Know What Your Bible Says!

I have some good news, and I have some bad news.
The good news is that Americans are deeply religious — this according to a study by Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. The study revealed that 92 percent of Americans believe in God and 74 percent believe in life after death. The bad news is that most Americans don't feel their religion is the only way to eternal life — meaning that most Americans do not know the fundamental teachings of the Christian faith as taught by the Bible.

The teaching of the Bible is that a relationship with Jesus Christ is the only road to eternal life, but the Pew study showed that 57 percent of evangelicals believe many religions can lead to eternal life. Are you surprised?

That pretty well answers the question of why it is so difficult to to teach absolute truth in American society today. It seems that the majority of Americans prefer a "feel good" message over the message of basic biblical truth.

Recently, the news was full of a story related to a speech Barack Obama gave in June of 2006. Dr. James Dobson took exception to some statements Obama made in reference to a selection of biblical passages the Senator used in connection with public policy.

First let me point out the good things that Obama said in his speech (quoting from the Washington Post).

Obama took on the liberals "who dismiss religion in the public square as inherrently irrational or intolerant" and "caricature religious Americans...as fanatical." He went on to say: "Secularists are wrong when they ask believers to leave their religion at the door before entering into the public square...To say that men and women should not inject their 'personal morality' into public policy debates is a practical absurdity. Our law is by definition a codification of our morality, much of which is grounded in the Judeo-Christian tradition."

Way to go Obama! But then he said...

"And even if we did have only Christians in our midst, if we expelled every non-Christian from the United States of America, whose Christianity would we teach in the schools? Would we go with James Dobson's, or Al Sharpton's? Which passages of Scripture should guide our public policy? Should we go with Leviticus, which suggests slavery is okay and that eating shellfish is an abomination? Or we could go with Deuteronomy, which suggests stoning your child if he strays from the faith? Or should we just stick to the Sermon on the Mount -- a passage that is so radical that it's doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application? So before we get carried away, let's read our Bibles now. Folks haven't been reading their Bibles."

He is certainly right about the importance of reading our Bibles and understanding, and knowing what the Bible says, but Dr. Dobson was upset that Obama seemed to be intentionally fusing the teachings of the Old Testament with Jesus' teachings in the New Testament, contrary to the Christian belief that many of the Old Testament laws and practices were rendered obsolete by Jesus' teachings. Dr. Dobson went on to say, "I think he's deliberately distorting the traditional understanding of the Bible to fit his own worldview, his own confused theology"

Then Obama made this comment regarding the pluralistic, democratic society we live in...

"Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values. What do I mean by this? It requires that their proposals be subject to argument, and amenable to reason. I may be opposed to abortion for religious reasons, to take one example, but if I seek to pass a law banning the practice, I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or evoke God's will. I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all."

Dobson paraphrased this comment by saying, "What he's trying to say here is...unless everybody agrees, we have no right to fight for what we believe."

The differences of opinion on crucial issues such as gay rights and abortion have divided these two national figures, but it is obvious that each of these men represent a segment of society that believe what they believe.

Is James Dobson right in his assesment, or is he mistaken, I wonder, what you are thinking? There was a time when evangelicals were mostly on the same page, but, sadly, that does not appear to be the case anymore. I wonder where all of this will eventually lead.

I fear that where we are headed is that the church will become more and more tolerant, compromising the absolute truth of the Bible — and, in time, the church will be in chaos — and eventually the church will become impotent. Evangelicals must stand firm on foundational principles and teaching of scripture.

I pray that I am mistaken about a future compromising church, but what do you think? I would really like to know how all of this sets with you. Please insert your comments below, or e-mail me at rscovil@bakercitychristian.org.

"Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is" (Ephesians 5:15-17 NIV).

Be blessed and be a blessing. --Roger