Influence

The Bible is undoubtedly like the most totally influential book ever. I mean, dude, no other writing even comes close! It was written by some of the world's greatest minds, and some of the world's greatest minds have been reading and studying it for millennia. And that's why I love teaching and studying the Bible — It gives me an awesome connection to people of the past and present.

And if you like people, like I do, we're talking billions. Today the Bible is sacred to the world's 2 billion Christians and 14 million Jews. When you throw into the equation the 1.3 billion Muslims, who contend that the Bible is sacred (just not quite as much as the Koran), that means more than half of the world's population thinks more than pretty highly of this book.

That's why to be an educated person it's sooooo important to be biblically literate, whether you happen to be religious or not.

And you know, BibleDudes, that I've often got some pretty good advice tucked in my pages. In fact, people used to invoke me to answer all sorts of questions. They'd pose me a question and randomly open my pages — the verse where their eyes fell was the answer. Want to give biblical lot a try? Ask me a question and click on a Bible below for your answer.

Plus it's simply a fantastic book to read, packed with drama, wisdom, and adventure. And when you consider the near infinite amount of times that the Bible has been invoked to justify or condemn every single aspect of life, you get the picture of just how vital it is to achieve a level of understanding and familiarity with this text. And beyond the Bible's influence in establishing laws, creating ethics, and governing society, the Bible has also been the most popular source for artistic expression, isn't that right, Elvis?

Right ya are, BibleDudes! Every time I go to the museum I thank my mama for teaching me all them Bible stories. And when I'm reading books like Moby Dick, Paradise Lost, and even John Grisham and Harry Potter, I can't help but notice how so many authors play off of biblical characters and themes. You need some Bible literacy to even appreciate the movies, whether it be Superman with the Moses imagery or the Matrix with Jesus references, the cinematic arts are full of Bible things. And when we're talking music, be it from opera to Bob Dylan, from Handel to Madonna, from Mozart to Public Enemy, and from Gershwin to the Beastie Boys, biblical imagery is almost as abundant as fried banana sandwiches at Graceland. Even my Rasta buddy Bob Marley references the Bible all over the place. So you do what Elvis says and learn more about the Bible. Ah, Thaaank you verrrry much.

Oh come on! Elvis never knew Bob Marley. This website is so wack!

BibleDudes, my darlings, please promise me that's the last we'll see of Elvis. Let's end this section by showing just how much impact the Bible has had on our civilization. Here are some common expressions, each one originating in the Bible. How many do you recognize?

Dude! I like totally knew all those sayings, I just didn't know they all came from the Bible. How rad is that? And hey, Mr. and Ms. Bibledudes-website-viewer, you'll notice below there is no link to the right of our Bibldudes logo. See? No link! Well, that means you've been hanging with us for an ENTIRE section. Can you believe it? So, you might want to chill for a spell, or check out the next section, which is about the most awesome line of work in the world: Biblical Studies! Or, if you'd prefer to meander, surf the site as you and your mousey thingamajig see fit. Like, later dude!