PROBLEM: The last “What Now? The Post Covid Church Podcast” focused on the importance for Believers to have and live a Christian worldview. If scripture is authoritative, and is the guide to thinking and living as a Christian, then our behavior should match it. What we’re seeing now is not just a more secular culture, but a church filled with folks living inconsistently. One example: a recenter survey shows that 76% of practicing Christians believe that “To be fulfilled in life, you should pursue things you desire most.” Three out of four!
Dr. George Barna is the director of research of Arizona Christian University’s Cultural Research Center. Every year the group conducts surveys to determine the “American Worldview Inventory.” Some of the results are shocking, including a sharp decline in Born Again Christians committed to practicing their faith. Dr. Barna has surveyed Christian belief and behavior for decades, so the Post-Covid results are not surprising to him. As he said in the report titled “How the Faith of Americans Has Shifted Since the Start of the Pandemic”:
“Although some of the belief and behavior shifts seem to conflict with each other, this is precisely what happens when the prevailing worldview of the nation is Syncretism,” he commented, referring to the most widespread worldview choice of Americans, which entails combining beliefs from a variety of worldviews into an unpredictable, customized blend that satisfies the emotional needs of the individual.
“Syncretism does not rely upon logic or consistency,” Barna continued. “Over time, many people struggle with the conflicts inherent in their syncretistic belief system, and the strange jumble of behaviors that emerge from those beliefs. But for the foreseeable future it is likely most people will ignore their incompatible philosophies and make do the best they can. They are seeking comfort and security more than spiritual and intellectual consistency.”
SOLUTION: The first step is realizing when our thinking and behaving doesn’t match how we are called by God to live. Too frequently, we allow the culture’s worldview to take the place of the Biblical worldview. This is so obvious as we view the balkanized political situation in America. The stance on a particular issue is too often determined by what your political party thinks rather than what the Bible says.
Christ demonstrated the act of speaking truth to power. If something is wrong, it’s wrong. An illustration comes to mind from many years ago while I taught a Sunday school lesson at a conservative, evangelical church. I mentioned the outrage many felt when President Clinton’s extramarital affairs were publicized. There was not such condemnation when that state’s U.S. senator, who happened to have an “R” by his name, was guilty of the same sin.
This is a link to the Cultural Research Center worldview report:
https://www.arizonachristian.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/CRC_AWVI2023_Release_03.pdf
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