What gets your attention?

Image result for clipart Attention

(image courtesy Kathleen Halme)

By Spencer D Gear

For some, it may be the death of a relative, but for others it may be something stated or given by another. When I was told in 1973 that my 57-year-old Christian father had died from a heart attack, it sure got my attention about life-after-death and the need to be in close relationship with my parents and my heavenly Father.

Today two things gained my attention and they came from different and unusual sources. This is what struck me:

1. There is no difference in behaviour between Christians and unbelievers.

In 2004, the George Barna Research Group in the USA, a cultural analysis company, conducted research that indicated

that people’s faith does not make as much of as difference as might be expected – especially among non-evangelical born again Christians. Based on a national survey that related people’s faith and 19 lifestyle activities that might be expected to be affected by faith views, the report concludes that two groups – Christian evangelicals and those without a faith preference (i.e., atheists and agnostics) are those that stand out from the crowd.[1]

Who are these “non-evangelical born again Christians” who don’t act much differently to non-believers. Barna describes this type of Christian this way:

Non-evangelical born again adults have accepted Christ as their saviour but do not necessarily accept the Bible as completely accurate in its teachings, accept a personal responsibility to share their faith with others, cite their faith as very important in their life, believe that Jesus Christ was holy, believe that God is the Creator who continues to rule the universe today, or believe that Satan is not symbolic but truly exists. This segment constitutes about one-third of the national adult population [in the USA].[2]

In fact, Barna goes so far as to say that non-evangelical born again people are “more similar to notional Christians (i.e., people who consider themselves Christian but have not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior) and to adherents of other faiths (such as Islam, Buddhism and Scientology) than to evangelical Christians.”[3]

Therefore, the group of “Christians” whose behaviour varies little from non-Christians and those of other religions, are those who have “accepted Christ as their savior” but who reject major biblical doctrines such as:

  • the authority and infallibility of Scripture,
  • the need for them to engage in evangelism;
  • acknowledging faith as important in their lives;
  • the attributes of Jesus such as His holiness;
  • the character of God as creator and ruler of the universe; and
  • the literal existence of Satan.

These are fundamentals of biblical faith, but these born again, non-evangelicals cannot accept them. Does this then mean that this group is not genuinely Christian? What is it that makes the difference in behaviour between Christians and unbelievers?

George Barna found that that this radically different behaviour belonged to a group of only 7% of the adult USA population that he described as

the group whose faith is most clearly evident in their behavioral choices. The survey divided the population into five faith segments (evangelicals, non-evangelical born again Christians, notional Christians, adherents of non-Christian faiths, and atheists/agnostics). Evangelicals emerged as the group most likely to do each of the following:

  • discuss spiritual matters with other people
  • volunteer at a church or non-profit organization
  • discuss political matters with other people
  • discuss moral issues and conditions with others
  • stop watching a television program because of its values or viewpoints
  • go out of their way to encourage or compliment someone.[4]

The conclusion Barna reached from this survey was

that many Christians are hard-pressed to convert their beliefs into action. “The ultimate aim of belief in Jesus is not simply to possess divergent theological ideas but to become a transformed person. These statistics highlight the fact that millions of people who rely on Jesus Christ for their eternal destiny have problems translating their religious beliefs into action beyond Sunday mornings.”[5]

The George Barna Research Group describes “born again” Christians in the USA this way (The Barna Group 2008):

Definition

In Barna Research Group studies, born again Christians are not defined on the basis of characterizing themselves as “born again” but based upon their answers to two questions. The first is “have you ever made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in your life today?” If the respondent says “yes,” then they are asked a follow-up question about life after death. One of the seven perspectives a respondent may choose is “when I die, I will go to Heaven because I have confessed my sins and have accepted Jesus Christ as my savior.” Individuals who answer “yes” to the first question and select this statement as their belief about their own salvation are then categorized as “born again.”

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)

How Many

  • Looking across the past decade we find the following percentages of born again Christians: 2007 – 42% 2006 – 45% 2005- 40% 2004-38% 2002-40% 2001- 41% 2000- 41% 1999- 40% 1998- 39% 1997- 43% 1996-39% 1995-35% 1994- 36% 1993-36% 1992- 40% 1991- 35%

There are approximately 101 million born again Christians in the USA. (2006)

The Barna Update (21 July 2008) briefly defines this differentiation among Christians:

“Born again Christians” are defined as people who said they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today and who also indicated they believe that when they die they will go to Heaven because they had confessed their sins and had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. Respondents are not asked to describe themselves as “born again.”

“Evangelicals” meet the born again criteria (described above) plus seven other conditions. Those include saying their faith is very important in their life today; believing they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs about Christ with non-Christians; believing that Satan exists; believing that eternal salvation is possible only through grace, not works; believing that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; asserting that the Bible is accurate in all that it teaches; and describing God as the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today. Being classified as an evangelical is not dependent upon church attendance or the denominational affiliation of the church attended. Respondents were not asked to describe themselves as “evangelical.”

Non-evangelical born again Christians meet the born again criteria described above, but not the evangelical criteria.

Notional Christians are those who consider themselves to be Christian but do not meet the not born again criteria.

2. “Be holy as I am holy”

There is a book that is making the rounds of our house to different rooms as my wife, Desley, reads it. I’m speaking of C. H. Spurgeon’s, Twelve Sermons on Holiness.[6] This sounds like a forbidden subject in many Christian circles in the 21st century. A hundred years ago it was being addressed openly by prominent preachers. I’m also thinking of J. C. Ryle’s, A Call to Holiness.[7]

References

The Barna Group 2008, “Born again Christians,” available from: http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=Topic&TopicID=8 [cited 1 February 2009].

The Barna Group, The Barna Update, 21 July 2008, “Survey reveals the life Christians desire,” available from: http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=303 [cited 1 February 2009].

Endnotes

[1] The Barna Group, 24 May 2004, “Faith Has a Limited Effect On Most People’s Behavior,” available from: http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=164 [cited 5 February 2009].

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Reiner Publications, Swengel, Pa, n.d.

[7] Evangelical Press, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, 1976.