"About 92% of Americans own at least one, and the average household has three. Two-thirds say it holds answers to the basic questions of life, and the next President (of the United States) will take a solemn oath on it. It is the Bible, also known as ‘The Good Book’ and it remains unrivaled as the world’s all-time best- seller. It is also widely and frequently hailed as the underpinning of America’s values system.

And yet Americans are showing themselves to be remarkably ignorant of biblical basics. One Gallup survey shows that fewer than half of Americans can name the first book of the Bible (Genesis), only one third know who delivered the Sermon on the Mount (many named Billy Graham instead of Jesus) and despite the talk about how important the Ten Commandments are to the moral health of our society, six out of ten Americans can’t name half of them, much less in order

Another survey (taken by the Barna Organization) revealed that 12% of Christians said Noah’s wife was Joan of Arc, while 80% of born-again Christians believe it is the Bible that says ‘God helps those that help themselves,’ which was actually (a phrase quoted) by Ben Franklin (in the Farmers Almanac)" (The Presbyterian Outlook, January 22, 2001, page 4).

The article concludes with the question, "So what’s the problem?" And the answers given by the survey professionals are as follows: "64% of our population don’t read the Bible consistently because they are too busy" and the other obstacles seem to be the daunting size of the Bible and the difficult language especially in the King James Version.

Remembering the old quip about the King James Version, saying that "if it was good enough for Jesus, it’s good enough for me," the reality seems to be that while many Christians across this country claim to respect and even revere the Bible, we just don’t read it, or study it or try to apply it to our daily lives as faithfully as we could or should.

Five years ago, Dr. Peter Gomes, the minister of Harvard University’s Memorial Church, wrote a classic volume entitled "The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart." (William Morrow and Company, Inc., New York, 1996) It is one of the best explorations of Holy Scripture I have ever read and I commend it to all of you.

In his first chapter, Dr. Gomes recalls with a sense of humor, beginning his ministry at Harvard. An anonymous benefactor offered to give as many Bibles as were needed to fill the pews of the Memorial Church. Some colleagues wanted to know, "What does the benefactor expect from this gift?" And they warned the new minister that putting Bibles in the pews might create an invitation to steal them! "Those concerns notwithstanding," writes Gomes, "we accepted the generous offer, placed Bibles in the pews and happily, over the years, we have lost quite a few to theft!"

Then he goes on to say this in reaction to our American dilemma about biblical illiteracy: "Perhaps a long time ago -- in childhood or in early youth -- you were introduced to the Bible. So you have a nodding acquaintance with scripture -- yet for all intents and purposes, it remains an elusive, unknown and somewhat daunting book. It may be awkward to concede that you don’t know as much about the Bible as you would like to -- but the lament I have heard frequently in recent years is this: ‘I wish I could learn more about the Good Book.’" (Pages 3 and 4, paraphrased)

If that is where you are today, then I invite you to open your pew Bibles this morning and turn to the table of contents on the sixth page. There you will find the listing of the Old Testament books, also called the Hebrew Scriptures, and the Christian New Testament list of books below. While biblical scholars do not all agree on when the 39 books of the Old Testament and 27 books of the New Testament were written, archaeological evidence suggests that the earliest documents date back to the 12th century B.C. and the latest documents were probably written sometime around the middle of the second century A.D., encompassing 1400 years of biblical history.

The Old Testament was canonized, that is -- set in its present form -- circa 90 A.D. by a council of Jewish rabbis and scholars who officially organized the books into three sections: the Torah (Genesis - Deuteronomy), the Prophets and the Writings, including the Psalms, Proverbs and Job.

It took more than 300 years after the resurrection of Jesus for the New Testament to be canonized in its final form, officially recognized as such in an Easter letter written by Athanasius in 367 A.D. As was the case with the Old Testament process, some books were readily accepted - the four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles and the Book of Revelation - while others required more debate and decision-making.

But the bottom line for all 66 books of the Bible was and is that they convey God’s sacred word, inspire faith, bear witness to eternal truth and in the New Testament, point toward the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

William Barclay, the Scottish biblical scholar and commentator, perhaps put it best when he wrote in his classic book, "The Making of the Bible," "The books of the Bible came to be regarded as the inspired word of God, not because of any decision of any synod, council or committee or church, but because in them people found God." (From "The Making of the Bible," Abingdon Press, 1961, Author’s Foreword)

Now what is even more remarkable than the making of the Bible - how the Bible was put together over all those centuries - is that the Bible still speaks to us with power and authenticity today. The earliest parts of scripture were written more than 3000 years ago and no section of the Bible is less than 1800 years old. And yet, the church accepts this ancient book, The Good Book, as the rule of faith and life here and now. I didn’t make that up! It comes from the Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter 1 - of the Holy Scripture. In fact, Sunday after Sunday as we read scripture in worship, we say when the Book is closed, "This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God!' Sometimes I wonder, as we repeat that phrase almost automatically, if we truly realize the majesty, the mystery and the meaning of what we are saying.

It begins with inspiration. We believe that this book, The Good Book, is first and foremost God’s book. The Westminster Confession of Faith declares that the books of the Bible "are given by inspiration of God, to be the rule of faith and life," and that the authority of scripture depends wholly upon God and therefore is "the word of God."

The apostle Paul, in his second letter to Timothy, put it clearly and concisely this way: "All scripture is inspired by God' (II Timothy 3:16). How is that so? Well, it is a divine mystery, but this we know and believe. That God, down through history, spoke to and through the patriarchs, matriarchs, prophets, priests, rulers and people of Israel who heard His word, began to share His revelation, developed an oral tradition of telling the stories and finally wrote down the texts - the Hebrew scriptures we Christians call the Old Testament - which has withstood the test of time.

In similar fashion, bearing witness to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the early Christian community was inspired by God to tell their stories about Him and then guided by the Holy Spirit to put them in written form.

So when we say, with the apostle Paul, that "all scripture is inspired by God," we mean that the Bible is holy because it comes from God. Moreover, we also affirm that the words of scripture lead us to God, inspiring us to know Him, to love Him and to follow His will and His way. We do not, however, claim that the Bible is the same as God, or equal to God. That is bibliolatry - making an idol out of the Bible. To the contrary, we Christians believe that our final authority is found in the Word made flesh who came to dwell among us (John 1:14), Jesus Christ the Lord, and He - He alone is our ultimate source of inspiration.

Now there is another dimension to our exploration of The Good Book. It’s called interpretation, wherein we read the words of scripture, reflect on what they say, and then seek to understand what those ancient texts mean in our lives today. I think that’s what Paul was trying to tell us when he wrote: "All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness."

But what are we to do when Christians disagree about the interpretation of certain passages in the Bible? To simply declare that "the Bible says it, I believe it and that settles it" doesn’t leave much room for conversation, and can lead to biblical battles and deep divisions in the church.

And yet, "If our view (our interpretation) of scripture (sometimes) divides us, it is also our common commitment to the Bible that offers our greatest hope" for we are people of the Word, and the Bible itself points to the need "for reconciliation among people who consider themselves disciples of Jesus Christ." Is Christ divided? Paul asked the squabbling Corinthians (I Corinthians 1:13), and that is the question we must ask ourselves as Christians when seeking to interpret the Bible and live out the gospel of love." (From "The Divided Church" by Richard G. Hutcheson, Jr. and Peggy Shriver, Inter-Varsity Press, 1999, page 66).

All scripture is inspired by God, said Paul, and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness. And then he concludes with these words: That the people of God may be complete (and) equipped for every good work. You see, my friends, when we read The Good Book, and as we seek to understand what it says and what it means, then it’s time to move forward from inspiration and interpretation to the implementation of God’s word in our lives - in all that we say and do in this world.

God knows, we will never completely attain that goal, for we are sinful and imperfect people, just like the people whose stories are told in this book. But as His word sinks deep down into our hearts, we will discover that His grace is sufficient for our every need, His forgiveness covers all of our sin and His Son our Savior Jesus will help us to do good and to be the good and faithful people He has called us to become.

In his introduction to "The Good Book," Peter Gomes reminds us that Johann Sebastian Bach used to write at the top of the first page of every new composition the Latin words "Soli deo Gloria" - to the glory of God alone. May that also be the inscription written on our lives, as the words of The Good Book lead us to the Lord and transform our souls.

In the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.