A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.

Knowing the Bible thoroughly means carrying its stories, laws, poetry and moral arguments with you, rather than merely having read about them. Those pages have shaped a great deal of literature and everyday speech, and for many people they are the ground of how to live. A degree teaches a subject; a book known that deeply offers a way of weighing a whole life, which is the sense in which it can be worth more.

If it is a book you already live with, that depth grows from returning to the same passages across years. If it is unfamiliar, reading one short book of it straight through is a manageable way to see what is meant. Neither route needs a classroom, only time and attention.