| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Andres64" |
| Date: |
13 Jun 2005 06:44:34 PM |
| Object: |
Biblical illiteracy... |
Special Report
Crisis in America's Churches:
Bible Knowledge at All-Time Low
by Michael J. Vlach, Ph.D.
A crisis of basic biblical and theological knowledge exists in
America's churches, and church leaders must do all they can to
address this growing problem, so say experts monitoring the beliefs of
people in Christian churches across the United States.
"The Christian body in America is immersed in a crisis of biblical
illiteracy," warns researcher George Barna. "How else can you
describe matters when most churchgoing adults reject the accuracy of
the Bible, reject the existence of Satan, claim that Jesus sinned, see
no need to evangelize, believe that good works are one of the keys to
persuading God to forgive their sins, and describe their commitment to
Christianity as moderate or even less firm?"[1]
Other disturbing findings that document an overall lack of knowledge
among churchgoing Christians include the following:
=B7 The most widely known Bible verse among adult and teen believers
is "God helps those who help themselves"-which is not actually in
the Bible and actually conflicts with the basic message of Scripture.
=B7 Less than one out of every ten believers possess a biblical
worldview as the basis for his or her decision-making or behavior.
=B7 When given thirteen basic teachings from the Bible, only 1% of
adult believers firmly embraced all thirteen as being biblical
perspectives.[2]
Gary Burge, professor of New Testament at Wheaton College in Wheaton,
Illinois, asserts that biblical illiteracy is at a crisis level not
just in our culture in general but in America's churches.
"If it is true that biblical illiteracy is commonplace in secular
culture at large, there is ample evidence that points to similar trends
in our churches," he says.[3]
Burge points to research at Wheaton College in which the biblical and
theological literacy of incoming freshmen have been monitored. These
students, who represent almost every Protestant denomination in the
United States from every state in the country, have returned some
"surprising results":
=B7 One-third could not put the following in order: Abraham, the Old
Testament prophets, the death of Christ, and Pentecost.
=B7 Half could not sequence the following: Moses in Egypt, Isaac's
birth, Saul's death, and Judah's exile.
=B7 One-third could not identify Matthew as an apostle from a list of
New Testament names.
=B7 When asked to locate the biblical book supplying a given story,
one-third could not find Paul's travels in Acts, half did not know
that the Christmas story was in Matthew, half did not know that the
Passover story was in Exodus.[4]
Like Burge, George Lindbeck, the famous Yale theologian, has commented
on the decreasing knowledge of Scripture from a professor's
perspective.
"When I first arrived at Yale, even those who came from nonreligious
backgrounds knew the Bible better than most of those now who come from
churchgoing families," he says.[5]
This is also the view of theologian and author David Wells.
"I have watched with growing disbelief as the evangelical church has
cheerfully plunged into astounding theological illiteracy," declares
Wells in his book No Place for Truth.[6]
Biblical illiteracy is not just a problem for American churches. A
scientific survey called PISA (Program for International Student
Assessment) tested the knowledge of people in thirty-two industrialized
countries. The results of the study show an "insidious biblical
illiteracy" even in Christian circles, says Volker Gaeckle, dean of
studies at Albrecht Bengel Center in Tuebingen. "Churches should heed
the PISA warning that text comprehension is a major problem." [7]
Theological Illiteracy in Christian Denominations
Barna has gone to the heart of the matter by researching the beliefs of
churchgoing denominational members in America. The results are
shocking-a profound lack of belief in essential Christian doctrines.
In his study of the beliefs of mainline Protestants (including
Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, and Episcopalians), Barna
documented a rejection of key Christian doctrines. Only 35% of mainline
Protestant church members believe Christ was sinless; 34% believe the
Bible is totally accurate; 27% agree that works don't earn heaven;
and 20% believe Satan is real.[8]
Denominations which are more evangelical report higher levels of
commitment to key theological truths than their mainline counterparts,
but large percentages of people in these more theologically
conservative churches still deny essential Christian doctrines.
Of Baptists (any type) in America, only 34% believe Satan is real. Only
43% believe that works don't earn heaven. Although most Baptists
affirm that Christ was sinless and that the Bible is totally accurate,
the majority is not strong. Only 55% affirm that Christ was sinless,
and 66% hold that the Bible is totally accurate.[9]
Of nondenominational Christian churches, Barna reports that 48% believe
Satan is real; 60% say works don't earn heaven; 63% affirm the
sinlessness of Christ; and 70% believe the Bible is totally
accurate.[10]
According to Barna, the denomination with the highest commitment to
essential Christian doctrines is the Assembly of God denomination. In
the AOG, 77% believe the Bible is accurate; 70% believe Christ was
sinless. Yet only two-thirds (64%) affirm that works don't earn
heaven. Only 56% believe Satan is real. So even in the most
theologically committed denomination, large percentages of people still
deny essential Christian doctrines.[11]
Barna is particularly concerned with the number of people in Christian
churches who deny one of the most essential of all Christian
doctrines-the sinlessness of Christ.
"Literally millions of Americans who declare themselves to be
Christians contend that Jesus was just like the rest of us when it
comes to temptation-fallen, guilty, impure, and Himself in need of a
savior."[12]
Whatever Happened to Theology?
Why is belief in important Christian truths and doctrines at such a
crisis level?
First, as Burge has explained, there is a general failing of the church
to transmit our religious culture to the next generation. This includes
an overemphasis on personal experience to the exclusion of serious
Christian education.
"In short, the spiritual life has become less a matter of learning
than it is a matter of experiencing," he says. "This has resulted
in Christian ministries that put less premium on education than they do
on personal development and therapeutic wholeness."[13]
This emphasis on personal development has affected what is coming from
our pulpits, according to Burge.
"Thus sermons become more therapeutic and less instructional; and the
validity of what we do on Sunday morning is grounded in what we feel,
not in what we think."[14]
Second, many Christian churches have abandoned serious Bible exposition
and theological teaching. Burge points out that historical exegesis is
becoming a "lost art" in the pulpit.
"Rather than explaining the historical setting of a passage, texts
become springboards for devotional reflection," he notes. "Biblical
passages are taken out of context as the preacher searches for those
stories that evoke the responses or attitudes desired." As a result,
"The heart of a 'good' sermon is fast becoming the 'emotional
work' that can be done in 20 minutes preaching time."[15]
Burge also found that church leaders often find it difficult to find
time for serious discussion of theology and the Bible. When asking
several youth leaders about whether they addressed solid theological
categories or Bible stories, the typical response according to Burge
was, "It is hard to find time. But I can say that these kids are
truly learning to love God."[16]
Burge sees this attitude as part of the problem.
"That is it in a nutshell," he says. "Christian faith is not
being built on the firm foundation of hard-won thoughts, ideas,
history, or theology. Spirituality is being built on private emotional
attachments."[17]
A third reason for biblical and theological illiteracy today is the
tremendous influence unbiblical philosophies and worldviews are having
on churchgoers. Liberalism promotes that the Bible is a human construct
and not a divine document. In doing so, it continues to assail the
traditional Christian views of the inerrancy of the Bible, deity of
Christ, reality of Satan, substitutionary atonement, and other key
doctrines of the Christian faith. Existentialism and its emphasis on
human experience has people looking to themselves, not God or
Scripture, for truth. Postmodernism has convinced many that there are
no universal truths. According to Barna, "A minority of adult and
teen believers contends that absolute moral truth exists."[18] Only
32% of born-again Christians still believe in the existence of absolute
moral truth.
Many Christians accept elements of these unbiblical worldviews without
even knowing it. Because of this, Barna and Mark Hatch have noted that
"we cannot really call the faith of American Christians a Bible-based
faith. It is a synthetic, syncretic faith."[19] According to Barna
and Hatch, Christians today have accepted and combined so many ideas
from other worldviews and religions that they have created their own
faith system.
"The average born-again, baptized, churchgoing person has embraced
elements of Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, Mormonism, Scientology,
Unitarianism and Christian Science-without any idea they have just
created their own faith."[20]
What Is the Solution?
"In many ways, we are living in an age of theological anarchy,"
says Barna. "The church is rotting from the inside out, crippled by
abiblical theology."[21] But what can church leaders do about this
crisis?
Experts who have addressed the crisis have suggested five solutions.
First, church leaders need to be aware of the crisis. "Let's
acknowledge that we are in a state of spiritual anarchy," says
Barna.[22] Only by being alert to the problem can church leaders
seriously address the problem. Sadly, Barna has reported a less than
positive response by church leaders with whom he has shared his
information.
"When I first conveyed this message [about theological syncretism
among church members], most church leaders smiled and shook their
heads, rejecting the possibility that such silliness would occur on
their watch."[23]
Second, pastors and church leaders need to evaluate what their people
know and believe. Whether through personal interaction with the flock
or through more formal means of evaluation such as doctrinal
questionnaires, church leaders need to find out what their people know
and believe. A questionnaire about the basics of Bible and theology
given to the people would reveal important information. Churches need
to ask questions such as, "Do you believe Jesus lived a sinless
life?" or "Do you believe Satan is a real person?" It can no
longer be assumed that the people in the pews "know the basics."
Many do not.
The results of such questionnaires and personal contacts will reveal to
church leaders where weaknesses in their congregations exist. These
findings may also help identify people who reject or do not comprehend
enough essential Christian doctrine in order to be a Christian.
Fruitful evangelism, then, may result from such evaluations.
Burge, who himself has created a simple 25-question test, believes such
a method will give "unparalleled insight" to church leaders and
will be helpful to the people. "It is like taking a treadmill test
and then talking about your fitness plan," he says.[24]
Third, church leaders must use powerful ways to instruct their people
in the truth. "It may well be, too, that to usher in an era of
theological sanity we will have to adopt new approaches to educating
people about God's Word and new tools to facilitate growth," says
Barna. This includes a well-planned systematic approach to biblical
truth.
"Rather than giving people disjointed morsels of spiritual truth each
week, we must have a systematic method of enabling people to buy into a
biblical worldview that transforms their life."[25]
This systematic approach to teaching truth must start with the pulpit.
In his book, Where Is Theology Going?, Millard Erickson notes that
decreasing literacy among people has probably influenced many preachers
in the direction of including less biblical content in their
messages.[26] The opposite must become the case. The lack of biblical
literacy today makes systematic Bible teaching from the pulpit even
more necessary. Perhaps more pastors should emulate the Swiss Reformer
Ulrich Zwingli who forsook the common preaching methods of his day to
systematically teach the Bible verse-by-verse, chapter-by-chapter, and
book-by-book, paying attention to the historical and grammatical
contexts of the passages he was expounding.
The time has also come for pastors and church leaders to address
essential Christian doctrines from the pulpit. If Barna is correct that
millions of people in Christian churches, even conservative evangelical
churches, do not believe Jesus was sinless, then the time has also come
for church leaders to address the doctrine of the person of Christ and
other doctrines from the pulpits.
Church members should also be introduced to basic courses in Old
Testament Survey, New Testament Survey, Basic Christian Doctrines, and
How to Study the Bible. These courses are required at most seminaries
and viewed as vital to the ministry of those who attend seminaries.
Yet, this basic understanding of Bible, theology, and hermeneutics is
often not transmitted to the people in the pews. There is a large gap
between the important truths taught in seminaries and what is being
taught in our churches. The time has come for these basic truths to be
conveyed to all of God's people.
Teaching solid doctrine, though, must not stop at the classroom level.
Dr. Brant Pelphrey in his article, "Learning the Language of God:
Overcoming Theological Literacy," suggests that teachers must get
involved in the lives of the learners.
"Americans will have a better chance of becoming theologically
literate when we replace the paradigm of theological study as
intellectual exercise, with that of the worshipping community in which
students and mentors work together," he says.[27]
Fourth, church leaders, including pastors, must alert their members to
the unbiblical worldviews and philosophies that have crept into the
church. False teachings have subtly infiltrated our churches, and
church leaders must combat these destructive errors and heresies. This
will require not only a clear presentation of Christianity but also a
specific description of how Christianity differs from the liberal,
existential, and postmodern views that are being promoted today.
Finally, we must encourage diligent and gifted teachers in the church.
As Burge states, "We need to identify young men and women in the
church who have gifts of teaching and intellect and encourage them to
pursue their gifts." As we esteem the gift of teaching and those who
teach well, we will "help bring about the rebirth of biblical
literacy and informed faith in North America."[28]
Long-Term Effort
Experts do not expect the trend toward biblical illiteracy in churches
to change. This does not alter, though, the responsibility of church
leaders to do all they can to reverse this dangerous trend. The church
is called to be the "pillar and support of the truth" (1 Tim.
3:15). And those who are its leaders must follow the apostle Paul in
proclaiming "the whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:27).
Turning things around will take "a massive, concerted long-term
effort," says Barna. But we must try. "We must pray for God's
guidance and power to bring about the reformation that He undoubtedly
desires for America."[29]
=20
http://www.theologicalstudies.citymax.com/page/page/1573625.htm
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| User: "Doc Smartass" |
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| Title: Re: Biblical illiteracy... |
14 Jun 2005 12:15:03 AM |
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"Andres64" <andresc64@excite.com> wrote in
news:1118688274.717507.17200@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:
Special Report
Crisis in America's Churches:
Bible Knowledge at All-Time Low
by Michael J. Vlach, Ph.D.
A crisis of basic biblical and theological knowledge exists in
America's churches, and church leaders must do all they can to
address this growing problem, so say experts monitoring the beliefs of
people in Christian churches across the United States.
"The Christian body in America is immersed in a crisis of biblical
illiteracy," warns researcher George Barna. "How else can you
describe matters when most churchgoing adults reject the accuracy of
the Bible, reject the existence of Satan, claim that Jesus sinned, see
no need to evangelize, believe that good works are one of the keys to
persuading God to forgive their sins, and describe their commitment to
Christianity as moderate or even less firm?"[1]
What a tragedy that so many mostly-reasonable people exist.
--
Dr. Smartass -- BAAWA Knight of Heckling -- a.a. #1939
You can't please everyone all the time; your tongue will get tired.
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| User: "stoney" |
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| Title: Re: Biblical illiteracy... |
18 Jun 2005 02:49:31 PM |
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On Tue, 14 Jun 2005 00:15:03 GMT, Doc Smartass
<gekiskivviesdo@astroboyskivviesmail.com> wrote:
"Andres64" <andresc64@excite.com> wrote in
news:1118688274.717507.17200@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:
Special Report
Crisis in America's Churches:
Bible Knowledge at All-Time Low
by Michael J. Vlach, Ph.D.
A crisis of basic biblical and theological knowledge exists in
America's churches, and church leaders must do all they can to
address this growing problem, so say experts monitoring the beliefs of
people in Christian churches across the United States.
"The Christian body in America is immersed in a crisis of biblical
illiteracy," warns researcher George Barna. "How else can you
describe matters when most churchgoing adults reject the accuracy of
the Bible, reject the existence of Satan, claim that Jesus sinned, see
no need to evangelize, believe that good works are one of the keys to
persuading God to forgive their sins, and describe their commitment to
Christianity as moderate or even less firm?"[1]
What a tragedy that so many mostly-reasonable people exist.
It certainly cuts into their prophet$.
--
Contempt of Congress meter reading-offscale.
Hello, theocracy with a fundamentalist US Supreme
Court who will ensure church and state are joined
at the hip like clergy and altar boys.
America 1776-Jan 2001 RIP
"As democracy is perfected, the office of president
represents, more and more closely, the inner soul
of the people. On some great and glorious day the
plain folks of the land will reach their heart's
desire at last and the White House will be adorned
by a downright moron." --- H.L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)
Religion is the original war crime.
-Michelle Malkin (Feb 26, 2005)
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| User: "Denis Loubet" |
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| Title: Re: Biblical illiteracy... |
13 Jun 2005 07:07:47 PM |
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"Andres64" <andresc64@excite.com> wrote in message
news:1118688274.717507.17200@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
Special Report
Crisis in America's Churches:
Bible Knowledge at All-Time Low
by Michael J. Vlach, Ph.D.
A crisis of basic biblical and theological knowledge exists in
America's churches, and church leaders must do all they can to
address this growing problem, so say experts monitoring the beliefs of
people in Christian churches across the United States.
LOL! That's a keeper!
--
Denis Loubet
dloubet@io.com
http://www.io.com/~dloubet
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| User: "stoney" |
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| Title: Re: Biblical illiteracy... |
18 Jun 2005 02:47:32 PM |
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On Mon, 13 Jun 2005 14:07:47 -0500, "Denis Loubet" <dloubet@io.com>
wrote:
"Andres64" <andresc64@excite.com> wrote in message
news:1118688274.717507.17200@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
Special Report
Crisis in America's Churches:
Bible Knowledge at All-Time Low
by Michael J. Vlach, Ph.D.
A crisis of basic biblical and theological knowledge exists in
America's churches, and church leaders must do all they can to
address this growing problem, so say experts monitoring the beliefs of
people in Christian churches across the United States.
LOL! That's a keeper!
No kidding. 'Bible' and 'knowledge' in the same sentence is an
oxymoron.
--
Contempt of Congress meter reading-offscale.
Hello, theocracy with a fundamentalist US Supreme
Court who will ensure church and state are joined
at the hip like clergy and altar boys.
America 1776-Jan 2001 RIP
"As democracy is perfected, the office of president
represents, more and more closely, the inner soul
of the people. On some great and glorious day the
plain folks of the land will reach their heart's
desire at last and the White House will be adorned
by a downright moron." --- H.L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)
Religion is the original war crime.
-Michelle Malkin (Feb 26, 2005)
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| User: "Katt" |
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| Title: ...is a jolly good thing! |
13 Jun 2005 06:47:26 PM |
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----------
"The Christian body in America is immersed in a crisis of biblical
illiteracy," warns researcher George Barna. "How else can you
describe matters when most churchgoing adults reject the accuracy of
the Bible, reject the existence of Satan, claim that Jesus sinned, see
no need to evangelize, believe that good works are one of the keys to
persuading God to forgive their sins, and describe their commitment to
Christianity as moderate or even less firm?"
----------
BWAHAAHAAAAHAAAAAA....!!!!!!!
Katt.
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| User: "Graham Kennedy" |
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| Title: Re: Biblical illiteracy... |
13 Jun 2005 09:50:21 PM |
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Andres64 wrote:
Special Report
Crisis in America's Churches:
Bible Knowledge at All-Time Low
by Michael J. Vlach, Ph.D.
A crisis of basic biblical and theological knowledge exists in
America's churches, and church leaders must do all they can to
address this growing problem, so say experts monitoring the beliefs of
people in Christian churches across the United States.
"The Christian body in America is immersed in a crisis of biblical
illiteracy," warns researcher George Barna. "How else can you
describe matters when most churchgoing adults reject the accuracy of
the Bible, reject the existence of Satan, claim that Jesus sinned, see
no need to evangelize, believe that good works are one of the keys to
persuading God to forgive their sins, and describe their commitment to
Christianity as moderate or even less firm?"[1]
Translation : "Other Christians don't think as I do! Since
I am so obviously right, they must be sadly misinformed - there
is simply no other possible answer!"
--
Graham Kennedy
Creator and Author,
Daystrom Institute Technical Library
http://www.ditl.org
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: Biblical illiteracy... |
13 Jun 2005 10:06:03 PM |
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Yeah. All the other dudes are wrong, but my head if full with the Holy
Spirit.
And it is not only that the holy Spirit dwels in my head, but I take
every day at five o'clock, the tea with Jesus and the Apostles who
relish Danish Butter cookies.
Jan de Beest
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| User: "wcb" |
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| Title: Re: Biblical illiteracy... |
14 Jun 2005 04:15:57 PM |
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Andres64 wrote:
Special Report
Crisis in America's Churches:
Bible Knowledge at All-Time Low
by Michael J. Vlach, Ph.D.
A crisis of basic biblical and theological knowledge exists in
America's churches, and church leaders must do all they can to
address this growing problem, so say experts monitoring the beliefs of
people in Christian churches across the United States.
It a sense, its old news, bible ignorance in American churches has been
decried several times in the past.
Much of this is basically commentary on Barna's surveys.
What makes me a bit dispeptic is the way Barna
manages to label extreme fundamentalist literalism
as the only true Christianity.
Its never been that way, not since Origen taught his
fellow Christians to allegorize away the rough edges and
foolishness of the bible.
And for centuries the Catholic church often ignored
much of the silliest of the bible, such as teachings
of Jesus to sell all you have.
Which today's moron christians obviously don't know and
don't have to worry about allegorizing away.
One wonders about Barna's shrill commentary on the sinlessness
of Jesus.
Blasting a fig tree for failure to have figs because it
was not fig season is the sin of anger and maliciousness
right there. Wonder who's fig tree it was?
Luke 14 is hateful and is sinful in that it teaches
christians to ignore the commandment honor thy father and mother.
One wonders how well Barna knows his bible.
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| User: "Mike Painter" |
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| Title: Re: Biblical illiteracy... |
13 Jun 2005 06:51:47 PM |
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Andres64 wrote:
Special Report
Crisis in America's Churches:
Bible Knowledge at All-Time Low
by Michael J. Vlach, Ph.D.
A crisis of basic biblical and theological knowledge exists in
America's churches, and church leaders must do all they can to
address this growing problem, so say experts monitoring the beliefs of
people in Christian churches across the United States.
You see something like this and you have to wonder if maybe Landover is
real.
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: Biblical illiteracy... |
13 Jun 2005 08:47:51 PM |
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If Christians would know much better the Bible, they would loose the
little faith they had already. Any person with an ounce of common
sense, would become an atheist once he would read a few chapters of the
Old Testament.
Many of this "lite" Christians, have an idea already about the lot of
stupidities written on the Scriptures and the many justifications for
murdering people, including women, children and herds of animals.
Some people, don't desert their churches for not offending their
elders, or because of a little remaining social hypocrisy most of us
carry on in our hearts.
Jan the Beest
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| User: "Brian E. Clark" |
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| Title: Re: Biblical illiteracy... |
13 Jun 2005 06:57:15 PM |
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In article <1118688274.717507.17200
@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>, Andres64 said...
"How else can you
describe matters when most churchgoing adults reject the accuracy of
the Bible, reject the existence of Satan, claim that Jesus sinned, see
no need to evangelize, believe that good works are one of the keys to
persuading God to forgive their sins, and describe their commitment to
Christianity as moderate or even less firm?"
In light of the above, "biblical illiteracy" obviously is not
the point of the writer's objections. Rather, he's lamenting the
fact that many people fail to cleave to his denomination's
beliefs about God and the Bible. Whoopdee freakin' doo.
--
-----------
Brian E. Clark
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: Biblical illiteracy... |
13 Jun 2005 10:37:36 PM |
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Brian E. Clark wrote:
In article <1118688274.717507.17200
@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>, Andres64 said...
"How else can you
describe matters when most churchgoing adults reject the accuracy of
the Bible, reject the existence of Satan, claim that Jesus sinned, see
no need to evangelize, believe that good works are one of the keys to
persuading God to forgive their sins, and describe their commitment to
Christianity as moderate or even less firm?"
In light of the above, "biblical illiteracy" obviously is not
the point of the writer's objections. Rather, he's lamenting the
fact that many people fail to cleave to his denomination's
beliefs about God and the Bible. Whoopdee freakin' doo.
Correct assessment. As If Jesus left a book called Bible.
--
-----------
Brian E. Clark
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| User: "Christopher A. Lee" |
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| Title: Re: Biblical illiteracy... |
13 Jun 2005 07:39:32 PM |
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On Mon, 13 Jun 2005 14:57:15 -0400, Brian E. Clark
<reply@newsgroup.only.please> wrote:
In article <1118688274.717507.17200
@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>, Andres64 said...
"How else can you
describe matters when most churchgoing adults reject the accuracy of
the Bible, reject the existence of Satan, claim that Jesus sinned, see
no need to evangelize, believe that good works are one of the keys to
persuading God to forgive their sins, and describe their commitment to
Christianity as moderate or even less firm?"
In light of the above, "biblical illiteracy" obviously is not
the point of the writer's objections. Rather, he's lamenting the
fact that many people fail to cleave to his denomination's
beliefs about God and the Bible. Whoopdee freakin' doo.
HE's an evangelical fundamentalist - which means he's right and
everybody else is wrong.
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| User: "BDK" |
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| Title: Re: Biblical illiteracy... |
15 Jun 2005 03:42:20 AM |
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In article <1118688274.717507.17200@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>,
andresc64@excite.com says...
Special Report
Crisis in America's Churches:
Bible Knowledge at All-Time Low
by Michael J. Vlach, Ph.D.
A crisis of basic biblical and theological knowledge exists in
America's churches, and church leaders must do all they can to
address this growing problem, so say experts monitoring the beliefs of
people in Christian churches across the United States.
"The Christian body in America is immersed in a crisis of biblical
illiteracy," warns researcher George Barna. "How else can you
describe matters when most churchgoing adults reject the accuracy of
the Bible, reject the existence of Satan, claim that Jesus sinned, see
no need to evangelize, believe that good works are one of the keys to
persuading God to forgive their sins, and describe their commitment to
Christianity as moderate or even less firm?"[1]
Other disturbing findings that document an overall lack of knowledge
among churchgoing Christians include the following:
Great news, maybe people are beginning to figure it out...
BDK
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| User: "quibbler" |
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| Title: Re: Biblical iillegitimacy |
13 Jun 2005 10:37:00 PM |
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In article <1118688274.717507.17200@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>,=20
andresc64@excite.com says...
Crisis in America's Churches:
Bible Knowledge at All-Time Low
It's particularly low in the case of Mr. Vlach himself.
A crisis of basic biblical and theological knowledge exists in
America's churches
No *****. If it wasn't for ignorance, there wouldn't be theists in the=20
first place. =20
, and church leaders must do all they can to
address this growing problem,
And they will do "all they can", which is precisely nothing. =20
so say experts monitoring the beliefs of
people in Christian churches across the United States.
=20
"The Christian body in America is immersed in a crisis of biblical
illiteracy," warns researcher George Barna.
More generally, they are illiterate in general, not just biblically.
"How else can you
describe matters when most churchgoing adults reject the accuracy of
the Bible,
I explain that as a matter of even stopped clocks being right twice a=20
day.
reject the existence of Satan,
The evidence from Torah is a bit thin. =20
claim that Jesus sinned
Jesus was guilty of many of the "deadly sins" sins including pride,=20
envy, anger/wrath, avarice and arguably gluttony, sloth and possibly=20
homosexual lust. He broke the sabbath, lied, disrespected his parents,=20
blasphemously took the name of the Hebrew God in vain and violated=20
cleanliness laws to name a few additional "sins". =20
, see
no need to evangelize,
Either that or they just know that they suck at it, since nobody is=20
convinced by their *****.
believe that good works are one of the keys to
persuading God to forgive their sins,
You can blame your bible authors for not getting their story straight. =20
and describe their commitment to
Christianity as moderate or even less firm?"[1]
That's ridiculous. They should reject xianity altogether. =20
=20
Other disturbing findings that document an overall lack of knowledge
among churchgoing Christians include the following:
=20
=B7 The most widely known Bible verse among adult and teen believers
is "God helps those who help themselves"
LOL! Whodathunkit?!
-which is not actually in
the Bible and actually conflicts with the basic message of Scripture.
But some of Jesus's other parables do suggest this, despite his=20
contradictory teachings elsewhere. =20
=B7 Less than one out of every ten believers possess a biblical
worldview as the basis for his or her decision-making or behavior.
In other words, 90% are marginally sane and realize that they are living=20
in the 21st century. =20
=B7 When given thirteen basic teachings from the Bible, only 1% of
adult believers firmly embraced all thirteen as being biblical
perspectives.[2]
In other words 99% of them are not stark raving nuts. =20
=20
Gary Burge, professor of New Testament at Wheaton College in Wheaton,
Illinois, asserts that biblical illiteracy is at a crisis level not
just in our culture in general but in America's churches.
It sounds like he should include himself in that count. =20
"If it is true that biblical illiteracy is commonplace in secular
culture at large,
Only they haven't shown that they've collected data on that. =20
there is ample evidence that points to similar trends
in our churches," he says.[3]
=20
Burge points to research at Wheaton College in which the biblical and
theological literacy of incoming freshmen have been monitored. These
students, who represent almost every Protestant denomination in the
United States from every state in the country, have returned some
"surprising results":
=20
=B7 One-third could not put the following in order: Abraham, the Old
Testament prophets, the death of Christ, and Pentecost.
That's because Abraham is clearly a prophet of the old testament, even=20
if he predated people like Moses substantially. =20
=B7 Half could not sequence the following: Moses in Egypt, Isaac's
birth, Saul's death, and Judah's exile.
I see that they really have a bright crop of highly selective=20
applicants, NOT!
=B7 One-third could not identify Matthew as an apostle from a list of
New Testament names.
See above.
=B7 When asked to locate the biblical book supplying a given story,
one-third could not find Paul's travels in Acts, half did not know
that the Christmas story was in Matthew, half did not know that the
Passover story was in Exodus.[4]
Yet this massive ignorance doesn't prevent them from thumping their=20
bibles and idiotically declaring it the infallible word of gawd. =20
"I have watched with growing disbelief as the evangelical church has
cheerfully plunged into astounding theological illiteracy," declares
Wells in his book No Place for Truth.[6]
Hummmm....compare this with the lying claims of theists that atheism is=20
on the decline. They need to work harder to keep their lies straight. =20
<rest of incredibly long-***** boring article snipped>
--=20
Quibbler (quibbler247atyahoo.com)
"It is fashionable to wax apocalyptic about the=20
threat to humanity posed by the AIDS virus, 'mad cow'
disease, and many others, but I think a case can be=20
made that faith is one of the world's great evils,=20
comparable to the smallpox virus but harder to=20
eradicate." -- Richard Dawkins
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| User: "spakka" |
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| Title: Re: Biblical illiteracy... |
14 Jun 2005 11:36:40 AM |
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On Mon, 13 Jun 2005 11:44:34 -0700, Andres64 wrote:
· One-third could not put the following in order: Abraham, the Old
Testament prophets, the death of Christ, and Pentecost.
· Half could not sequence the following: Moses in Egypt, Isaac's
birth, Saul's death, and Judah's exile.
.... complains a man who can't put the following in order:
bacterium, dinosaur, human
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