In a clip broadcast across the Western Christian world, Andy Stanley appeared to suggest in 2018 that believers should “detach” themselves from the Old Testament. While the megachurch preacher later claimed The widely condemned statement was stripped of context, with criticism – and the conversations that followed – already taking place in Christian communities across the country.
Egyptian-born Christian theologian and author Dr. Michael Youssef, pastor of the Church of the Apostles in Atlanta and executive chairman of Leading the Way, recently spoke with CBN Digital about the necessity of the Old Testament, offering a warning to believers in the West, many of whom, he claimed, suffer from severe “biblical illiteracy.”
To make his point, Youssef referenced the latest report from the American Bible Society State of the Bible Survey, which found that only 9 percent of Americans read their Bibles daily. Only a quarter of those surveyed said they open the scriptures weekly. Thirty-eight percent said they never use their Bible.
This same study found that 26 million Americans stopped turning to the Scriptures regularly at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when routines and norms were profoundly upended.
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“It saddens me,” Youssef said. “And we are surprised by what is happening in our culture and our society? Are we surprised when we have neglected the standard of measurement? …In fact, when they formed the (biblical) canon, the word “canon” actually is an Arabic word, believe it or not, and it comes from (the expression) “measuring stick”. …How can we know what is good and what is evil and what is deceptive and what is false and what is good and what is true, unless we have this measuring stick?
The preacher, author of the new book “How to Read the Bible (Like Your Life Depends on It)“, briefly addressed the statements Stanley made about the Old Testament and its importance to the Christian faith.
Youssef compared the Old Testament to the foundation of a building – a necessity for any solid structure.
“Disconnect from the Old Testament? ” He asked. “It would be like saying, ‘I like this big, beautiful, tall building, but the foundations aren’t really necessary.’ Let’s get rid of it. If you get rid of the foundation, the building won’t last very long. And I often say that if you understand the Bible…if you understand the unity of this book, it’s one book – not two books.
“I often compare it to a house,” continues the author. “The Old Testament is that house – the foundations and the walls – but it lacks a roof. The New Testament is that roof. And so, together you have a building, a house. Or like a play that has two acts, one act and act two. One without the other doesn’t really make sense. »
The books of the Old Testament, Youssef taught, constantly declare “Christ is coming,” which is brought to fruition in the pages of the New Testament, written after Jesus’ resurrection.
He went on to explain that the “only way” to truly and practically believe what God’s Word says is “to know what is in the book, what it says about the different things in life.” .
“Above all,” he said, “the Bible reveals to us something so precious, so special. It’s priceless. You can’t put a value on it, and it’s the revelation of God’s character. If you do not know the character of God, you will not understand certain events and things that happen (in this life).
“We know that God is a God of justice, but we also know him as a God of mercy,” he continued. “And these two are like two sides of a coin: you can’t split a coin in half and it will be legal tender. Just knowing this – knowing the character of God – gives us great hope and it gives us the motivation to live, the motivation to serve, gives us the motivation to invest and train others and pass that information on to the next generation . This is the burden on my heart at this point in my life.
You can watch our full 20-minute conversation with Youssef in the video above.
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