Why is the Bible so offensive?

Would you believe it if I told you the mere sight of the Bible is offensive to some people?

This week, my church is holding its SoCal Harvest event for the 29th year in a row. Formerly known as Harvest Crusade, this annual gathering is one of the largest evangelical outreach events in the world. As many as 100,000 people will fill Angel Stadium this evening and the following two days, and a good portion of them will find hope, purpose and meaning for their lives.

Some people are pretty upset about SoCal Harvest. Not because of anything I just mentioned, but because, in a series of billboards we use to promote the event, there’s a photo of me holding a Bible.

A real estate company that owns one of the most popular malls in Southern California said it received multiple complaints from people who found the image of the Bible offensive, and at least one “serious threat.” The Bible disturbed people so much that one local business felt forced to remove the ads completely.