Did you read Barna’s latest research this morning? Fresh off the virtual press – check it out: Most American Christians Do Not Believe that Satan or the Holy Spirit Exist.
According to Barna, six out of ten Christians in the United States believe that Satan is not a real entity, rather a symbol of evil. In addition to that, tens of millions of American Christians believe Jesus Christ sinned while he was on earth.
Even more than that don’t believe the Holy Spirit to be a real, living entity. Rather, like Satan, most Christians in America believe the Holy Spirit to simply be a symbol of God’s power.
Most people – including Christians – are ignorant when it comes to basic biblical teaching.
It’s not that American Christians don’t have a high view of Scripture – according to Barna a “slight majority of Christians (55%) strongly agree that the Bible is accurate in all of the principles it teaches, with another 18% agreeing somewhat. About one out of five either disagree strongly (9%) or somewhat (13%) with this statement, and 5% aren’t sure what to believe.”
While most Christians in the United States claim the Bible is God’s word, they disagree with core Christian doctrines.
Why do you think this is?
I’m going to ponder this, and answer that question in another post.
By the way, if you’re a church leader and aren’t signed up to receive Barna’s montly electronic newsletter, you ought to be. Sign up here – it’s well-worth it!
Blessings from San Francisco 🙂
The Overflow 