Forty-one percent of Americans now use the Internet to read the Bible, according to a survey published September 4 by the American Bible Society. Twenty-two percent of respondents said the Bible is to be understood literally, word for word, as the Word of God.

The “State of the Bible 2013” survey of 2,083 Americans indicated that while 88 percent of U.S. households own a physical Bible, more and more are switching to computers, iPads, Kindles and smartphones to read the sacred book. The survey also showed that Americans believe the Bible is king over all other religious texts, with 80 percent calling it sacred compared to only 8 percent for the Koran and 4 percent for the Torah.

Meanwhile, a scripture app called “Bible” recently crossed the 100 million download milestone in the App Store, placing it in the ranks of major players like Twitter and Facebook in terms of number of users.

Why are so many people choosing to read the Bible in this age of unparalleled dissemination of knowledge? And why is there so much disagreement regarding its message, despite many believing it is God’s literal Word? For proof of this disagreement, consider the 1,500 different Christian denominations in North America and the 41,000 worldwide. If there was agreement on scriptural meaning, there would be no need for the staggering number of divisions among those who claim to follow Bible teachings.

Herbert W. Armstrong discussed the paradox between the Holy Bible’s matchless popularity and the equally matchless mystery about its meaning.

“Why do the many churches of traditional Christianity disagree about what the Bible says?,” he wrote in The Proof of the Bible. He went on to challenge his readers of all backgrounds—from the steadfast evolutionist to the fundamentalist churchgoer—to set aside all that they had heard or assumed and to instead prove the answer for themselves:

Have you ever proved whether, as the book itself purports, it is the authoritative Word of the Creator God? Rather, have you not simply assumed, from what you have heard, read or been taught, that it is either authentic, or else the religious writing of a small ancient Jewish race, groping in the darkness of human ignorance and of superstition, trying to develop a concept of God?

Why does it matter? In part because, despite the disproportionate amount of noise atheists make in the arenas of media, education and entertainment, surveys like the one published Wednesday show that they remain the minority. But it mostly matters because the atheist doctrine offers no solution to mankind’s problems. Mr. Armstrong explained:

Evolution gives no explanation of why humans exist on Earth—of the present paradox of mounting evils accompanying awesome progress—no hope for the future of a world falling apart, about to destroy itself with the nuclear weapons of mass destruction. No explanation of the cause of the appalling evils and the hopeless future staring so many youths in the face today. The Bible explains it all. It reveals the causes, the present effects, and the tremendous purpose being worked out here below.

But how can anyone know, and prove whether or not the Bible’s teachings are true? Mr. Armstrong answered that question very candidly:

Personally I had to be sure. I proved the existence of God to my satisfaction, and I proved the authenticity and authority of the Bible. That was satisfying to me beyond words. But you! You have a mind of your own. You will be held responsible for how you analyze it. That is your problem and not mine. I can only share with you what I have learned and proved, and you must be responsible for your decisions.

The real difficulty most people encounter in making such weighty a decision, he explained, is in approaching it with an open mind, unencumbered by previous beliefs and assumptions:

Most highly educated people, and men of science, assume that the Bible is not the infallible revelation of a supernatural God, and they assume this without the scientific proof that they demand on material questions. Most fundamentalist believers assume, on sheer faith, never having seen proof, that the Holy Bible is the very Word of God. Very few people have stopped to prove whether or not the Bible is really the inspired Word of God. Very few people tremble before what it says or regard it as having real authority.

Given the political and cultural climate of this digital age, the number of Americans who are still reading the Bible—and of those who believe it is literally God’s Word—is staggering. But what is infinitely more staggering is the hope, truth and solutions that become clear to those who prove the Bible’s authority, and whose minds are opened to understand its vast and beautiful mysteries.

Maybe you have long believed that the Bible is a primitive book of fables for people too uneducated and too unsophisticated to understand the truths of science. Maybe you have long believed your priest or bishop when he has told you what the Bible’s mysteries mean. Or maybe you have long believed that the Koran or another religious text is sacred. In any case, you now have an opportunity to reexamine all of your long-held beliefs and assumptions, and to prove the truth for yourself. To begin your personal study of this ever relevant question, order a free copy of Mr. Armstrong’s booklet The Proof of the Bible.