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Conservative actor Tim Allen has begun reading his Bible from cover to cover. So far, he’s found it “amazing” and “not at all what [he] was expecting.”
The actor has been a mainstay in American entertainment for over three decades.
He played Tim “The Toolman” Taylor on the long-running show Home Improvement (1991-1999) and starred as Mike Baxter for the sitcom Last Man Standing (2011-2021). Both shows aired on ABC, though the latter moved to Fox after it was canceled following its sixth season.
Allen won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy in 1994 for his performance in Home Improvement.
Of course, Allen also starred as Santa Claus in The Santa Claus film trilogy and in the Disney+ series The Santa Clauses, voiced Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story, and played Luther Krank in Christmas with the Kranks.
Now, Allen is back at work producing and starring in a new comedy Shifting Gears; its pilot season is expected to air on ABC sometime in 2025.
Given all his entertainment work, Allen has admittedly neglected an important part of any Christian’s life – reading Scripture. It simply hasn’t been a priority for him. Until now.
“Never took the time in all my years to ever read and really read the Bible,” Allen recently wrote in a post on X, adding,
Currently almost through the Jerusalem Bible Old Testament and almost done with the Prophets. Next up to New Testament. So far amazing and not at all what I was expecting.
Allen didn’t say what sparked his decision to begin reading Scripture. Undoubtedly, God Himself has drawn Allen to open the Word. John 6:44 reads, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (ESV).
In their book From God to Us: How We Got Our Bible, Professors Norman Geisler and William Nix write,
The Bible is a unique book. It is one of the oldest books in the world, and yet it is still the world’s bestseller. It is a product of the ancient Eastern world, but it has molded the modern Western world.
Tyrants have burned the Bible, and believers revere it. It is the most quoted, the most published, the most translated, and the most influential book in the history of humankind.
Christians believe the Bible is so influential because it is God’s Word to humanity.
“The most significant characteristic of the Bible is not its formal structure but its divine inspiration,” Geisler and Nix write. “It is not poetic inspiration but divine authority that is meant when we speak of the inspiration of the Bible … it is literally ‘God-breathed.’”
Indeed, God’s written Word is one of the ways He reveals Himself to us, teaching us about His’ nature, character, actions and great love for us.
As we read in John 3:16-17,
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (ESV).
Above all, God’s written Word points us to Jesus Christ. Indeed, all of Scripture points us to Christ because He is the Word (John 1:1-3). And because all Scripture points to Him, Jesus is the key to understanding it.
“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life” (John 5:39-40, ESV).
“And he said to them, ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:25-27, ESV).
In a quote often attributed to St. Augustine, it is said that what is concealed in the Old Testament is revealed in the New Testament.
Jesus Christ Himself is the full revelation of God to humanity, to Whom both Old and New Testaments bear witness.
So, when we open the Scriptures, we don’t just encounter words on a page. We encounter God’s Word to us. And we encounter Jesus Christ, who is the Word of God.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:1-3, ESV).
As the Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon said, “Oh you who open your Bibles and want to understand a text! The way to get into the meaning of a text is through the door, Christ.”
We commend Tim Allen for beginning to read The Good Book. Consider praying for Allen, that he hears God’s voice while he reads Scripture.
And ask yourself, is reading the Bible a part of your daily spiritual diet? Have you read the Bible cover to cover?
If you want to read more Scripture, but don’t know where to start, check out our available resources below.
To learn more about the Christian faith, check out C.S. Lewis’ classic Mere Christianity. You can also listen to Focus on the Family’s award winning Radio Theater: C.S. Lewis at War.
If you want to better understand the Bible and be part of God’s redemptive mission, check out RVL Discipleship: The Study.
To speak with a family help specialist or request resources, please call us at 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459).
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
Conservative Actor Tim Allen Gets New Show ‘Shifting Gears’ as ‘Woke’ Entertainment is Rejected
Tim Allen’s New Santa Clause Series Proclaims Jesus’ Birth in Second Season
Photo from Getty Images.
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