Barna questions whether ‘born-again’ have ‘biblical’ worldview_60203

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Posted: 5/30/03

Barna questions whether
'born-again' have 'biblical' worldview

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

ARLINGTON–The overwhelming majority of “born-again” adults lack a “biblical” worldview through which they interpret life, Christian pollster George Barna said during a conference at Lamar Baptist Church.

A whopping 85 percent of “born-again” adults do not have a biblical worldview, according to Barna's definition, but instead hold to alternative philosophies such as naturalism, postmodernism or nihilism.

“I think this is a silver bullet Satan uses to undermine the church,” Barna said at the Texas seminar that is part of his current national tour.

By Barna's definition, people with a biblical worldview affirm eight principles:

The existence of absolute moral truth.

bluebull The Bible as the standard of moral truth.

bluebull God as all-knowing and all-powerful Creator.

bluebull Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on Earth.

bluebull Satan is a real being.

bluebull Salvation cannot be earned.

bluebull Believers have a personal responsibility to share their faith.

bluebull The Bible is totally accurate in all its teachings.

Further, Barna defines people as “born again” if they affirm to pollsters that they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their lives today and that they believe when they die they will go to heaven because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior.

The problem, Barna said, is that few people who are “born-again” hold a “biblical” worldview.

Only 9 percent of “born-again” adults surveyed, for example, affirmed the existence of absolute moral truth and that the Bible is the standard of moral truth.

According to Barna, worldview affects how people behave. In a typical week, people with a “biblical” worldview are nine times more likely to avoid adult Internet material, fives more likely not to use tobacco products and three times more likely to boycott products, he said.

Also, they are three times more likely not to watch a movie because of objectionable content, 2.5 times more likely to pray for the president and twice as likely to volunteer to help the needy.

In the religious realm, people with this worldview are almost three times more likely to attend a Sunday School class, 2.5 times more likely to read the Bible and twice as likely to attend a service and volunteer at church.

“You have to think like Jesus before you can act like Jesus,” Barna said.

Church leaders appear to be in the dark about their members' beliefs, the statistics indicate, with almost 60 percent of pastors saying the majority of their congregations have a “biblical” worldview. Three of four senior pastors believe they do an excellent job of enabling people to develop a biblical vantage point.

Barna compared the ineffective way some churches drop information on their members to giving them a misnumbered game of connect-the-dots. Believers have information but have difficulty putting it together correctly, he said.

Churches should create a framework of ministry with proper values and sound Bible teaching, Barna urged. Church members must be held accountable and model a proper Christian lifestyle.

He challenged church leaders to instill a biblical worldview in their members intentionally by asking questions. Questions are less abrasive than correcting someone's beliefs, Barna believes. They force people to think, give ownership of answers and facilitate life application of principles, he continued.

“It's not about delivering more information,” Barna said. “Christians have all the information they need. What they need is a way to connect the information.”

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