As we head into the New Year, we are all looking for good news. I recently saw some in a Wall Street Journal article explaining that, according to book tracker Circana Bookscan, Bible sales have increased 22% since last Fall, and signs are that it will go higher.
Man, that is good news! What is driving it?
The author of the article suggested that "Worries about the economy, conflicts abroad and uncertainty over the election pushed readers toward the publication in droves." Jeff Crosby, President of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association said this: "People are experiencing anxiety themselves, or they're worried for their children and grandchildren…It's related to artificial intelligence, election cycles…and all of that feeds a desire for assurance that we're going to be OK."[i]
That last part of the previous quote hit a nerve with me – we desire assurance that things are going to be OK. As a new grandfather, I have to admit that when I look at my grandson and evaluate the society we live in, I instantly desire some assurance that God will protect him from the schemes and attacks of Satan, and the deep lies being peddled by a post-Christian society, one that falsely believes it can manufacture identity and meaning apart from the Living God.
I know that assurance is found in God's word.
Publishers are offering more creative designs and thematic Bibles, booksellers can't keep Bibles stocked quickly enough, and more people are talking about faith. I see this as great news, but wonder where it is all headed. More than that, I think about the opportunities it presents to us as Christians, and want to offer a few suggestions, ones I see as missional reflections for us who desire that all people know and serve God.
PEOPLE ARE ANXIOUS AND HUNGRY
Worldviews have consequences.
How we see our reality determines how we see all of life, how we interpret events, and where we turn to seek meaning. Without a fully Biblical worldview, we are left to apply humanistic solutions to spiritual problems, ones that nag at our souls and make us uncomfortable.
In Faithfully Different, Natasha Crain says, "In a naturalistic worldview, we are nothing more than our physical parts. We're effectively just molecular machines moving about a machine-like universe. For there to be some kind of moral law that would apply to all these molecular machines, there would have to be a moral lawgiver with the moral authority to define morality for all. That being doesn't exist in a naturalistic worldview, so good and evil can be nothing more than subjective labels any given molecular machine places on an action…"[ii]
Think about that. We are nothing more than our physical parts, molecular machines. We know there is truth about morality in this world, but society teaches us to locate it within ourselves. Since we all disagree not only on the existence of objective morality but also on where it comes from, we are lost. And anxious. It doesn't feel right because it isn't. We know there is more, and since our souls find no real nourishment in cultural ideas about truth, we are seriously hungry.
I love that Bible sales are increasing, but I would caution Christians not to be fooled by thinking the Biblical worldview is growing as a result.
In a recent study on worldviews, George Barna, Director of Research at Arizona Christian University revealed that among nearly 200 million people who self-identify as Christians, just 6% of them subscribe to a wholly Biblical worldview. The rest have a "syncretist" worldview, which essentially means they fuse secular worldviews with some scripture, creating a mosaic of beliefs, but many of them (especially ones related to truth and morality) are not actually Biblical. In other words, we mix some Bible in with everything else we believe about life and call it good. This approach is just not good enough for faith today, and it doesn't scare Satan one bit.
Barna also revealed a study that links an anti-biblical worldview with mental health issues. Here is one excerpt: "Based on several recent studies exploring adults who admit to frequently struggling with anxiety, depression, and fear, Barna and his colleagues suggest that addressing those conditions may not require counseling, hospitalization, drugs, or other common remedies. The research instead indicates that those are often symptoms of an unhealthy worldview that produces and reinforces the emergence of anxiety, depression, fear, and even suicidal thoughts."[iii]
He is careful not to oversimplify or dismiss mental health issues or treatment, which are very real. However, he believes a faulty worldview is at least contributing to mental health problems by applying secular paradigms of truth to spiritual issues and longings.
Church leaders and Christians need to think seriously about this. People are anxious, hungry, and aren't being sufficiently fed.
PEOPLE KNOW GOD IS TRANSCENDENT
"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart, yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end."
Ecclesiastes 3:11
When I was younger, seeking God and coming to faith, this scripture inspired and scared me. Why? It spoke to the deep and uncomfortable longings in my heart. I knew my sin wasn't right, I knew my view of relationships was faulty, I knew my approach to other human beings in need lacked compassion, I knew it all. I just couldn't quite figure out why it pulled at me – until I realized my heart has a big hole in it that can only be filled by God. I am made in His image and am meant to belong to Him. The author of Ecclesiastes says I know I was made for eternity, even though I can't seem to fathom why or how. This world is where I reside, but not where I belong. When I pretended it was, I always felt off.
This is another reason Bible sales are up.
Information comes to people today at an alarming rate. A recent study by researchers at Caltech revealed information is entering peoples' brains at a staggering rate of one billion bits per second. However the brain consciously processes just 10 bits per second of the input it receives. [iv] In other words, we receive TONS of information, but can't slow down and cognitively process it fast enough. It's suffocating and is affecting peoples' ability to ponder spiritual truth. I have to believe it is affecting how they process the scriptures they are reading.
The Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8 didn't understand what he was reading about Jesus, so he slowed down enough to ponder it. Then again, his brain wasn't trying to process one billion bits per second! I'm going to start praying for God to slow people down enough to ask important questions about the Bible they just bought.
Most secular information (especially social media) is telling people this world is where meaning and purpose are found. They are hearing that other humans are good or bad based on political ideology. They are hearing we are all free to change our identity or sexual orientation based on feelings or desires. They are hearing that the church is a rotten and corrupt idea. They hear life is not complete until they possess enough money, possessions, or stature. Worst of all, they are hearing that all of their problems and issues can be resolved by human leaders – de facto saviors. They're hearing all that and more, but can't seem to slow down long enough to decipher if it's all true or not.
George Barna has said we live in a society where 3 out of 4 young people are actively searching for meaning. If that is true, and they are trying to locate it within a secular society that says all of it is to be found within themselves or this world, it is no wonder so many people long for more.
We were made to look for a transcendent savior, one that stands above and rules over this world, and it's King Jesus. The only person who was able to overcome the fallen reality of this world is the exact person who gives our life meaning. He is found within the pages of the Bibles people are buying. He's right there! We should all pray that God can use us to model his love, compassion, and conviction so their search can result in a solution that transcends this world. It is not where we belong.
This leads me to that last idea…
WE HAVE AN INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY TO LET OUR LIGHTS SHINE
Philippians 2:15-16 says we have the ability to "shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life." Christians, by holding fast to biblical truth, can be a bright light in a dark world.
We live in a world that is groping for truth, stumbling over all of its empty and hollow philosophies. I believe it is naturally coming to grips with its limits, which is driving people to search for meaning, causing many to get on Amazon or head into Barnes and Noble to buy a Bible. Scripturally, it makes sense.
As we begin a new year, let's partner with God in this natural search for meaning. He's at work in this world, all we need to do is our part. Let's model biblical convictions, love, and compassion. Let's not just read the Bible, but put it into practice. Let's not just go to church, but live a life of worship. Let's not just talk about discipleship, but invite people into our lives for personal transformation and impact. Let's not just call Jesus our Lord, but actively invite Him to sit on the throne of our lives every day.
Let's be a personal and inspirational embodiment of why the Bibles they are buying matter. They're looking for it.
Daren Overstreet
Daren Overstreet is a Senior Leader at
Anchor Point Church in Tampa, Florida. He has
Been in ministry for nearly 30 years, and holds a Master’s Degree in Missional Theology
You can contact him at
[i] Taken from the Wall Street Journal article, December 1, 2024 https://archive.is/AARy0
[ii] Crain, Natasha. Faithfully Different: Regaining Biblical Clarity in a Secular Culture (p. 137). Harvest House Publishers. Kindle Edition.