Seedline International kicked off the 33rd National Bible Reading Marathon last weekend, hoping that this event became a reminder for lawmakers to recognize the significance of the Bible to the State's solid foundation.
The 33rd annual National Bible Reading Marathon took place at the Faith and Liberty headquarters in Washington, D.C., located near the United States Supreme Court, where volunteers will read the entire Bible for nearly four days straight. From reading the book of Genesis on Saturday through reading the book of Revelation on Wednesday.
In an interview with The Christian Post, Seedline International Director Keith Davidson wanted to remind lawmakers that the "Bible has been part of the State's foundation" and "emphasize to the legislators and folks who are in leadership to consider its principles and consider the Bible in the decisions that they make."
He also recognized the Bible as a "source of strength in a turbulent world." He said, "There's a lot of turmoil and uncertainty in our world today with all the things going on in Ukraine and other places but the Bible seems to be a foundation for us and we're hoping folks return to that and kind of give them some stability in their lives."
Not just to lawmakers or nation's leaders, he also hoped to encourage all people to get the Bible "back in their homes and their personal lives" through this event.
Davidson revealed that the annual Bible reading event was usually held at the West Terrace of the U.S. Capitol, however, due to health protocol amid the coronavirus pandemic and safety concerns after the Capitol riot in Jan 2021, the organizers were forced to seek another venue for the last two years. Also, for this year's event, the organizers said they failed to get the consecutive event letter from the Congress which was a prerequisite for holding such an event.
For the past two years, people have had the option to participate in the National Bible Reading Marathon virtually through Seedline International's YouTube channel. According to Davidson, between 40% and 45% of people would participate virtually in this year's event.
The event consists of 360 15-minute time slots. Davidson said, "one person may sign up for four spots or a church group may sign up for a couple of hours." Some churches in Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania had reserved two-hour time slots to read from scripture virtually. Most readers would have signed up ahead of time, and those walk-ins have the option to sign up as long as the time slots are available.
Just like the past years, members of Congress were scheduled to participate in the Bible Reading Marathon this year, yet names weren't disclosed. Davidson anticipated the same number of people to attend the Bible Reading Marathon as last year, as the venue has space available for between 25 to 50 people at a time.
He said, "The goal of the Bible Reading Marathon is to help Americans realize the impact of the words of the Bible in our history and the founding of our country, and [to] get them back to making it part of their lives and seeing how important it is."
