who access the Bible 46% read a paper version regularly and a further 41% read a paper version occasionally. Even amongst the over 65s – the age group by far the most likely to know – only half knew which version they had. For some, there is also a perception that the Bible is in a language that may be hard to address. Both formal and informal congregations believe that the Church should work towards a society which takes the Bible more seriously. What sort of actions should the church take in society to promote appreciation of the Bible? Whilst only 45% of men interviewed recalled there was a Bible in the household, 59% of women reported a Bible in their household. About 30 books are mentioned in the Bible, but not included in the canon. However, no one can be absolutely sure exactly how many copies have been printed, sold or distributed. Since this is a retrospective study, where people are being asked to look back on what they believe that they think or feel, this could have several interpretations. But the world in which we read and engage with the Bible is rapidly changing. This would again point to greater awareness of Bibles in the home by women. The longest word in the Holy Bible is ‘Mahershalalhashbaz’ which has 18 letters and can be found in Isaiah 8:1. 20 million. Its history is first in its formation in the Bible times, but in the course of its history since, the Middle Ages and other things, what you end up having is a Bible that is really diverse, that has gone through a lot of change over the years. 36% have one that was a gift from a family member or friend and 30% have one that was passed on by a family member. This is unsurprising since other parts of the study reported here show that the dominant reasons for preferring one translation over another are readability, followed by accuracy. Another survey, for the years up to 1992, put it closer to 6 billion. There are 8,674 different Hebrew words in the Bible, 5,624 different Greek words, and 12,143 different English words in the King James Version. This means millions either have no access to the Bible at all or can only encounter it in something other than their ‘heart’ language. As always with the church it is difficult to know where to draw the boundaries of leadership and this study opted to draw them fairly broadly. Biblical History vs. Myths of other Religions. Ideally when weighting data one hopes to keep the factor used to adjust the scores reasonably small. The book right … 30 Bible Translation Projects in Nigeria Suspended Over Terrorism, Pandemic, Jews Lived In Jerusalem Before Islam Existed, Over Half Of US Christians ‘Wrongly’ Believe Their Good Works Will Get Them Into Heaven, List Of Nigerian Praise And Worship Songs, Thousands Of Pastors Flee China Amid Growing Persecution As Govt. The Number Of Times The Word “Lord” Appears In The Bible Is 7,736. The Bible has a unique record of preservation, translation, and distribution. Bible Timeline 1996 BC Birth of Abraham. Whilst the vast majority read the Bible for spiritual reasons, there are significant minorities that do so other reasons, such as the 5% who use it as a non-faith reference. A caveat at the bottom of the article discusses the issues. 24%, nearly one in four said they turned to the Bible when they needed it and 21% claimed the Bible was helping to shape their lives. One can extend biblical historicity to the evaluation of whether or not the Christian New Testament is an accurate record of the historical Jesus and of the Apostolic Age. 2. The Bible and History Whilst only 28% thought the Bible’s stories were historically accurate 34% thought them relevant today. The Bible Was Written By Men From All Occupations: Kings, Peasants, Doctors, Fishermen, Tax Collectors, Scholars, Etc. History & the Bible; History and the Bible. Whilst some of this difference can be accounted for by single occupancy households where the women have Bibles and the men don’t, the figures for men and women living as couples are also different. Similar trends were observed in the leadership groups. The Latin Vulgate was dominant in Western Christianity through the Middle Ages. One in five of those claiming another religion or no faith also had a Bible in the household. It could mean that leaders are genuinely remembering more incidents where they experienced strong emotions while reading the Bible (which would be consistent with the finding that leaders are more likely than congregations to read the Bible daily). Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 82%. Stephen Langton divided the Bible into chapters about A.D. 1228. Research study samples of population are always at least slightly imperfect, and it is usual practice to weight the raw data so that it conforms to a known population profile – in this case the 2005 Church Census. How did hearing Bible read made the respondents in this sample feel? Its complexity can boggle great minds, and yet it’s simplicity can be understood by children. Second Timothy 3:16 tells us that the Bible was “breathed out” by God. 40% agreed the Bible is an influence for good in society, 34% agreed we would be a much better society if more people engaged with the Bible, The Bible most likely to be found in the home is a King James Version but most people would actually prefer to read the Good News Bible (rather than the KJV or NIV), Most people received their Bible 'passively', as a gift or passed on by a family member, only 21% 'actively' bought their own Bible. The shortest Old Testament book is Obadiah. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. This indirect engagement could well form the focus of further research. Some verses in the Bible (KJV) contain all but 1 letter of the alphabet: Ezra 7:21 contains all but the letter j; The Bible As Literature, Part Two: History, Poetry, and Drama in the Old Testament. … We can only explain this in terms of the men being unaware that they have a Bible at home. 9% of this group also said they would like to know where to start with the Bible. The two major locations where people engage with the Bible are to be expected; Home and Church, with few people engaging outside these locations. Most Protestant Christians recognise 66 books in the Bible, Most Catholics recognise the 66 plus 7 deuterocanonical books, bringing the total to 73 books, Ethiopian Orthodox Christians recognise 81 books in the Bible, The entire Bible is available in at least 426 languages, The New Testament is available in 1,115 languages. There was also a steep age gradient to the data. It would take you approximately 70 hours to read the whole Bible out loud. Whilst only 28% thought the Bible’s stories were historically accurate 34% thought them relevant today. There are no contradictions in the Bible. 3. The New Testament contains more than 260 Old Testament quotations, the majority from the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible. Alternatively it could be simply an effect of leadership whereby people who are leaders are more likely to be outgoing people who are enthusiastic. To what uses do Church Leaders put the Bible? In July 2010 Christian Research sent professional interviewers to 44 locations throughout England and Wales to ask the population their views on the Bible. If this were the case it would imply that people are much more likely to read affirming and positive pieces of Scripture than portions which are confusing, difficult, and which focus on scary attributes of God. This finding is compatible with the findings about what use church leaders put the Bible to, which also showed that leaders from a formal tradition were less likely to make use of scripture. God recorded things to happen in world history in the Bible. The historicity of the Bible is the question of the Bible's relationship to history—covering not just the Bible's acceptability as history but also the ability to understand the literary forms of biblical narrative. In the youngest age group this dropped to 16%. Levels are similar across the gender divide and are relatively similar across the ages until we get to the 65+s where the numbers accessing the Bible at least once a month rises to 19%. Books of the Bible: Old Testament: 39 books We would urge readers to look to this research to garner understanding of the broad trends, and perhaps to design further research into these areas. How important is it that the congregation has an overview of the Bible? The increased use of Scripture by informal leaders, who include Pentecostal denominations, was reflected in an ethnic bias towards black leaders using the Bible more frequently than their white counterparts. Out of 1189 total chapters 929 (78%) chapters are in Old Testament Books and 260 (22%) chapters in New Testament Books. This was higher amongst those claiming to be Christian, at 67%. Old Testament New Testament Total. Shortest chapter in the Bible: Psalm 117 Longest chapter in the Bible: Psalm 119 Verses in the Bible: 31,102 Verses in the Old Testament: 23,145 Verses in the New Testament: 7,957 Shortest verse in the Bible: John 11:35 Middle verses of the Bible: Psalm 103:1-2 Longest verse in the Bible: Esther 8:9 Words in the Bible: 773,692 Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Scripture says in the last days many people will think gain is godliness. I have checked and doubled-checked his counts with a manual count in 10 of the 66 Books and they all match perfectly. It shows the divine inspiration and a record of the relationship between God and humans. There was broad concurrence between denominations on this point although among United Reformed Church leaders the percentage believing that this knowledge was ‘very important’ fell to 69%. The bible is the inspired word of God. Total number of Chapters in Bible is 1189. The old jars contained dusty scrolls, which turned out to include ancient copies of the Old Testament. The Bible was written: over a 1500 year span (from circa 1400 B.C to A.D. 100) over 40 generations. As might be expected, the overwhelming majority of Churches in England and Wales regularly teach from the Bible. The Bible is the most shop-lifted book in the world. Today, about 2,500 of the world’s 7000+languages have part of the Bible translated into them. 46% said the Bible needed to be in words they could understand. We asked which of the three passages was the easiest to understand. This was a document originally produced by Bible Society to help inform journalists about the Bible, but we think it is an excellent resource for a wider audience. This was as high as 30% amongst those who never read the Bible. Complete List of Apostle Paul’s Prayers In The Bible, The Bible Was Written In Different Times: War, Peace, Poverty, Prosperity, Freedom And Slavery, The Bible Was Written In Different Moods: Heights Of Joy To The Depths Of Despair. When is Queen Esther on the Bible Timeline? What is the meaning of the number forty or 40 in the Bible? The Bible Was Written Over A Period Of 1,600 Years As of June 2020, 34 percent Americans stated they never read the Bible, an increase of three percent from the previous year. What was the original language of the Bible? That’s the number of Bibles that are sold each year in … Breaking the results down further by denomination there were some striking results. 03 The Old Testament has the sacred scriptures of the Jewish faith. The Bible contains 66 books, divided among the Old and New Testaments. The Bible - 100 million copies are sold each year. There were over 40 writers of the Bible, including scribes, fishermen, kings, royal officials, prophets, musicians, secretaries and poets as well as the odd doctor or tree-surgeon. Their answers are show that the dominant translation in use in England and Wales is the NIV, used most of the time by 66% of all congregations. CBN.com – As the King James Bible celebrates its 400th year here are a few interesting facts about it that might surprise you: . One in four said they wouldn’t know where to start with the Bible. Only one in five who have a Bible bought it themselves (21%). The oldest man ever in the history of mankind was ‘Methuselah’ who lived for 969 years. the full Bible has been translated into 700 languages, the New Testament has been translated into an additional 1,548 languages and Bible portions or stories into 1,138 other languages. More Interesting Bible Facts and Statistics. The oldest parable in the Bible is in Judges 9:8-15. Even amongst Christians only 35% believe the stories are accurate and 43% believe they have relevance today. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); You have entered an incorrect email address! 12% of respondents claimed they read or listened to the Bible at least once a month. 96% of church leaders said that they believed it was very or fairly important for their congregations to have a good grasp of the Gospel and Acts. Those households that have a Bible have an average of 2.2 Bibles. It has been published in virtually every language. “I enjoy reading it sometimes for the stories in it”. It may be that as more and more discoveries are being made to link archaeological facts with Bible stories that this figure of 28% could become significantly higher. Overall, responses to statements in this section were positive with 40% agreeing that the Bible is an influence for good in society. Matthew also has 28 chapters, but it is shorter. The Bible is one of the most read books in the world. The Bible is by far the best-selling book of all time. It seems there is room for all three versions, albeit with different individuals. Here are some interesting facts and figures about the Bible. What are some facts and stats about the Bible? The Bible can be read aloud in 70 hours. CHURCH HISTORY King James Bible Quick Facts From the American Bible Society . Nearly half kept a Bible in a bookcase (47%); a quarter (24%) beside their bed; 23% kept one in a drawer or cupboard, reasonably accessible. The Bible makes a specific reference to Cyrus as the conqueror of Babylon and identifies him as God’s chosen instrument in the liberation of the people of Judah from captivity from Babylon. US State Dept: Nigeria Is One Of The Worst Violators Of... Muslims Turning To Christ In Great Numbers Through Dreams And Visions, A Group Of Lions Save Christians From Execution By Islamic Militants. However in other areas where the meaning of the descriptive term is unambiguous, for example ‘sermons’ and ‘evangelism’ informal leaders were 1.25 and 1.28 times more likely to use the Bible than their formal counterparts. 04 The New Testament is the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament. Such a generally expressed intention is not always helpful, but in this case there is some allied data. Having asked respondents which Bible they thought they had at home, we then read out the same short passage from each of three versions (KJV, NIV and GNB) asked which of these was most like the one they had at home. “I sometimes pick it up from the shelf when I’ve heard (sic) a quote or text in a newspaper and want to know more.”, “I refer to it for the answers to crosswords and quizzes”. For more information like this on the Bible and its history you may be interested to read the 'Bible Style Guide'. The Bible was initially spoken and then written over about 1300 years, roughly between 1200 and 100 AD. Two different passages were used, each on half of the sample. However, because of the unique nature of the data and the importance of its findings, we have decided to release this report on the work. Some non-faith engagements with the Bible are based on its narrative content. We asked people to look at the same short passage from each of three versions (KJV, NIV and GNB). Overall approximately two thirds of church leaders reported that knowledge of the New Testament in detail, Paul’s teaching, and the whole story of the Bible was very important for their church, while less than 50% believed this was the case for the Old Testament. 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