(OPINION) ETH – Dr. George Barna and the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University are sounding the alarm in regards to the direction that America is heading in and urging churches to step up to the plate and work to “rebuild the biblical worldview” as the country is in the midst of a battle that transcends politics but is rather rooted in the spiritual realm.
“Most Americans are oblivious to this, the real civil war ravaging America,” Barna said in a statement. “Our nation is steadily moving toward the elimination of the biblical worldview as the cornerstone of our society.” According to the report, the comments as the conclusion to the Cultural Research Center’s “American Worldview Inventory” study, that uncovered numerous concerns this year both regarding the general spiritual state of the nation and the beliefs of those who profess to be Christians.
In the revealed report, it was discovered that 69% of those surveyed believe that man is “basically good.” Those who identified as Christian did not fare much better, as 70% of Evangelicals and Pentecostals, and 75% of mainline Protestants, agreed with the sentiment. The Christian News Network went on to state that the Bible contrarily teaches that all men are born with a sin nature, are intrinsically depraved, and are in need of the Savior to save them from themselves.
“Americans do not think of themselves as inherently sinful,” the Center laments. “American adults are convinced of the innate goodness of humanity.” “Conflict and separation between people will continue to haunt civilization until it acknowledges its need for, dependence upon, and acceptance of God as the only power that can heal the effects of our sinful nature, through the redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus Christ,” it warns.
Sadly, the research also found that many Americans reject moral absolutes, including some who claim to be Christians and that a huge majority look within themselves or to family and friends rather than to the Bible when making moral decisions. In fact, of all the Americans that were surveyed in general, 58% agreed that “identifying moral truth is up to each individual; there are no moral absolutes that apply to everyone, all the time.”
One third, or 32%, disagreed, and one out of ten adults said that they do not know. “The typical American believes, ‘Truth is what I say it is, and no one can tell me otherwise,” the Center mourns. “Americans believe that right and wrong can only be discerned by each individual, based upon their feelings and circumstances;
and that what is right for one person might be wrong for another but each must have the freedom to make those choices without external judgment.” “Unless Americans return to accepting the Bible as a valid and consistent source of truth, and the authoritative guide for ethical and moral decision-making, our nation is doomed to wallow in a sea of moral uncertainty and inconsistency,” it urges.
