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Bible Reading Declines
by Ibrahim B. Syed,
Ph. D.
Scholars estimate that in 1776 as few as 10 to 17% of Americans claimed any
religious affiliation at all, and that the popular attitude toward religion was
one of vast indifference--though few wished to harm religious freedom. In 2002,
96% of Americans believe in God or a universal spirit. About 90% of American
adults claim a religious preference, and 70% claim membership in a church,
synagogue, or other religious body. (The End of
American Religion "As We Know It?" Center
for the study of Religion and Society NewsLetter, Charles L.
Harper, Omaha, Nebraska, spring 1997 Volume 8, Number 2). Some Christian leaders are alarmed at the Bible illiteracy and they say, "this generation is the most biblically illiterate generation they've ever seen. " The problem is Americans are not charging their lives by the Scriptures. The reason is they are guiding their lives by psychology and popular culture. Churches and religion are losing their influence and that commitment to Christianity is slipping in important ways.
According national surveys conducted in 1992, by
Barna Research, almost half of the Christian adults read from the Bible during a
week. In 1995, that figure came down to less than one-third. In 1999, the
figure rose to slightly more than one-third. The evangelical pollster (George
Barna) is convinced that "traditional Christianity" is losing its grip. And a
1997 Barna Research poll showed 12 percent of Christians think Noah's wife was
Joan of Arc. A recent study by Christian pollster George Barna showed 63%
couldn't name the four gospels of the New Testament.
Gideons International annually distributes more than 45 million Bibles--an
average of 86 per minute, better than one every second. About 92 percent of
Christian Americans own at least one or portion of the Bible (the New Testament)
in their homes, and the average household has three. Two-thirds say it holds the
answers to the basic questions of life. However, the number of Americans who
consider the Bible as infallible and wielding authority over their lives is
decreasing distinctly (REF: George Gallup Jr. ibid, pp.34-35, 50). "Most Americans consider the Bible to be a collection of inspired writings, but 'not everything in it should be taken literally.' This moves toward understanding the Bible as the inspired, and not necessarily as the actual, word of God, is one of the most dramatic shifts in religious beliefs since 1960s. As recently as 1963, two persons in three viewed the Bible as the actual word of God, to be taken literally, word for word. Today, only one person in three still holds to that interpretation." (REF: George Gallup Jr. ibid, pp.35-36). Pollster George Gallup has put it: "We revere the Bible, but we don't read it."
The
November 27, 1999 issue of The Dallas Morning News contained a featured
article on the declining readership of the Bible, in its religion section whose
headline read " Who Reads it? Fewer and Fewer, Say Those Bemoaning Bible
Illiteracy." This article notes that even though most of the readers of the
Bible have their own Bibles, they scored poorly when quizzed on simple basic
questions about the Bible. Ten
Commandments are considered to be the moral health of American society, however
six out of 10 Americans can't name half of them, or any of the Ten
Commandments. To the question "Can you name the first and last books of the
Bible? " An older man answered “First Testament...and I think second one."
They think "Moses" gave the Sermon on the Mount? When
a True or false question was asked whether the Bible teaches "God helps those
who help themselves?" A young man answered it to be “True”. Actually, Ben
Franklin said that. About 80 percent of born-again Christians believe it is the
Bible that says, "God helps those who help themselves." In
Europe and particularly in Northern Europe, serious Bible reading is definitely
on the decline and also living by its values. For a long time Northern Europe
has been known as the "North German Plain of Irreligion." Christianity is
increasingly disjointed from the book on which it is founded. As a result,
scholars have described the late 20th century as the post-Christian
era.
Americans are far more likely to believe, belong, and participate in dynamic
religious organizations than are their counterparts in England, France, Germany,
Sweden, and Italy. In those nations church attendance is so low that many people
attend only to symbolize three important biographic events: to get hatched,
matched, and dispatched! Indeed, the question that scholars of religion always
needed to explain was "why are Americans so religious compared to everyone
else?" Well, a believer in religious decline might ask, " Is not America now
subject to the same secularizing forces that made religion such an empty
formality in much of Europe?" (Charles L. Harper, Ibid)
What are the consequences of being a Biblically illiterate society?
Dr. Vinson Synan, Dean of Regent University's
School of Divinity says: "You can see the results everywhere, the breakdown of
homes, divorces, the permissiveness of sex, homosexuality, AIDS, all of these
things are consequences of not knowing the word of God." He calls Biblical
illiteracy the "ultimate disaster" for a nation, even greater than AIDS or
atomic war. "Because if people lived Biblical lifestyles, they would not
have AIDS, if people followed the Scriptures there would be no nuclear war, so
most of our problems are from unbiblical behavior." (REF: Biblical Illiteracy
by Wendy Griffith CBN News Reporter)
FURTHER
READINGS:
Gallup, George, Religion in America: 1996 Report, Princeton, NJ:
Princeton Religious Research Center.
Barna, George, 1996. The Index of Leading Spiritual Indicators, Oxnard,
Calif.: Barna Spiritual Research Group.
Finke, Roger, and Rodney Stark, 1992. The Churching of America: Winners and
Losers in the Economic Struggle, 1776-1990. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers
University Press.
Thomas, George, 1996. Cultural Analysis of Religious Change and Movements,
Sociological Inquiry, Vol. 66, No. 3, Pp. 285-302.
SHOULD JESUS (A.S.) BE WORSHIPPED?
Throughout the centuries, many in Christendom have
worshipped Jesus Christ (Isa Alai'hi Salam) as if he were Almighty God. Jesus
(A. S.) himself, however directed attention and worship only to Allah (SWT). For
example, when prodded to do an act of worship to the Shaitan, Jesus (A.S.) said:
"It is Allah your God you must worship, and it is to Him alone you must render
sacred service (Salat)." (REF: Matthew 4:10). Later Jesus (AS) instructed his
disciples: "Do not call anyone your father on earth, for one is your Father, the
heavenly One." (REF: Matthew 23:9). Sollog Immanuel Adonai-Adoni, in his book "Jesus is not God-the Biblical Truth" (available at www.1Adoni.com) writes, Jesus said, "My Father is greater than I!" So how could he be God or even part of an equal Trinity? Jesus is said to have said, " My Father and I are one!" However the original Greek texts do not really state that! Jesus is said to have said, "I am the path!" Yet analysis of the original Greek texts shows Jesus never said that." "When one is finished with this book, the majority will understand that Christianity as it is taught today is an exclusionary antiquated belief that is based on many lies and falsehoods." Yes, reverent adoration should be expressed only to Allah. To render worship to anyone or anything else would be a form of idolatry, which is condemned in both the Hebrew and the Greek Scriptures. (REF: Exodus 20: 4, 5; Galatians 5: 19, 20). The Bible clearly indicates that our worship must be addressed solely to Allah. Moses (AS) described Allah, as "a God exacting exclusive devotion." And the Bible exhorts us to "worship the One who made the heavens and the earth and sea and fountains of waters."-Deuteronomy 4:24; Revelation 14:7. True Christians do well to direct their worship only to Allah, the Almighty.
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