Bible reading declines

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.

The shallowness of American Christianity has been documented in a book co-

authored by Pollster George Gallup and Michael Lindsay. Two of their major
findings are "the glaring lack of knowledge about the Bible, basic doctrines, and the
traditions of one's church…. (and) the superficiality of faith, with many people not
knowing what they believe, or why" (REF: George Gallup Jr. and D. Michael
Lindsay, Surveying the Religious Landscape: Trends in U.S. Beliefs, 1999, p.4).
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."

___Worse, Gallup said, the percentage of people with a college education has more
than tripled since 1935 "but the level of biblical knowledge appears to have hardly
budged." Andy Dzurovcik of Faith Lutheran Church in Clark, NJ a pastor for 28
years, says ""The Bible is the best-selling, least-read and least-understood book."

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.