The most popular verses among Brazilians in 2023 focused on God’s provision.
Those who opened their Bible digitally were most likely to search for Joshua 1:9, followed by Jeremiah 29:11 and Isaiah 41:10, according to YouVersion.
Valdemar Kroker, pastor of Igreja Irmãos Menonitas in Curitiba, a city of nearly two million people in southern Brazil, did not find the results surprising.
“It doesn’t surprise me that Joshua 1:9 is the first verse,” he said. “I have heard my father sing this passage countless times.”
Almost all of the verses that appear in the Brazilian Top 10 are Old Testament texts that ring with a sense of “promise,” according to Paulo Won, a Presbyterian pastor, theology professor and content creator.
“The emphasis is on what God can do in us, in the sense of granting us victories in life, rather than on how we can mold ourselves to God’s will and thus live the discipleship which presupposes ‘possible difficulties and tribulations,’ he said. “It is a clear diagnosis that our way of living the Gospel is largely triumphalist. »
The appearance of these verses suggests that Christians do not learn the Bible as a “grand narrative” or that they do not always receive the broader context from which these words come, says Cynthia Muniz, a biologist and theologian.
“The Brazilian evangelical scene itself has been strongly influenced by triumphalist theologies, so some of these texts can be understood as personal promises of prosperity and victory, including material ones,” she said.
YouVersion’s apps include tools designed to help people read the Bible more frequently and pray more regularly. These were downloaded 11.2 million times in 2023, a raise by 112% compared to 2022. (YouVersion also noted that they worked with 150 partners to launch 330 new Bible projects in Portuguese last year.)
“This year, our team has really focused on expanding partnerships in Brazil because we want everyone to have easy access to quality biblical content in their native language,” said Bobby Gruenewald, Founder and CEO of YouVersion . “More than anything else, we want to help people experience God’s love, and our ministry would not be possible without these incredible partners we work with in Brazil who are passionate about investing in the spiritual growth of their communities.
Daily use of the YouVersion Bible increased by 27% in Brazil in 2023. But this fervor for reading God’s Word was not limited to digital texts. According to the Brazilian Bible Society, on average, the country prints seven Bibles per minute.
Despite this energy around biblical engagement, a close reading of YouVersion’s verse list offers some insights for the Brazilian Church. Beyond identifying a triumphalist tone among popular passages, theologians have also noted the lack of Bible verses quoting Jesus. Of the ten verses listed, only two were in the Gospels and only one contained the words of Jesus (Matthew 6:33).
“In fact, not only do we read too little, but we also preach the Gospels too little,” Won said. “We associate the gospels with stories about Jesus, which often do not emphasize the prosperity that many of our churches emphasize.”
For example, Matthew 6:33 is part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ main teaching to his disciples and full of instructions on how to embody his values in the world. But today’s churches pay too little attention to Matthew 5-7, Muniz says.
“It’s concerning because the Gospels are central to the message of the New Testament,” she said. “Moreover, as disciples of Jesus and called to be “his imitators,” it is essential that we meditate on his words and allow ourselves to be inspired by his actions. There is no doubt that we have much to learn from Jesus.
Muniz and Won also expressed concern about the tendency of Brazilian Bible readers to separate a verse from the broader passage.
For example, Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” » This is part of a larger section of the text in which Paul discusses “the adversities of the present time, the effects of sin and our participation in the sufferings of Christ so that we may also share in his glory,” Muniz said.
“This text is a good example of how not considering the context and reading the verse alone can lead to misinterpretations,” she added.
The idea of victory that Paul notes in Rom. 8:28 does not refer to “prosperity in this life or conquering anything in this world,” Won said.
“Victory is over death and sin, over principalities and powers,” he said. “It is the ultimate victory of Christ in which, in him, we share. In this sense, reading the text as mere hope for believers is not only an inappropriate reading but a diabolical distortion of the true triumph we have in the Lord.
According to Won, the Brazilian Church needs to read more of Matthew 11:29, where it says: “Learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart. »
“We are seeing an intensification of polarization in various areas of society. For me, Jesus’ call to gentleness and serenity should not be forgotten,” he said.
Kroker emphasizes that Jesus must be our greatest example. Brazilian church leaders need to devote more sermons to the Gospels, focusing specifically on the nature, actions and mission of Jesus, he said.
“We need narrative sermons that more clearly exemplify all the qualities and attitudes that are expected of us and that are in the life of Jesus. »
