Illinois resident, Mike Meadows, was found dead in his food pantry last week. He was discovered by a neighbor who was surprised he hadn’t seen him for a few days. When the autopsy results came back, it was confirmed that he died of starvation.
“That just doesn’t make a lick of sense!” his neighbor declared. “There was an entire pantry, stocked to the brim with food, but he apparently just wouldn’t eat any of it! It doesn’t make any sense!”
Okay, none of that really happened. At least not on a physical level. But the fact is, hundreds of millions of Americans are starving themselves spiritually, even when they have more access to the Bible, in every conceivable format, than any previous generation ever has.
Spiritual Starvation
According the Barna Research Group:
“Nearly nine in 10 households own at least one Bible (88%) and the average number of Bibles per household is 4.7. Being pro-Bible doesn’t necessarily mean Americans use the Bible regularly, however. Only 37% of Americans report reading the Bible once a week or more. Among those who have read Scripture in the previous week, not quite six in 10 (57%) say they gave a lot of thought to how it might apply to their life. While the Bible’s place in America as a cultural icon endures, it’s not always perceived as a transformational text. Even as Bible ownership remains strong, readership and engagement are weak.” [i]
The younger you are, the less likely you are to see a need for the Bible, or to respect it as being the Word of God.
According to the American Bible Society, only 39% of practicing Christian Millennials view the Bible as their top source for moral truth. Sadly, 62% of non-Christian Millennials have never read the Bible, but, of course, that doesn’t keep them from having a definite opinion of it! Reportedly, 27% say the Bible is a dangerous book of religious dogma used for centuries to oppress people, and an additional 19% believe the Bible is an outdated book with no relevance for today. [ii]
Elders and Baby Boomers are more likely to say that the Bible doesn’t have enough influence in society today, while Millennials are more prone to say that it has too much influence. [iii]
You Can’t Live What You Don’t Know
Biblical illiteracy is leading to a worldview that is increasingly anti-Christian. According to LifeWay Research:
Almost two-thirds (65%), of Americans believe that while everyone sins a little, people are basically good. 74% percent don’t like the idea of eternal punishment being meted out for those who only commit small sins. Half of all Americans will not say that sex outside of traditional marriage is a sin. 59% of non-Evangelicals see no moral problem with abortion. 64% of Americans believe that God accepts everyone, regardless of their religious beliefs. [iv]
Homosexuality Accepted
According to Pew Research: In the past 15 years, America’s views on homosexual marriage have totally flip-flopped. Over 70% of American Millennials support same-sex marriage, and 64% of white, mainline protestants do as well. [v]
In fact, many Evangelical church members are beginning to support homosexual marriage. [vi] Today, 43% of white, Evangelical church-goers between the ages of 18-33, fully support homosexual marriage. [vii]
Just last week, the tension over this issue was brought to the forefront as LifeWay Christian Resources (a division of the Southern Baptist Convention), made the decision to pull books from their shelves when a popular Christian author made comments that were accepting of homosexual marriage.
In Search of a Biblical Worldview
Very few Christians have a Biblical worldview. That is to say, that most do not know what the Bible teaches on issues of Politics, Economics, Education, The Arts and Entertainment, Marriage, Parenting, Bio-Ethics, Origins, or other important issues of life.
Most Christians have been taught that Christianity is simply about Jesus saving your own little personal heart so you can go to Heaven when you die. They have never thought about the Bible being applicable to all areas of life.
Only 9% of American adults have a Biblical worldview. Only half of all pastors in America have a basic Biblical worldview, only 19% of “born again” adults, and only 11% of children in church possess the fundamentals of a Biblical worldview. Most shocking is the revelation that less than 0.5% of American Millennials have a basic Biblical worldview!
The Solution
The good news, is that studying the Bible has never been easier! We now have phone apps, audio Bibles, free online study helps, and every kind of study Bible and commentary you can imagine (for better or worse). The fact remains, however, that the Bible won’t study itself. We have to make time to read it. Even in the midst of our busy lives, we find time to do the things that are important to us.
We check our email, Facebook, sports stats, stock market portfolios, daily news, weather, etc. Most people even find time for watching television, NetFlix or doing online gaming. Our problem isn’t that we don’t have enough time. The problem is that we aren’t disciplined enough to make the most important thing of all a priority (knowing God through His Word).
As parents, we cannot sit back and hope that our children will learn the Bible by osmosis. We can’t hope they will get enough in Sunday School to counter-balance the 30,000 hours of anti-Christian indoctrination they receive during their K-12 years from government schooling and the media. We have to take full responsibility for the spiritual training and instruction of our own children.
But we can’t do that, if we don’t know God’s Word ourselves, or know how to apply it to the real world around us.
Biblical Worldview Conference
To help equip Christians to think and live Biblically, the Illinois Family Institute is hosting their Third Annual Illinois Family Institute Worldview Conference with Dr. Frank Turek, dealing with issues such as religious liberty, LGBTQ agenda, and more.
What: IFI Worldview Conference with Dr. Frank Turek
When: Saturday, February 18th, 10 AM to 3:30 PM
Where: Village Church of Barrington, 1600 E. Main St., Barrington, IL 60010 (map)
How much: $20 per person/$50 per family
Click HERE for a flyer for this event.
Footnotes:
[i] https://www.barna.com/research/the-state-of-the-bible-6-trends-for-2014/
[ii] http://www.americanbible.org/features/state-of-the-bible
[iii] http://www.americanbible.org/uploads/content/State_of_the_Bible_2016_report_Politics.pdf
[iv] http://lifewayresearch.com/2016/09/27/americans-love-god-and-the-bible-are-fuzzy-on-the-details/
[v] http://www.pewforum.org/2016/05/12/changing-attitudes-on-gay-marriage/
[vi] http://www.prri.org/spotlight/attitudes-on-same-sex-marriage-by-religious-affiliation-and-denominational-family/
[vii] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/29/evangelical-christians-support-marriage-equality_n_7690408.html
