Not a big surprise here. People want to find “their truth” in 10 second clips on YouTube or Tik Tok. They don’t want to put in hours of Bible reading and months of study to understand. We are the generation that wants to take a pill to lose weight instead of exercising and eating less. But America will continue to deteriorate if most voters don’t understand what “Judea-Christian values” are and where they come from.
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In a poll by the Barna Group, half of those who described themselves as Christians didn’t believe that Satan exists, and one-third were confident that Jesus sinned while He was on Earth.
It seems to me that in the church today, there’s a rising biblical illiteracy among professed followers of Jesus. Our biblical IQ, if you will, never has been lower.
As George Barna put it, “Growing numbers of people now serve as their own theologian-in-residence.”
What we believe about God and what He says about Himself is the most important thing we could focus on and think about. In fact, what we think about God has everything to do with how we live our lives. Our views of God will determine how we react to what comes our way in life.
Yet, we don’t have to check our brains at the door when we choose to be followers of Jesus Christ, because Christianity is a reasonable faith. It is a logical faith.
Biblically Thinking
God says, “Come now, and let us reason together,” (Isaiah 1:18). A modern version of this verse says, “Come. Sit down. Let’s argue this out.”
We need to think and act biblically, not emotionally. Far too many people today emote when it comes to God. They feel, but they don’t think. They say things like, “I don’t believe in a God of love judging anyone,” “My God would never do thus and so,” or the classic, “I’m not into organized religion; I’m just a really spiritual person.”
We need to think carefully about these things. We neglect theology at our own peril, because experience is never to be the basis for theology. Rather, sound theology should be the basis for our experience.
C.S. Lewis gave this warning: “If you do not listen to theology, that will not mean that you have no ideas about God. It will mean that you have a lot of wrong ones.”
The Wrong Jesus
The apostle Paul wrote, “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee” (1 Timothy 4:16).
Yet, someone will say, “Well, I just love Jesus! Can’t we just set these things aside?” That is a nice sentiment, but here’s the problem: What if you end up loving the wrong Jesus?
For instance, if the Jesus whom you supposedly love sinned while He was on Earth, as half of the self-described Christians in the Barna poll believe, then what kind of savior is that? If the Jesus you love is not the Jesus of the Bible, then effectively you’re an idolater. You’re worshiping another god.
Imagine if you boarded a plane, and just before takeoff, the pilot announced over the intercom, “Fuel schmuel! Let’s just see how far this bucket of bolts will go!”
Or, what would you think about a surgeon who said, “Hey, let’s just get out the scalpel, start cutting, and see what happens”?
You would be alarmed.
Yet, at the same time, when it comes to something that decides their eternal destiny, many people treat it casually, effectively making up the rules as they go.
A. W. Tozer said, “Nothing twists or deforms the soul more than a low or unworthy conception of God.”
We must have a proper understanding of the character and nature of God, and there is no better place to start than with God Himself. What does the Bible say about God?
God exists and is the creator of the universe and humanity. Of course, I know there are atheists who have done their level best to undermine the faith of those who choose to believe the Bible. However, most polls would reveal that Americans, by and large, believe in God.
Interestingly, the Bible never tries to prove the existence of God. It simply starts with these words: “In the beginning God …” (Genesis 1:1). This assumes the obvious. It assumes that people know this is true. And frankly, I think it takes far more faith to believe there is no God than to believe there is one.
https://harbingersdaily.com/rising-illiteracy-the-churchs-biblical-iq-has-never-been-lower/