of the matter is our children have been lost long before sitcoms, schools and socialism got a hold of them.Only 19% of a group who call themselves born again have a Christian worldview? (See Barna Research) If pastors were actually teaching the Bible maybe people would believe in absolute truth, a creator, biblical principles of society, sin, the sin nature of man and the existence of evil. Read this except from Barna's report and maybe you can see how far gone we are as a society. If you do not understand this ask your pastor to explain it. He will not be able to and, most likely, will disagree with it, which is why you can kiss your way of life as you know it good-bye!
The research data showed that one pattern emerged loud and clear: young adults rarely possess a biblical worldview. The current study found that less than one-half of one percent of adults in the Mosaic generation – i.e., those aged 18 to 23 – have a biblical worldview, compared to about one out of every nine older adults.0.5% of people ages 18-23 believe in absolute truth, a creator, sin nature, the existence of evil, marriage, family, etc. Now, the argument would be that they once did before they graduated from our public schools, went to our morally corrupt universities and started seeing Hollywood movies. But, you do not have the numbers to support this. These kids are lost before their parents are done with them.
Research shows that 89% of Christian children do not have a Christian worldview when they leave their Christian home for college. But, don't blame the public schools because 40% of children from Christian homes do not have a Christian worldview when the leave elementary school. This means that the secular universities only have to tear down a Christian worldview in 11% of their students because "christian" parents in their "christian" homes have already trashed 89% of the "christian" children.
The failure of our society is the result of incompetent pastors and irresponsible parents. Pastors and parents provide the loudest voices of complaint as they daily lay the blame at the door of the school, the ticket box of Hollywood and legislative hall of a representative government. Experience and research indicates that these numbers are instead the result of the failure of pastors and parents.
Fix the pulpit and the parent and you will fix society.
A corrupt pulpit and a compromised parent will end a Christian culture.
The pulpits and the parents will blame the public school, television and government, but what else would you expect from irresponsible people with no Christian perspective.
More Barna Research
Galyn Wiemers
http://www.generationword.com
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5 comments:
thanks for the stats. what is it exactly you are calling parents and pastors to do? how do they fix it?
Some word of direction from Martin Luther
The great reformer by bitter experience knew from whence this boredom and distaste for the Bible came. He comments on this at end of a sermon on the Monday after Easter, 1530:
You should diligently learn the Word of God and by no means imagine that you know it. Let him who is able to read take a psalm in the morning, or some other chapter of Scripture, and study it for a while. This is what I do. When I get up in the morning, I pray and recite the Ten Commandments, the Creed, and the Lord's Prayer with the children, adding any one of the psalms. I do this only to keep myself well acquainted with these matters, and I do not want to let the mildew of the notion grow that I know them well enough. The devil is a greater rascal than you think he is. You do as yet not know what sort of fellow he is and what a desperate rogue you are. His definite design is to get you tired of the Word and in this way to draw you away from it. This is his aim (WA 32, 64f.).
In a similar vein, Luther addresses this "insidious plague of boredom" toward the Word of God in his preface to the Large Catechism, giving further reasons to constantly meditate on Scripture.
I implore them not to imagine that they have learned these parts of the Catechism [10 Commandments, Apostles' Creed, Lord's Prayer] perfectly . . . Even if their knowledge of the Catechism were perfect (though that is impossible in this life), yet it is highly profitable and fruitful daily to read it and make it the subject of meditation and conversation. In such reading, conversation, and meditation the Holy Spirit is present and bestows ever new and greater light and fervor . . . . Nothing is more effectual against the devil, the world, the flesh, and all evil thoughts than to occupy oneself with the Word of God, talk about it and meditate on it . . . For this reason alone you should eagerly read, recite, ponder and practice the Catechism, even if the only blessing and benefit you obtain from it is to rout the devil and evil thoughts. For he cannot bear to hear God' s Word. God's Word is not like some empty tale, such as the one about Dietrich of Bern, but as St. Paul says in Rom. 1:16, it is "the power of God," indeed, the power of God which burns the devil and gives us immeasurable strength, comfort, and help (Book of Concord; Tappert edition; Large Catechism 9-11).
Anonymous: Assuming your question is sincere (and, I do not fear offending you since "anonymous" is not a real person) the very fact you have to ask "what are parents and pastors to do" indicates we are at such a low level of self-evaluation that we are incapable of problem solving and it is probably too late to save our culture. But, if I were to pretend that America is listening and has the strength of soul to respond I would say first: 1) know the Truth, 2) live the Truth, 3) communicate the Truth. Pastor's need to identify what motivated them to give up communicating the absolutes of the Word of God and forsake that vain motivation. They need to return to laying a foundation of absolute truth in the souls of people (including the youth). Parents need to realize that their generation has either compromised absolute principles for self-satisfaction, convenience or ignorance. Parents must first educate themselves concerning Reality (biblical worldview), because you can not teach what you do not know. Second, parents must hold themselves accountable to live according to the standards of these absolutes, because your actions speak louder than your words.
But, according to the stats, there is really no way of recovering. God apparently can spare a nation who as an older generation with 9% Christian world view. But now, with an "emerging" generation with a mere population of 0.5% that is commitment to absolute Truth (5 out of every 1,000 people), the spiritual pivot is too microscopic to support a national population. We must collapse or see some form of repentance and revival. If this revival were to occur, I can not imagine today's clergy having anything to do with it. Where will it come from? Who will instigate it? Who will lead it? And, if it does occur, where will it end up? Will it be redirected by Christian marketing? Will it be swallowed up emergent church growth plans?
Until, then, just keep asking questions with answers this generation can not comprehend.
I agree with what you said but you didn't really answer the first question of what do parents and pastors do. The answer is teach, read, and study the bible. It says in Deuteronomy 11:18-21 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, 21 so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the LORD swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.
This would be a great start for parents and pastors!
Parents in my community drop off their kids at a church with the assumption that something good will come out the other end. This of course is a disaster for our kids and the nation. We have an entire generation of parents that can't give what they don't have and their children say "My parents went out and sinned so it must be OK". It is important that parents have their own story of righteous living so that their children can't make excuses. We parents must live the authentic Christian life first and before anything else. That includes making tough decisions regarding church and I would advise people to avoid the ones that don't teach Bible doctrine as truth.
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