Tim Allen recently discovered the unexpected wonder of reading God’s Word. In a recent X post, the Hollywood actor, known for his roles in the 90s sitcom Home Improvement and the blockbuster franchise Toy Story, tweeted his delight with reading through the Bible for the first time. The post has over 100,000 likes and 6000 comments, mostly in support of Allen’s recent investigation of Scripture.
Tim Allen claims to be a lifelong Christian. Over the years, he has become more vocal about his religion, even arguing for the inclusion of the traditional Christmas story in his latest sequel of The Santa Clause franchise, “It originally had a lot of otherworldly characters, and ghosts, and goblins. I said, ‘No, this is Christ-mas. It’s Christ-mas. It literally is a religious holiday.’ We don’t have to blow trumpets, but I do want you to acknowledge it—that’s what this is about. If you want to get into Santa Claus, you’re gonna have to go back to history, and it’s all about religion.”
Some may wonder why Tim Allen, a 71-year-old lifelong Christian who has even fought for traditional values in the public square, has never read through the Bible until now. To this question, Christians should first respond with grace and encouragement. The Church should rejoice when one of God’s children draws nearer to their Father. The Great Shepherd will always accept into his fold the searching sheep, no matter how old that sheep is when he approaches. His children often grow at different paces, and we should reciprocate the long-suffering God has shown us to our brothers and sisters.
Origen would subscribe (maybe?)…
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But, perhaps the Church could also do a better job convincing her sheep that they can discover great joy in approaching God through his Word. Pew Research has found that less than half of Christians read their Bible weekly. That the Bible is read so infrequently among Christians should be very alarming to Church leaders.
During most of history, the only times the average layperson would experience God’s Word was during the weekly gathering of the Church. On that singular day of the week, laypeople would memorize and meditate on the reading of Scripture, hoarding every word they heard within their hearts as essential for their upcoming week. Before the printing press, even the educated layperson often could not afford an entire copy of the Bible as each copy had to be hand-printed by scribes and would be equivalent to thousands of dollars in modern America.
The poor man hallows his crumbs while the rich man disregards the bakery. Today, Bibles gather dust on bookshelves. Bible apps are freely available on smartphones, yet hardly opened. Knowledge is more accessible than ever, yet wisdom wanders the streets destitute, begging to be welcomed and only seldom wooed.
Theonas was the bishop of Alexandria in the third century and wrote a letter to a Christian named Lucianus. Lucianus was likely a higher official in the court of Diocletian, an evil emperor who would later severely persecute the Christians. Little is known of Theonas—this epistle is his only existing work. Theonas wrote to Lucianus, advising him on how best to carry out his imperial duties in a Christian manner. In the closing chapter of his epistle, Theonas exhorts Lucianus to study the Scriptures daily,
“Let no day pass by without reading some portion of the sacred Scriptures, at such convenient hour as offers, and giving some space to meditation. And never cast off the habit of reading in the holy Scriptures; for nothing feeds the soul and enriches the mind so well as those sacred studies do. But look to this as the chief gain you are to make by them, that, in all due patience, ye may discharge the duties of your office religiously and piously—that is, in the love of Christ—and despise all transitory objects for the sake of His eternal promises, which in truth surpass all human comprehension and understanding, and shall conduct you into everlasting felicity.”1
Though the early Church was still working through the canon, Lucianus would have been one of the few with the finances available to have manuscripts of accepted Scriptures copied for his personal use. Because Theonas knew that Lucianus would have had access to parts of the Bible, he urged Lucianus to read them daily. To Theonas, the reading and meditation of the Scriptures led to a Christlike sense of responsibility, love, and hope. If Theonas could witness the widespread availability of the Bible today and the Church’s neglect in studying it, he would be appalled by her collective apathy.
How can the Church inspire her flock to read the Bible? She must first dispel the biggest lie spread by her critics—that the Bible is boring.
The Bible is anything but boring. It is dangerous, and nothing that is truly dangerous can also be boring. The Bible is not safe—it is a sword designed for war and destruction. It is powerful because it is the Word of God. The Bible has shattered false religions and toppled corrupt regimes. It demolishes hellish practices and sinful lifestyles. But perhaps most notably, it disrupts our comfort. It challenges and offends us, even when we know it is right. This is one of the Bible's greatest qualities. It confronts us with truth, forcing a choice that can change us forever—you cannot experience the voice of God and remain the same.
Pastors everywhere should hope their congregants would be more shocked, scandalized, and surprised by the Bible. The Bible's confrontation may initially offend, but it ultimately brings delight. Tim Allen recently discovered this truth—maybe it's time for you to do the same.
Theonas of Alexandria, “The Epistle of Theonas, Bishop of Alexandria, to Lucianus, the Chief Chamberlain,” in Fathers of the Third Century: Gregory Thaumaturgus, Dionysius the Great, Julius Africanus, Anatolius and Minor Writers, Methodius, Arnobius, ed. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, trans. S. D. F. Salmond, vol. 6, The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1886), 161.
Love Tim Allen and his shows! It is true the Bible disrupts our comfort and that is why I get arrows thrown at me when I speak the truth on things in society today. People don't want to hear it.
I don’t think order is important, but a cover to cover reading will definitely provide a broad and better understanding of “salvation history.” It’s all about perspective: if you engage the Word as a source of delight, comfort, protection and wisdom, leading you into a deeper love relationship with Jesus, you will not be disappointed!