Citing the findings from a just-completed national survey of 2033 adults that showed only 4% of adults have a biblical worldview as the basis of their decision-making, researcher George Barna described the outcome. "If Jesus Christ came to this planet as a model of how we ought to live, then our goal should be to act like Jesus. Sadly, few people consistently demonstrate the love, obedience and priorities of Jesus. The primary reason that people do not act like Jesus is because they do not think like Jesus. Behavior stems from what we think - our attitudes, beliefs, values and opinions. Although most people own a Bible and know some of its content, our research found that most Americans have little idea how to integrate core biblical principles to form a unified and meaningful response to the challenges and opportunities of life. We're often more concerned with survival amidst chaos than with experiencing truth and significance."
The research indicated that everyone has a worldview, but relatively few people have a biblical worldview - even among devoutly religious people. The survey discovered that only 9% of born again Christians have such a perspective on life. In his words, “Although most people own a Bible and know some of its content, our research found that most Americans have little idea how to integrate the core biblical principles to form a unified and meaningful response to the challenges and opportunities of life. We’re often more concerned with survival amidst chaos than experiencing truth and significance.”
By understanding that Christianity is a worldview – that it proclaims what is really real and reveals to us the truth about God, man, and the world we live in – our beliefs and values will begin to form the “unified and meaningful response” to life that our hearts long for and God intends for us. Transformed beliefs and values will naturally produce transformed living. this transformation will in turn make us agents of God’s continuing redemption in the world around us. We have the opportunity to bring the Kingdom of God among us everywhere we go. If we choose, we can stretch its borders to include our neighborhood, school, workplace, and beyond. In this way we expand the borders of God’s Kingdom – the domain where what God prefers is actually what happens – on earth.
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