Researcher George Barna found that less than 10 percent of self-proclaimed "born-again Christians" in America have a biblical worldview. What's worse, he found that only half (51 percent) of America's pastors have a biblicalworld view.
Yikes! Half our pastors don't hold to biblical teachings themselves!!! What do the remaining pastors and 90% of our "born-agains" believe?
By a three to one margin (71% to 26%) adults noted that they are personally more likely to develop their own set of religious beliefs than to accept a comprehensive set of beliefs taught by a particular church. Although born again Christians were among the segments least likely to adopt the a la carte approach to beliefs, a considerable majority even of born again adults (61%) has taken that route. Leading the charge in the move to customize one’s package of beliefs are people under the age of 25, among whom more than four out of five (82%) said they develop their own combination of beliefs rather than adopt a set proposed by a church.
So...pretty much we pull an Oprah...I believe what I like, and if I believe it, it must be true. Hey, I like Oprah, but she is way off base in her beliefs on God, spirituality, and eternity.
If I was choosing my beliefs, I'd leave out some too: belief in hell, pray for your enemies, forgive 70 x 7, and a few others. It'd be an easier pill to swallow, but it's not truth.
Evidence of people’s willingness to part with church teaching was shown in other data from the survey regarding what people believe. Among individuals who describe themselves as Christian, for instance, close to half believe that Satan does not exist, one-third contend that Jesus sinned while He was on earth, two-fifths say they do not have a responsibility to share the Christian faith with others, and one-quarter dismiss the idea that the Bible is accurate in all of the principles it teaches.
And these are the Christians...we should be like the Bereans in Acts who "eagerly accepted the message and examined the Scriptures to see if what they were being taught was true."So, what is a Biblical worldview? If I am going to pass it on, I need to define it.
For the purposes of the survey, a “biblical worldview” was defined as believing that absolute moral truth exists; the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches; Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic; a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or do good works; Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today. In the research, anyone who held all of those beliefs was said to have a biblical worldview.
Voddie Baucham defines a biblical worldview much the same way, but he expands on the principles a bit more.
Here's a great quote about truth from his book.
"That which corresponds to reality, identifies things as they actually are, can never fail, diminish, change, or be extinguished, must be able to be expressed in propositional statements, and is sourced in the God of the bible who is the author of all truth."
~Paul Shockley
Why It Matters
Ongoing research by The Barna Group on these matters consistently demonstrates the powerful impact a person’s worldview has on their life. A worldview serves as a person’s decision-making filter, enabling them to make sense of the complex and huge amount of information, experiences, relationships and opportunities they face in life. By helping to clarify what a person believes to be important, true and desirable, a worldview has a dramatic influence on a person’s choices in any given situation.
Barna’s research has discovered that there are unusually large differences in behavior related to matters such as media use, profanity, gambling, alcohol use, honesty, civility, and sexual choices.
The firm’s studies have also pointed out that a person’s worldview is primarily shaped and is firmly in place by the time someone reaches the age of 13; it is refined through experience during the teen and early adult years; and then it is passed on to others during their adult life. Such studies underscore the necessity of parents and other influencers being intentional in how they help develop the worldview of children.
To read more, go to Barna's website.
The statement that a child's world-view if firmly in place by the age of 13 is very interesting. When in college, one of my classes taught that if a child immigrated to the US from a foreign country before the age of 13 he or she would be able to learn to speak the English language without a perceptible accent. If immigration took place at the age of 13 or thereafter, they would always speak with an accent of the language spoke in their homeland. As an example, although Henry Kissinger left his country of origin as a teenager, he still speaks with a thick accent.
ReplyDeleteWhat does my rambling have to do with your post? I guess it just cements more firmly the observation that a great deal of learning and habit formation takes place from birth to 13.
I stated in an earlier post that both of my sons were raised Catholic but now attend churches of a different faith. I still see this as supporting Barna's statement because although they are no longer practicing Catholics they routinely attend a Christian church and have a deep, trusting faith in Christ. The foundation that was built when they were very young continued into their adulthood with respect to their belief in Jesus Christ and in God.