Why don't Christians know their bibles?

like Jack Nicholson said in a film. The Truth. You can't handle the Truth.

Its a personal choice to seek the truth, some people would rather follow like sheep than seek the truth for themselves.  If you read the Bible it states that the whole world has been deceived.  Happy reading.

Because most have never read one. They only know the bits their leaders tell them.

Because not everyone that's called has that job, just as plumbers aren't called to do electrical work, it's the responsibility of those that are called to study to show themselves approved and the saddest part of their job is their laziness to do just that, some people got to work for a living and raise a family to pay their bills and these other people to study, these same lazy people want those that are not called to do their job for them, only someone called can understand how many countless hours it takes to study the bible searching for truth, it's no wonder most Christians think reading the bible is a requirement of their calling when all these lazy people that are called won't study but just read, it's no wonder there are so many different gospels running around from all the people not called to study, they don't have the time to study, they only need to use common sense and good judgement to discern good and evil, right and wrong, Timothy was one that was called to study but people that read that scripture that take it personally thinking God says this to everyone and they are doing something the bible says NOT to do and that's  2Pe 1:20

Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. These scriptures nor any of them did the average person in their time possess, as a matter of fact, the majority of them couldn't even read, if you have the desire to study and the time and the resources then by all means you might be called to study, just don't make the one's that are not called feel guilty towards, God because they don't, you are paid to do a job ( if that's the case ) don't expect the one's that aren't paid to spend countless hours hours and time they need to raise a family and pay their bills to support their lives, you should be telling them something useful, like how to learn their own job and perfect what they are called to do so they can win the respect of all those concerned,  they will know your fruit in how it effects their lives, they don't need to study, did God call you to be a carpenter, doctor, electrician etc...., learn your job, master it, then you will prosper as you should, stop job hopping, you will become a master of nothing, that only works for rich people and you will stay poor all your life, you people that think everyone is called to study the bible are the real problem, most of you yourselves don't do it properly and only know bits and pieces of scripture and lack any real understanding of God's will for man, and the worst part of it, is, your bible ( which you place the most faith in ) which is the dictionary you use to gain a understanding of words you don't understand rather than using the true word of God and the spirit to understand, you should know better than anyone that the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God, you above all people should be able to show a person that comes to you asking ( what does fornication mean? ) out of the bible and NOT out of a dictionary, if you did that, you wouldn't be condemning the innocent, God will judge you too or do you think your above being judged?  

i know mine and there is nothing you can do or say to make me believe otherwise". "God said it", i believe it".. that settles it"...next question".

Until the reformation and invention of the printing press, All bibles were in Latin or Greek and the Church discouraged anyone but priests from reading it. 

The church reasoned that the book is too complicated for anyone but priests to understand it,  they didn't want anyone to think that the priests were unnecessary,  that the church was wrong, or go off on their own and stop paying tithes.

Many churches still discourage the reading of scripture.  It is a complicated book.

Laziness. Love of ignorance. Preferring their own prejudices.

Dude I wholeheartedly agree with Richard. But most Christians like to cherry pick the good parts of the bible in order to seem like bastions of moral good. The bible is full of contradictions and it's full of even more hate. Who would read a book like that and still be calling themselves a christian?

I know, right!?!  I hear Christians misrepresent their own bible so often it's staggering.  Very few Christians have ever read the bible cover to cover.  They just listen to the Priest's cherry picked passages and don't even think about them...they just accept the Priest's interpretation.

Reading the bible cover to cover is the greatest advertisement for atheism you can have.

They have selective memories about their own fairy tales