Knowledge

It's easy to acquire knowledge these days - it can be accessed with the flip of a switch and the tap of a keyboard. But, in our pursuit of knowledge, we have to make sure that it is filtered and measured by a working knowledge of God's truth. Hosea 4 states:
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.
7"The more they increased, The more they sinned against Me; I will change their glory into shame.

Certainly, there is much we can know in the world today.  We can expose ourselves to facts and many times that can be beneficial.  But, the facts that we may learn need to be interpreted by the principles of the Scriptures; in other words, our worldview should govern how we reckon with the world around us.  Even what we learn from the Bible should be applied to how we live.  God's Word is the foundation for how we interact with the world around us.

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We should pursue knowledge - and recognize that what we know should be consistent with the truth of God's Word.  We should know more about God's Word, but we should seek to know Him - personally, with depth, so that we can walk in His love. In 1st Corinthians 8, Paul writes:
1 Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.
2 And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know.
3 But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.

You could say that people tend to reject what they don't understand, and that may just be one of the issues with attitudes toward religion today.  A new Pew Research study examined levels of religious knowledge in the general population and in specific faith groups, based on a 32-question survey.

In the general population, people got 14.2 questions correct, on average. That's a 44 - an F on the classic scale.  Evangelicals got slightly more right - an average of 15.5.  That would be a 48 - still an F.  The survey summary states:

Based on religious affiliation (or lack thereof), the groups that display the highest levels of religious knowledge on this survey include Jews (who get an average of 18.7 out of 32 questions correct), self-described atheists (17.9) and self-described agnostics (17.0).

There were 7 questions about the Bible, and 8-out-of-10 knew that Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt.  Evangelical Protestants were able to get 5.2 out of 7 right.  The average was 4.2.

There were also 7 questions about Christianity, and evangelicals got 4.1 of them right.  The average among Americans was 3.5.  While most were familiar with teaching on Easter and the Trinity, only about a quarter of evangelical respondents and one-fifth of overall respondents knew that the Bible teaches salvation by faith alone.

There were also questions about other religions, as well as atheism and agnosticism.  And, there were questions about religion and the Constitution: for instance, "About a quarter of Americans (27%) correctly answer that the Constitution specifies that 'no religious test' – i.e., a requirement to adhere to a particular religion or religious belief – shall ever be required to hold public office."

And, Christianity Today had some related information to the survey.  Its story closed out by offering a link to the religious literacy quiz and stated, "Fewer than 1 percent of respondents earned a perfect score."

This survey can challenge us to sharpen our knowledge of the Bible - sure, you can know more about other world religions, but it's most important to know the Word of God; with that knowledge you can see and, if the occasion arises, demonstrate the superiority of the truth of Christianity.  As it's been said, you can point out the counterfeit when you know the real thing.  But, awareness of other religions can be helpful in building bridges and generating discussion.

We can make it our aim to continue to know more about the Word - that can be a catalyst to know Christ, in a personal way.  Knowledge can help us, but it can also make us prideful if it's just about the head knowledge.  We can allow the Word to energize our hearts and draw us closer to the reality of God.  Our Christian walk should be characterized by depth of relationship with Him.

This survey overall shows that there is a low awareness of religion in general; and that can contribute to a dismissive attitude by some.  The highest performing group on this 32-point quiz is still at only 58 percent; in school, that's still an F.