I just returned from a conference and one of the speakers was research scientist George Barna who gave some interesting, (albeit depressing), statistics regarding a survey conducted to determine how many people have a biblical worldview. His research indicated that only 9% of all American adults have a biblical worldview as defined below:
- Absolute moral truths exist.
- The Bible defines moral truth.
- Jesus Christ lived a sinless life
- God is the all-powerful and all-knowing Creator of the universe, and He rules it today.
- Salvation is a gift from God and cannot be earned.
- Satan is real.
- Christians have a responsibility to share their faith in Christ with others.
- The Bible is accurate in all its teachings.
Sadly the Barna study also indicated that only a minority of people who describe themselves as “born again” actually share this worldview. So even among born again Christians, less than one out of every five (19%) had such an outlook on life.”
Nondenominational Protestant churches yielded the highest percentage of persons with a Biblical worldview (13%), with Pentecostal churches next (10%), and Baptists third (8%). Mainline Protestant churches (2%) and Catholics (1%) brought up the rear.
Take note that “less than one-half of one percent of adults in the Mosaic generation – i.e., those aged 18 to 23 – have a biblical worldview, compared to about one out of every nine older adults.” Those who are working to share the gospel with the young are finding this out, and it has some serious implications for how we practice evangelism and ministry targeting younger generations.
George Barna points out several conclusions and patterns that are quite troubling. First, although most Americans consider themselves to be Christian and say they know the content of the Bible, less than one out of ten Americans demonstrate such knowledge through their actions. Second, the generational pattern suggests that parents are not focused on guiding their children to have a biblical worldview. One of the challenges for parents, though, is that you cannot give what you do not have, and most parents do not possess such a perspective on life. That raises a third challenge, which relates to the job that Christian churches, schools and parachurch ministries are doing in Christian education. Finally, even though a central element of being a Christian is to embrace basic biblical principles and incorporate them into one’s worldview, there has been no change in the percentage of adults or even born again adults in the past 13 years regarding the possession of a biblical worldview.
People’s views on morally acceptable behavior are deeply impacted by their worldview,” Barna wrote. In general, he found, people who do not have a Biblical worldview are much more likely than those who do have a Biblical worldview to condone or engage in immoral behavior: cohabitation, drunkenness, homosexual activity, adultery, profanity, voluntary exposure to pornography, abortion, and gambling. For example, those who held a non-Biblical worldview were 31 times more likely to accept cohabitation than the Biblically faithful.
Yikes this is awful news; however as Lee Duigon recently wrote “let’s not panic. As bad as these statistics are, we who do have a Biblical worldview know that Christ sits enthroned at the right hand of the Father. All power in heaven and earth is given to Him (Matt. 28:18). His enemies shall be made His footstool (Ps. 110:1; Acts 2:34–35). Every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess Him Lord (Phil. 2:10–11). That is the end to which God has directed all of history. That is the message of the whole Bible, from Genesis to Revelation.
God’s Word is about truth, not self-esteem. Rather than be demoralized by findings like Barna’s, we should take them as indicators of where we are as a nation and where we need to go.
If America wanted to be a Godless nation, there would not have been such a decisive “values vote” in the 2004 election. Support for abortion would not be slipping in poll after poll. Eleven out of 11 states would not have amended their constitutions to block “gay marriage.” Mainline denominations would not be losing droves of members to Biblically faithful churches.
These are indications that more Americans would like to adopt a Biblical worldview. Speaking as someone who for much of his adult life did not have a Biblical outlook, my biggest problem was that I didn’t know I had a problem.
How do you acquire a Biblical worldview?
Read the Bible every day, making it an indispensable part of your daily routine – like getting dressed. It’s good to read about the Bible, to take a Bible study course, and to listen to Bible teachers, but there’s no substitute for the Bible itself. God will speak to you through His Scriptures – if you listen.
Get into the habit of measuring all things by how they stack up against the Scriptures. To be able to do that, you have to acquire the familiarity with the Bible that comes with daily reading. Don’t ask, “What would Jesus do?” You don’t know because you’re not Jesus. Ask instead, “What does the Bible say?” This is the standard used by Jesus Himself and by His apostles (Rom. 4:3; Gal. 4:30).
Strengthen your prayer life. Prayer is how you connect with God, person to Person. “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10; Ps. 53:3); this means you, and everyone. We need God’s grace in our lives. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). No one else can pick us up when we stumble. No one else can help us to do better.”
John 4:23
“But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.”
April 21, 2016 – Click here to listen