Tim Wildmon

AFA president

July 2007 – Perhaps you have heard of the work of The Barna Group founded by George Barna. The Barna organization is best known for its surveys, reports and analyses of the role of religion in America and specifically the state of the Christian church in America. I recently went to the Barna Web site (www.barna.org) and found some interesting information from his 2007 survey. I would encourage you to visit the Web site for more details on the matters I cite below.

Here are some of the findings.

▶ Most Americans still embrace a traditional view of God, but they are less likely than ever to do so. Currently two-thirds of Americans believe that God is best described as the all-powerful, all-knowing perfect creator of the universe who rules the world today (66%). However, this proportion is lower than it was a year ago (71%) and represents the lowest percentage in more than 20 years of similar surveys.

▶ Few adults possess orthodox views about Jesus and the devil. Currently, just one-third of Americans strongly disagree that Jesus sinned (37%) and just one-quarter strongly reject the idea that Satan is not a real spiritual being (24%). Each of these beliefs is lower than last year and among the lowest points in nearly two decades of tracking these views.

▶ David Kinnaman, who directed the study, indicated that “most Americans do not have strong and clear beliefs, largely because they do not possess a coherent Biblical worldview. That is, they lack a consistent and holistic understanding of their faith. Millions of Americans say they are personally committed to Jesus Christ, but they believe He sinned while on earth. Many believers claim to trust what the Bible teaches, but they reject the notion of a real spiritual adversary or they feel that faith-sharing activities are optional. Millions feel personally committed to God, but they are renegotiating the definition of that deity.

“In fact, one reason why beliefs fluctuate is that most Americans hold few convictions about their faith. For instance, even among those who disagree with orthodox views, many do so while hedging their bets. Most Americans have one foot in the Biblical camp, and one foot outside it. They say they are committed, but to what? They are spiritually active, but to what end? The spiritual profile of American Christianity is not unlike a lukewarm church that the Bible warns about.”

▶ Kinnaman, the president of the research firm, suggested that the shift away from Biblical perspectives is like moving the foundation of a building: “We are likely to see more significant alterations to the spiritual landscape, since what a person believes dictates a great deal about their behavior and allegiance. To give purpose to the spiritual lifestyle of Americans, there are few tasks more important than helping Americans develop a Biblical view of life. Otherwise, millions of people, including many within the youngest generations, will conclude the Christian faith does not represent deep, consistent truths about the spiritual and natural world.”

In short, what Barna found was that the Christian church in America – generally speaking – is uncertain about what it believes or what it stands for. And that uncertainty is growing as time goes by. I have a couple of observations as to why that is.

First, the church seems to be thin on apologetics. Maybe it takes too much effort. But I remember growing up learning the various creeds of the church, the order of the books of the Bible, the relevance of the Old Testament to the New Testament, the Sermon on the Mount and other foundations of the Christian faith. For some reason or reasons, there does not seem to be as much attention these days to teaching these doctrines. Especially to our youth. But we need to get back to these basic teachings.

Secondly, the world around us is constantly saying that traditional Christian teaching is too narrow minded. Modern popular culture abhors moral absolutes that come from the Bible – such as the Ten Commandments – but history teaches these moral absolutes are fundamental to holding together a civilized society over decades and centuries.

Currently, our society is headed in the wrong direction morally and spiritually. And if America does not have a strong, active, informed, educated Christian church to be the salt and light Jesus commanded us to be – then we have no chance to turn our country around.

So am I doing my part? Are you doing your part?