Ignorance is the state in which one lacks knowledge, is unaware of something or chooses to subjectively ignore information. This should not be confused with being unintelligent, as one's level of intelligence and level of education or general awareness are not the same. ¹

The picture above is an artist's depiction of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus (see Acts 9:1-19; 22:6-16; 26:12-18).  Saul chose subjectively to ignore certain information about Jesus of Nazareth.  Instead of seeing him as the Christ, the Son of God, Saul thought of Jesus as an imposter.  His goal was to utterly destroy Christianity (Acts 22:4; 26:9-11).  He was intelligent, he was well-educated, but he had chosen to be uninformed.  He was sincere, but he was lost.  Saul was ignorant, even though there was abundant evidence available.

Ignorance about Christ is not something that just the well-educated Saul of Tarsus had.  No, general ignorance is very common.  A secular example is readily available.  The US public school system has changed dramatically in the last 50 years.  Many would say it has changed for the better.  However, our youth are now largely uninformed and poorly educated.  Some can barely read when they graduate from high school.  One benchmark for this is how they compare to others--can they compete on the world market level?  No, they cannot.  They know how to play video games, but they don't have the knowledge or skills that a Japanese student has in any productive area of education.  In addition, there seems to be apathy, as if they don't even want to learn.  They are ignorant.  They appear to be unaware that they cannot compete in a world economy.  And they really don't seem to care about quality education.  Colleges and universities are appalled over the lack of basic skills found in the students they admit.  Medical Schools are likewise chagrined at the educational skills of those they admit.  Our youth are unfortunately ignorant, as a general rule.

Now concerning Bible knowledge, the same "dumbing-down" has been occurring among Americans.  Many if not most Americans would not be able to correctly tell you whether Moses was an Old Testament or New Testament character.  Even the simplest facts about the Bible are simply unknown to John Q. Public.  Part of this "dumbing-down" is because the Bible is not allowed to be taught in Public Schools as it was in the past.  In fact, the Bible in the distant past was one of the basic textbooks for reading.  But those days are long gone, and the Bible has been barred from the classroom, and in many schools, even from the school library.  Of course, that doesn't mean a teacher can't read something from the Koran in class.  But if the teacher mentions the Bible in class, or even keeps a Bible in his or her desk droor, disciplinary action, including termination, is to be expected.  Thus the selective discrimination against Christians is a becoming a joyful success in the eyes of the atheistic liberal elite and scholars who want to destroy the Christian religion.  Therefore, first-world people are now generally ignorant about the Bible because of this attack against it.

This same ignorance is prominent even among those who go to church.  Generally, most of those who say they are Christian do not read their own Bibles with regularity.  In many denominational churches, all that is taught is whatever makes the people feel good.  Bible classes often study teachings of a prominent man or woman, but not the Bible.  Most sermons are of the "feel-good" variety, with many stories about the preacher's family or friends, and many cute stories that move people to laughter or tears, but few if any Scriptures that confront or call for repentance.  So even church-goers are increasingly ignorant of what the Bible says.

Therefore, one of the greatest barriers to faith in God is ignorance, be it willful or accidental.  However, you cannot blame anyone except yourself.  The Bible is the most published book in the history of man.  So far, atheists have not succeeded in wiping out Bible sales.  They have eroded faith, and undermined faith, but they have not killed faith, at least, not yet.  The best safeguard is for you to read you Bible regularly, preferably everyday.  There are plenty of Bible reading plans.  Even one of the free Bible programs I listed on the homepage (Bible Explorer 4) has a Bible reading planner.  Generally, if you read 3-4 chapters everyday, you will finish reading the whole Bible in one year.

If you want to learn what the Bible says, you will need to start reading it for yourself.  You cannot rely on your priest, your preacher, your friends or family to tell you all you need to know about the Book of books.  This is a simple but excellent solution to Bible ignorance--READ IT!

Let Saul of Tarsus teach you that ignorance of God's will is not a good idea.