Conservative actor Tim Allen has finished reading the entire Old Testament for the first time after beginning to read the Bible nearly one year ago.
“After nearly a year I have finished entire Old Testament and the experience of re-reading, dedicated focus and no drifting has made this a humbling overwhelming experience,” the actor shared. “What a treasure.”
“Three days into New Testament,” he added.
The actor is well-known for playing Tim “The Toolman” Taylor on the sitcom Home Improvement, as well as the masculine Mike Baxter on Last Man Standing.
Allen also starred as Santa Claus in The Santa Clause film trilogy and in the Disney+ series The Santa Clauses, and he voiced Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story.
Lately, the actor has been hard at work producing and starring in his new ABC comedy Shifting Gears, which premiered on January 8.
When not working, Allen has given periodic updates about his journey through Scripture. Last August, he first shared that he had begun reading Scripture.
“Never took the time in all my years to ever read and really read the Bible,” Allen said. “Currently almost through the Jerusalem Bible Old Testament and almost done with the Prophets. Next up to New Testament.”
He called it “amazing” and said it was not at all what he was expecting.
Last October, he shared that he had just finished reading Ezekiel.
“The challenge in reading this Book is how I translate words that the Eternal expresses to the temporary,” Allen said.
That challenge has been a part of the Christian experience since the beginning. While all Christians agree that reading and seeking to understand Scripture is important, debates often ensue over how to properly understand God’s Word to us.
Understanding what exactly Scripture is can help us learn how to properly interpret it. In their book, From God to Us: How We Got Our Bible, Dr. Norman Geisler and Dr. William Nix explain what it means when Christians say the Bible is inspired.
They write that the word inspiration (Greek: theopneustos) appears only once in Scripture, and it refers to the Old Testament being “breathed out” by God. In 2 Tim. 3:16, the Apostle Paul writes, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (emphasis added).
Furthermore, Geisler and Nix lay out three markers for what it means that Scripture is God-breathed:
Divine Causality. God is the main author of the Bible. He is the ultimate source and original cause of biblical truth. God revealed his Word to the prophets, and spokespersons of God recorded the truths God revealed.
Prophetic Agency. The prophets who wrote Scripture were not automatons. They used their own literary styles and vocabularies. The Bible which they wrote is the Word of God, but it is also the word of humans. God used their personalities to convey His propositions.
Written Authority. The final product of divine authority working through prophetic agency is the written authority of the Bible.
As Geisler and Nix summarize, “Spirit-moved men wrote God-breathed words that are divinely authoritative for Christian faith and practice.”
Before the well-known 5th century theologian Saint Augustine became a Christian, he was torn between his desire for God, and his desire for sin. In his Confessions, he recounts walking through a garden and hearing a young boy singing, “Tolle Lege,” that is, “Take up and read.”
Augustine took this as a sign from God. He opened the Bible and happened to turn to Saint Paul’s admonition in Romans 13:13-14, “Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires” (ESV).
Augustine was then baptized, and became one of the greatest theologians the Church has ever produced.
Indeed, since Scripture is God’s very Word to us, there’s no more important book for Christians to read, know, love and learn from.
Take up and read. And if you need guidance on where to start, or how to better understand Scripture, check out some of our available resources and articles below.
If you want to learn more about why you can trust the Bible is true, sign up for this FREE six-part series with J. Warner Wallace, renowned speaker and author of Cold Case Christianity and Person of Interest. Each of these six powerful videos is tailored to fit into your hectic schedule and equip you with the overwhelming evidence pointing to the reliability and truth of Scripture.
If you want to better understand the Bible and be part of God’s redemptive mission, check out RVL Discipleship: The Study.
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Related articles and resources:
How Do We Know The Bible Is True?
Is the Bible True? 5 Reasons Why The Answer is Yes
Where to Start Reading The Bible
How to Read the Bible – as a Family
Tim Allen Continues Reading the ‘Amazing’ Bible: ‘Now on to Daniel’
Actor Tim Allen Begins Reading the Bible, Finds it ‘Amazing’ and ‘Unexpected’
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