Polls, Statistcs, Facts and Thoughts

I came across a statistic the other day that astounded me. It was posted to a page that I follow on Facebook. It isn't a noted news source or anything of any notoriety, I don't believe. Still, it is a page I have followed for some time and have agreed with most of their posts, Though I haven't researched it thoroughly, I have found no misleading information there. But this claim bothered me. The little alarm immediately went off in my head.  You know, that hit your heart alarm that makes one realize that one must verify the information they have come across. I think we should all pay attention to that little buzzer and not take everything we read at face value.

The post stated:

"Are you in the top 10% ? - 'Current studies show that only 10% of Christians have a Biblical worldview; only 14% read the Bible on a daily basis, and only 2.8% of American pastors are willing to apply the Bible to current issues,'"

That information is shocking! I immediately posed a question on the page. "Whose statistics are these? Who took this poll?" I firmly believe we should know that information before haphazardly believing such an astonishing figure.

So not getting any answers there, I decided to do my own research. When I googled the question "What percentage of Christians have a Biblical world view?" Within the results many of the very same statistics came up. No wonder people so readily believe this. It appears it is a well disseminated statistic. But is it true?  I searched the results looking for well-known and well respected sources. Pew; Barna; Focus on the Family and Wallbuilders were sources I felt I could trust and were some of the sources attributed to this statistic.

I knew from my past studies, that around 80% of Americans still "identify" (sorry, I hate that word, now that it has been so overused in media) as Christians. To my relief, after hearing these negative statistics, I found that Barna and Pew are still reporting that 70+ percent of Americans consider themselves Christian. (Pew has it at 96% of those ages 50 to 64.) But do they have a Biblical world view?  I knew the answer to that question would be much lower than 70%, but I have a hard time believing it is only at 10%. Barna, in fact, has it at 17%, at least for the older generations.

 

Ugh! Still nothing to brag about.

Now, I have been warning of the dangers of the emergent church/social gospel for 20 years. I am well aware the church is and has been in danger for some time. I have devoted this blog to bring awareness to that fact. But I am unprepared to throw our faith to the chickens like chicken feed. I believe we need to question this statistic. There are those that are seeking to destroy our Christian faith.  It stands in the way of their politics. It stands in the way of a one world government. It stands in the way of Satan whom we know is at the root of all attacks on the Holy Bible. Could this statistic be coming from those that want to destroy our faith to make it seem irrelevant? I believe that is a fair question and worth researching.

So to begin, let's define "worldview".

Below is a simple explanation that everyone can understand from David Barton at Wallbuilders:

"I ski and there are times where I’ll use gray goggles or times when I’ll use yellow goggles because it causes the snow to have different looks. So that is your worldview. It’s the way you see the world. It is the lens through which you see the world and everybody’s got one. Everybody sees the world through some interpretation of their own understanding and their own beliefs. What they’ve been taught through their own beliefs in economics, the way they were raised in a family, if they go to church, what church they go to if they belong to a political party, and what party that is. Everything affects your worldview.

And for Christians the number one thing this should affect your worldview is, “What does God say about this?” And that’s what's called a Biblical worldview."

I like that. I think this is accurate. It doesn't matter what I think. The only thing that matters is what the Bible says. For a Christian, we should answer every question of life with "What does the Bible say?"

But within this poll using that definition, of a Biblical worldview, there is left an extremely large question. Whose Christianity do we negate by disseminating such a statistic? The statistic seems to be very narrow, yet ambiguous. Only 10% of Christians have a Biblical view? What does it truly mean? It seems it would have to mean that this is referring only to Christians who have a 100% complete understanding of Biblical principles. Now, we all wish every Christian did, but that does not mean every Christian has arrived at fullness of understanding. The Christian journey is one of learning -  a life long walk of experience and gaining understanding.

I won't be good at explaining this, but let me try. Barna posted some charts regarding some beliefs that resoundly do not agree with the Bible. I have shown them below. Now, after looking at the 10% statistic, I see hope in these charts. If only 28 to 32 % of those who call themselves Christian  believe in New Spirituality, than that means 72 to 68% of Christians do not. That's a good thing.

If only15 to 23 % of Christians believe in Postmodernism, than that means 85 to 77% do not.

Ok, so I get it. The more questions one is asked about Biblical principles the lower that number will get. The poll is looking for perfection of Biblical values. And that IS what we are to aspire to. But that is not what we will ever have on this earth. And my point is only this: It is my belief, to disseminate such a negative number because it relies on perfection, does more harm than good. It brings hopelessness. Who gains from that? Satan and those that want to negate Christianity all together, that's who. I don't want that to be misunderstood. I WANT perfection in my understanding and teaching of the Bible. But I don't want to discourage those that have not fully arrived, i.e. none of us. Who among us wants to believe we have digressed that far in our nation toward understanding and living the faith we were founded upon?

And so, I set out to prove this statistic isn't true. Probably not to demonstrate to the world as much as to prove to myself that this extremely low number cannot possibly be accurate. It is so very troubling. Now, as I have attempted to show, I can find other statistics that show our faith might not be in as much trouble as the original claim would have us believe. That's the problem with statistics. and clearly the problem with the internet. One can absolutely find anything one wants to promote and make it look legit. It takes a lot of work to delve for and discover truth.

For example the chart below from Pew Research Center shows 80% of Americans believe in God. And the chart to the right shows, over 50% of Americans believe God intervenes in their lives. That's a Biblical precept and that number should bring some encouragement to us, instead of making us feel like only 4% of Americans have any understanding of God at all -  which in my opinion the low statistics do! Whether or not that is their intent, is beside the point. That is what they point to - it just can't be healthy!

And yes, as I said, I did in fact find other statistics that would be more in line with where I thought the numbers should be. But those stats are of course, in regard to imperfect Christians. And that is that while 70 + percent of Americans who say they believe in God, only around 48% claim they have a Biblical worldview. That is exactly what I expected. But these studies delve further and upon questioning those Christians it has been revealed that only 10% actually do have a Biblical worldview.

"In other words, only 10% of Americans think and act according to the most basic biblical principles"

The problem is numbers can be skewed. There are so many variables to consider regarding the poll as these numbers are integrated into it. It is certainly no surprise that the younger generations have even lower numbers than the older generations. We have been on a slippery slope for years now. The younger generation will skew the poll. We have not taught our children well.  But it is also because in all truth, many of the younger generation have not really yet formulated their world view as they are still in the formative stages with so much of life to experience. They will not have the right answer to most questions. They are still baby Christians, in many ways. And yes, the poll did differentiate age groups, but when the ages are put together, we end up with revealing a mere 10% of Christians have a Biblical worldview.

 

Of course the Bible is our guideline and what we should always strive to use in our walk. But my concern is, does this statistic leave out those who have not entirely arrived at completion. Because in truth, that is ALL of us. Yes, it leaves those out who are still growing and makes Christianity seem like it has gone by the way side. That's my concern. We simply need to start standing up for false doctrines and worldly ideas, because in my view, we have the hearts.

 

Whether we like to admit it or not there are doctrinal differences within Christianity, that will affect the outcome of the poll. How were the questions worded? Did it stick to strictly foundational Christian beliefs or were doctrinal differences a part of it? There are things that Christians disagree on Scripturally, and there always has been since the beginning of time. It has always been my belief that God did that intentionally. Some things are left for us to work through, so that we will dig in for ourselves and really study the Bible. NOW, there is only ONE single, CORRECT interpretation; only one truth, but some things are left for us to study and discern; to take in the full counsel of the Word of God and put it ALL together. We can not cherry pick verses or take them out of context to fit what we believe.

Upon doing my research and reading from trusted sources, I grew weary. I felt unsure I was going to be able to prove my point, or even express my concern. I wanted to write to share a bit of my belief. That is why I blog. To clear my own thoughts, maybe to influence a few, just to get something down in tangible form that will allow discussion. Because I have always believed Christianity is in a world of hurt. And it has been my mission to expose that, to try to do something to bring about change. To work toward the spreading of the Gospel, but also to help formulate lives to live the best Christian life possible. It is my desire to help people understand that we have been under attack, and that our Christian faith is not the Christian faith of old in many ways. It needs to be protected and cared for. Of course God will never lose His church, but we are to be workers and not just sit idly by while the world has its way. We should never be silent in that regard, because it is my firm belief, silence is what got us into the mess we now find ourselves.

But anyway, as I researched, I didn't find my belief changing. I still do not believe the polls or these statistics, but it didn't become as important to try to disprove it. So what if I could? What would that do, bring the number up 20, or even 30 points, where I thought it would be? The number is still abysmal, which is right back to why I have always tried to expose the errors in the first place.

So I have changed my direction in this post back to my original quest for my blog. We are in a mess and we have done a terrible job of being good stewards of our faith. We must not be teaching our kids adequately and we are letting the world interfere far more than we should. We don't shame the media, we join them. We simply sit back and watch like the analogy of the frog in the boiling water. We didn't jump out at a boiling temperature, we stayed in the lukewarm temperatures slowly getting hotter and hotter, until we have all but been boiled alive.

Shame on us. I am actually pretty distraught over this, and I don't even know if I am making any sense. We are silent, instead of correcting false doctrine. Even when we, in fact, know we are Biblically mandated to correct and encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ. We have made every sin acceptable to us, if we just profess our love for Jesus loud enough. We have accepted the swearing pastor, the drinking pastor, and we have joined them. We wink at filthy jokes and rancor on television. We criticize other Christians for "being more about what we are against, than what we are for." We hold ourselves up and proudly state "we only want to stand for what we are for not against." We certainly don't want to admit that God is the one that has spoken about these things. Supposedly never understanding, (I wonder about that) when we do take this stance, we unwittingly support what the left supports in the degradation of our society. But again, maybe some do realize. Maybe, just maybe at the helm within some circles, there has been in infiltration of the church by those who seek to destroy it. And we just follow along, because it sounds so righteous. We accept sex outside of marriage and condone living with one another. We are silent regarding state-ordained, homosexual marriage, and the legalization of marijuana. We are nonchalant and give in to those things saying, "Oh well, it's going to happen eventually anyway." We don't expect any change in our lifestyle at all. We just LOVE Jesus. If we loved Him, wouldn't we obey His Commandments? Wouldn't we seek to become better than the world, rather than to become just like the world? Personally, I think the unbeliever expects that from us and actually wants to see a difference.

I will say it again, we have been poor stewards of our faith. We have all but thrown it to the wolves. In so doing, we have brought confusion to baby Christians, and to those of other faiths, and to the unsaved. Confusion reigns if these statistics are even partially accurate. And that is heartbreaking.

Now, I have turned this into a pretty depressing post. Who wants to read this? Can I end on such failure? Does this encourage anyone? Probably not. But it is still something that I needed to say. This is my witness. I feel like this is what I am to do. Others will do what they must.

I do like the way David Barton of Wallbuilders ended his interview with George Barna regarding this same subject. Allow me to try to gain back some dignity or honor, and end on a good note by quoting what George Barna author of one of the polls stated in that interview:

Well, really, there are a couple of things that keep me going. One is to recognize that we know we’re involved in a battle. So when you’re in the midst of a war you can’t really expect everything around you to look rosy.

Secondly, I know that through the power of the Holy Spirit that God has put within me because of my relationship with Christ I can do things for God that I just can’t do on my own power.

If I allow [H]im to use me for [H]is purposes. Great things can come out of it. And the other thing that keeps me going is as I study the [S]criptures I realize that when God transforms a culture [H]e never waits until [H]e has a majority of the people on [H]is side. He always uses what the [S]criptures call “a remnant” of individuals who are sold out to [H]im and to [H]is purposes.

So true and so well said. I simply added [H] -  just a little old fashioned correction. Forgive me, if that looks petty.

Onward!

Keep watch over yourselves and the entire flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood.
 - Acts 20:28