Revealing Insights

By: Randal Myers

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Below is a brief article that appeared in a recent online religious news magazine I subscribe to which is produced by Focus on the Family. It highlights the results of a Barna survey which is very revealing in its application to current events in our nation. Read carefully and you'll readily see why Christianity is taking hits in politics, social issues and in the court system in our country. There has been a huge cultural shift in values which are the foundation for decision-making both on personal and public levels. That is why we are now seeing more and more court decisions promoting things like gay marriage, taking ìunder Godî out of the Pledge and a host of other things which seem astounding to those who hold basic Judeo-Christian values.

A BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW

"A large share of the nation's moral and spiritual challenges is directly attributable to the absence of a biblical worldview among Americans," according to the Barna Research Group's latest national survey (www.barna.org).

The research defined a biblical worldview as believing that absolute moral truths exist, that such truth is defined by the Bible, and that six specific religious views are true -- Jesus Christ lived a sinless life; God is the all-powerful and all-knowing Creator of the universe and He still rules today; salvation is a gift from God and cannot be earned; Satan is real; a Christian has a responsibility to share his faith in Christ with other people; and the Bible is accurate in all of its teachings.

"It seems our mission must change."

The survey found that few people share a biblical worldview.

Just four percent of adults have a biblical worldview as the basis of their decision-making. And strikingly, only nine percent of born-again Christians have such a perspective.

The denominations that produced the highest proportions of adults with a biblical worldview were non-denominational Protestant churches (13%), Pentecostal churches (10%) and Baptist churches (8%).

"Although most people own a Bible and know some of its content, our research found that most Americans have little idea how to integrate core biblical principles to form a unified and meaningful response to the challenges and opportunities of life," noted Barna. "We're often more concerned with survival amidst chaos than with experiencing truth and significance."

Did you notice that even among what the researchers call ìborn-again Christiansî only nine per cent adhere to the six tenants of biblical truth used as the standard in the research. If that is true, it is no surprise that we are experiencing the moral, ethical, political and social changes currently taking place. It seems that our mission must also change. Not only must we effectively present Jesus as the Savior and the only way to God. We first must convince the world that there is absolute truth and that the truth is found in the Bible. Unless and until that occurs, we will be forever spinning our wheels in reclaiming our nation's value system.

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