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To the Editor:
According to Christianheadlines.com a new survey finds people with a Biblical worldview is now nearly extinct in the U.S. This explains a lot. A new survey by George Barna research found that only 4 percent of American adults and only 9 percent of those claiming to be born again Christians have a Biblical worldview.
Sadly, Bible illiteracy is rampant in the Christian church. A Biblical worldview as defined by the Barna study is believing that absolute moral truth exists; the Bible is completely accurate in all of the principles it teaches; Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic; a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or by doing good works; Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today and Christians have a responsibility to witness about Jesus being the only way to Heaven. This is Christianity 101 to believe that salvation is by grace and not works. In John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and life no man comes to the Father (Heaven) but by me.”
A person’s worldview primarily develops before age 13. So it’s important for parents to ensure their children develop a Biblical worldview because it’s a filter that causes a person to make their choices in harmony and agreement with Biblical principles and teachings.
The survey shows that there is a lack of commitment to the Word of God, the foundation for our faith. The mistrust or disrespect for the Bible has resulted in millions of Americans owning Bibles, but few reading and believing them. George Barna says that Americans willingly embrace beliefs that are logically contradictory and even blend different faith views together. If you pick and choose what you believe from the Bible it disrespects God and it becomes your word and not God’s. It shows your trust is in you above the Bible.
Many don’t believe the Bible is the Word of God. Willmington’s Guide to the Bible lists ten proofs that the Bible is the word of God. The first supernatural evidence is its amazing unity. The unity is achieved in spite of the long period of time involved (1500 years) in its writing, the many writers (some 40) and their many occupations, the many different places it was written, and the many different styles of its writers. Second supernatural evidence is its indestructibility. Its indestructibility in spite of political persecution, religious persecution and philosophical persecution. Third supernatural evidence is its historical accuracy. Proven by archaeology. Fourth supernatural evidence is its scientific accuracy. The Bible is scientifically accurate. The Bible was the first book to correctly say that the earth is circular and suspended in space (Isaiah 40/Job 26). The fifth supernatural evidence is its prophetical accuracy. The Bible predicts the future. Jesus fulfilled all predictions concerning the coming savior. The Bible correctly predicted Israel would come back as a country and control Jerusalem in the end day just before the tribulation and the return of Jesus. Sixth supernatural evidence is its universal influence upon civilization. Western civilization and law are founded directly upon the Bible and its teachings. The Bible says that people are evil and can’t be trusted. So our founders put in checks and balances. Seventh supernatural evidence is its care and copy. There are more ancient copies of the Bible than any other book. Eighth supernatural evidence is its amazing circulation. More copies have been made of the Bible than any other book. The Gideons headquartered in Nashville have given out over 2 billion Bibles and New Testament over the last 100 years. Ninth supernatural evidence is its absolute honesty. God tells it like it is. God writes bad things about some of his friends and good things about some of his enemies. Human authors don’t consistently write this way. Tenth supernatural evidence is its life transforming power. The greatest proof that the Bible is God’s word is its amazing ability to change corrupt, evil people who repent (turn from unbelief to belief) and turn to Jesus in faith, believing in the blood, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus as your only payment for your sins.
Other books inform; only the Bible transforms. Millions have given up drugs and crime and their marriages and families have been saved after reading the Bible. Jesus said, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.” Psalm 30 says, “Every word of God is (pure) flawless.” Therefore paraphrases like the Message aren’t Bibles. To be a Bible it must be a word for word translation like the King James version. God has given us truth in every word of the Bible and the truth can’t be improved on! A troubling result of one survey found that 71 percent of self-identified Christian adults said they consider feelings, experience or the input of friends and family their most trusted source of moral guidance. Making the Bible the highest authority in your life, reading, believing, and living up to the Bible commands such as “do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” is the only sure way to have a God-honoring Biblical worldview and live up to the Tennessee’s official slogan – “Tennessee – America at its Best!”

D.D. Nave
Elizabethton