In God We...?

In the book of 2nd Timothy, the apostle Paul warns about what are called "perilous times."  He listed types of behavior indicating where people reject or deny the teaching of Scripture.  We can read
this in chapter 3:
2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,
4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

He is taking to task those who are not truly committed to the Lord, even though they may give him "lip service." They may talk about God, but in their hearts they do not love Him and do not trust Him. They may try to do good deeds and even place a "God-stamp" on their behavior, but their lives do not reflect His presence.  We have to make sure that how we think and what we do flow from the presence of the Holy Spirit and our awareness of who God is.  Our works, as James taught, are to be informed by our faith in the Lord.

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Jesus took the groups known as the scribes and the Pharisees to task, calling out their exaltation of
religious tradition over a love for God. In Matthew 15, He says:
(6) ...you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.
7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:
8 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.
9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' "

I am glad the faucet has been turned back on and the Biblical worldview information is flowing - the man whose name is synonymous with Christian polling is back in a new position, as the Research Director for the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University.  Welcome back, George Barna!  I had him on The Meeting House a couple of months ago, and he is continuing to release information through which we can check the temperature of the Church and culture.  He sold the organization that continues to bear his name, the Barna Group, many years ago, and prior to that last interview, I had spoken with him about his findings while part of the American Culture and Faith Institute.

The somewhat startling statistic from our most recent interview, as The Christian Post puts it: "Only 6 percent of Americans possess a biblical worldview."

In April, there was a release of more information.  The Post summarized it:

As part of an ongoing release of research about the worldviews of Americans, new data show that just over half hold a biblically-informed view of God, a 22% drop from 30 years ago.

The article goes on to say:

The new report shows that only 51% of Americans consider God to be "all-powerful, all-knowing, perfect and just creator of the universe who still rules the world today.” In 1991, 73% of Americans believed that to be true.

Less than half of those surveyed agreed that, "when Jesus was on the Earth, in the flesh, He was both fully divine and fully human and therefore committed sins like any other person." 44 percent agreed with that perspective. 52% say that "the Holy Spirit is not a living entity, but merely a symbol of God’s power, presence or purity," but 56% believe that "Satan is not merely a symbol of evil but is a real spiritual being and influences human lives."

But almost half are not really sure if God even exists.

As Barna writes on the ACU summary sheet, linked to the Christian Post article: "Half of all American adults believe that their money contains a lie."  That is a reference to the motto on our currency: "In God We Trust."

In the summary, Barna said: “All of the spiritual noise in our culture over the last few decades has obviously confused and misled hundreds of millions of people in our nation...The message to churches, Christian leaders, and Christian educators is clear: we can no longer assume that people have a solid grasp of even the most basic biblical principles, such as those concerning the existence and nature of God."

The noted researcher added: “Thirty years ago, people spent time learning and thinking about God. As our culture has become more self-absorbed, less time is invested reflecting on authority and truth,” adding, “During that same period, we have transitioned from a people who upheld the existence of absolute moral truth to a nation where the majority now rejects moral absolutes.”

He goes on:

“The result has been a seminal shift in our collective focus, from other to self, and from absolute truths to conditional truths. That shift, in turn, helps to explain why the ‘doesn’t/don’t know/don’t care’ population, regarding the existence of God, has mushroomed from 8 percent to 32 percent in just 30 years – a 300 percent increase! That’s one-third of the nation’s adults who have chosen to dismiss traditional teachings about God, the importance of personally determining whether a powerful, holy, Creator God exists, and the implications of their conclusion for their present and future. This is the paramount existential crisis of our era.”

The big question on the table today is: Do we really trust God?  Really?  Hopefully, in light of recent times, our nation and even our world might just be moving in that direction.  But, not just collectively, do we each, individually, in our heart of hearts, have a deep trust in the Lord and in His Word?  In His ability to keep His promises?

In His Word, we find stark criticism of those who claim to know Him but deny Him inwardly, but not have devoted hearts, and outwardly, by not acting like a Christian should.  Jesus called it hypocrisy and did not mince words.  We certify our trust by making sure that our minds are being renewed by the Word of God and that we are devoted and determined to walk in obedience.  We can evaluate our walk and our level of commitment to make sure that we are living as who we say we are.