Deficient Worldview

Each generation is building a testimony, and the people of God should strive to be faithful to leave a legacy of faith for those to come. Psalm 145 says:
3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable.
4 One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts.
5 I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And on Your wondrous works.

There's a new study that has come out that pinpoints the level of Biblical worldview thinking, or lack thereof, that is present within young adults today. Unfortunately, those called "Millennials" are aging and presumably becoming more influential.  It's important that everyone continues to seek God and learn more of His Word, so that we can effectively communicate that worldview is rooted in Scripture. Faithfulness to the Lord is a key element in seeing a significant expression of His truth.

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God wants to teach us through His Word and by His Spirit, so that we can be devoted to following Him. 2nd Timothy 2 states:
15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
16 But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness.
17 And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort,
18 who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some.
19 Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands...

Quite often on The Meeting House program, I emphasize the importance of adopting and developing a Christian worldview.  It is vital to our spiritual life that our thoughts are informed by and consistent with the teachings of Scripture.  Our worldview determines how we see the world and how we respond to it.

George Barna, in his relatively new home at Arizona Christian University, has been consistently, throughout the years, releasing data about how prevalent the Christian worldview perspective is in our culture.  And, The Christian Post reports on a new study regarding the young adult generation - an article on the study leads off like this:

Although 61% of American millennials consider themselves to be Christian, just 2% of them were found to hold a biblical worldview, according to a recent study released by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University.

The article goes on to say that, "The American Worldview Inventory 2020 study found that while 6% of American adults in general hold a biblical worldview, millennials (18- to 36-year-olds) were the least likely among all adults to hold a biblical worldview."

So, what constitutes a Biblical worldview?  The Post article provided some helpful insight, actually referencing information from the group that George Barna founded, that was published in 2003, prior to his sale of the organization in 2009.  The article says:

A biblical worldview, as previously defined by Barna, includes believing that absolute moral truths exist, and that such truth is defined by the Bible, as well as firm belief in six specific religious views. Those views are that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life; God is the all-powerful and all-knowing Creator of the universe and He stills rules it today; salvation is a gift from God and cannot be earned; Satan is real; a Christian has a responsibility to share their faith in Christ with other people; and the Bible is accurate in all of its teachings.

George Barna is quoted as saying, "The significantly divergent worldview perspectives and applications of the four generations," a reference to Elders, Boomers, Millennials and Generation X," noting the way that Millennials are "different...from all of their predecessors," "suggests a nation that is at war with itself to adopt new values, lifestyles, and a new identity. In other words, there is a war for worldview dominance. But, as the Scriptures remind us, a nation at war with itself cannot persist..."

Barna also decries what he sees as a loss of "spiritual unity," according to the article, stating that, "Even a rudimentary understanding of the foundations of the American republic reminds us that unless the United States maintains spiritual unity under the hand of God, we will not be able to sustain the freedoms that have made this nation unique and desirable." 

So, the question becomes, how do we unite, especially across a variety of generations and backgrounds?  I believe that keeping the important things in our sights is critical.  There is an excitement, I think, about the Lord and His work that is impacting the younger generations - the Millennials and the Gen X'ers.  It is my hope that this movement is grounded in truth, rather than emotion or belonging. But, God has raised up younger leaders, and we can pray for Him to raise up more, who are devoted to making sure that truth is front and center.  And, we can be united through our prayer and through our worship together as the Church.  Satan will take every opportunity to divide; whether it be age, race, denomination, or politics.  We have to continue to keep focused on what's important.

We can be challenged to recognize the different viewpoints that are at play.  The availability and access to new and different ideas, driven by the Internet, is stunning and dangerous.  We have to seek the Scripture to build unity.