If God meant for ordinary people to study the Bible ...?

Question

why is it that only in the last century have very many people been literate. Even today, about 20% of the world's adult population is illiterate.

Gee Peter, you really don't have a clue there's a larger world out there, do you? Have you heard of countries like Ethiopia?

Answer 1

The ability to know how to read and write is not because of God, but your own initiative(or the lack there of) to better yourself and to be able to read.

It's their fault if they can't read (unless they're mentally handicapped).

Answer 2

I had to check your 20% - I thought it'd be more.

According to the CIA World Fact Book it's 18%.
"note: over two-thirds of the world's 785 million illiterate adults are found in only eight countries (India, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Egypt); of all the illiterate adults in the world, two-thirds are women; extremely low literacy rates are concentrated in three regions, South and West Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Arab states, where around one-third of the men and half of all women are illiterate (2005 est.)"

Peter and his narrow reasoning is the reason most of the world sees USians as rather simple, banal, unworldly and or just plain iggerant.
.

Answer 3

In the "earlier" days it was the job of the priest to read and pass on to the common man.