This is an old study done by the Barna Research Group and it makes you kind of wonder if the people in the survey are reading the same Bible. I don't just mean the KJV or the RSV or The Message but the same Bible. The Holy Word of God as accepted by the Catholic and Protestant faiths in the west and much of the world today.
Beliefs
- Compared to 72% of all adults, 92% of born again Christians believe "the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches." (2007)
- Three-quarters of born again Christians (74%) believe they "personally have a responsibility to tell other people their religious beliefs" compared to 52% of all adults. (2007)
- Nearly all born again Christians (99%) say their religious faith is very important in their life, compared to 87% of all adults. (2007)
- Half of born again Christians (46%) agree that Satan is "not a living being but is a symbol of evil." (2007)
- 37% of born agains believe that if a person is good enough they can earn a place in Heaven. (2007)
- 26% of born agains agree that "while he lived on earth, Jesus committed sins, like other people," compared to 41% of all adults. (2007)
- Born again Christians are more likely than non-born again individuals to accept moral absolutes. Specifically, 36% of born agains said they believe in moral absolutes, compared to just 16% among non-born agains. (2006)
Think about it, if you are a Born-Again Christian and are in the 92% of the first statement then how do you believe survey numbers 5 & 6? It says in Eph 2:8 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:..." and 2Co 5:21 plainly states, "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." Not attempting to pull these two scriptures out of context, go to the Word of God and read these two passages and the ones around them.
I guess my next question would be where in line do you fall according to the survey? And do you even really know what you believe and why you believe it?
My salvation experience was kind of backwards. I came to accept the Bible as the inerrant Word of God first. With that in mind, I had to confront what I believed about God, Christ and any number of other subjects. But primarily what I believed about my separation from God and how to "fix" that!
ReplyDeleteI guess most people come to Christ first and then start reading the Bible. I did it the other way around....but then, we know I am not normal.
Re: 5 and 6, I wish I could say everyone was going to heaven; that's the way I would write the Bible, but it simply does not say that. Not my idea or yours, but WHAT GOD SAYS! Period.
And Jesus had to be sinless, to pay for our sin!
And boy, is Satan real!