31 Years Ago Today: Congress Declares 1983 “Year of the Bible”
On October 4, 1982, the 97th Congress of the United States passed Senate Joint Resolution 165 (co-sponsored by, among others, Arkansas Senator David Pryor) authorizing then-President Ronald Reagan to declare 1983 “The Year of the Bible.”
The resolution begins by saying, “Whereas the Bible, the Word of God, has made a unique contribution in shaping the United States as a distinctive and blessed nation and people,” and goes on to declare “that renewing our knowledge of and faith in God through Holy Scripture can strengthen us as a nation and a people.”