Christian Worldview

I'm in the process of reading this book. It's a result of 3 years of study by Barna research in the USA. The fact that it is from the States, which has a very different culture in regards to Christianity than us Kiwis, definitely needs to be taken into consideration when reading the book. My last post, was on my thinking in regards to evangelism and something I read in this book showed why more than ever we need to think about this topic. They list 8 beliefs that they believe show a person with a Christian Worldview:

1. Jesus lived a sinless life
2. God is the all-powerful and all-knowing creator of the universe and He still rules today
3. Salvation is a gift from God and cannot be earned
4. Satan is real
5. A Christian has a responsibility to share his or her faith with other people
6. The Bible is accurate in all of the principles it teaches
7. Unchanging moral truth exists
8. Such moral truth is defined by the Bible

I think in terms of Christianity these 8 points are pretty standard. They are even worded in such a way to dodge some more fundamentalists points; such as how creation occurred or how long it took and stressing principles of the Bible not inerrancy. Yet even through the book says of Americans that 65% of 16-29 year olds have made a commitment to Jesus at sometime in their life and that decision is still important to them; only 3% of them embrace the 8 elements above. Yep that's right - 3%. If you think it just a generational thing - then consider that the percentage only raises to 9 with older adults. We are producing shadow Christians. Is it because we settle too quickly for tick this box - say this prayer - you're in - discipleship??? Although this book is American, I wonder if NZ results on this would be any different. For more on the book, here is s link to Paul Windsors blog where he writes more on the book and has other links in regards to the book. I'm hoping to take Paul's advice and do a series on the topics risen by the book at our little evening service 'The Station'.

Til next time
D