Am I the only one who thinks that one of the best parts of staying in a nice hotel is the USA TODAY paper that they set right outside your door every morning? As if to say, "Mr. Fisher, we greatly value your choosing our mid-priced hotel and accepting a room on the 5th floor next to a room with a crying baby and not the 6th floor where everything is much quieter. We know you need to stay connected to what's happening in the world, so we went out and got you this - the USA TODAY.
Well, I think it's awesome.
Anyway, one of the cover articles caught my eye.
How America Sees God
Here is what it said. Surveys say that 9 out of 10 Americans believe in God, but the way we picture that God reveals our attitudes on economics, justice, social morality, war, natural disasters, science, politics, love and more (say Paul Froese and Christopher Bader, sociologists at Baylor University). Their new book, America's Four Gods: What We Say About God - And What That Says About Us, examines our diverse visions of the Almighty and why they matter.
The study concludes that Americans have four Gods. They are...
The Authoritative God (28%)
The Distant God (24%)
The Benevolent God (22%)
The Critical God (21%)
And of course, there are those who don't believe in God at all. Atheists and Agnostics make up about 5% of America's population.
What's striking about this study is that only 22% of Americans who believe in God believe that God is all-loving. Whereas 73% of Americans who believe in God believe Him to be Authoritative, Critical, and Distant.
As I contemplate this current reality, I am drawn back to the groundbreaking research presented by the Barna Group just a few years ago, in the best-selling book, UnChristian, revealing the top six perceptions that 16- to 29-year-olds have of Christians. Those perceptions are anti-homosexual, judgmental, hypocritical, too political, sheltered, and proselytizing.
I have to ask, if this perception of Christians is shared by a majority of Americans, how then could we expect Americans to have a different, more positive view of God?
Showing posts with label United States. Show all posts
Showing posts with label United States. Show all posts
Monday, October 11, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
A Church Re-Presenting
Groundbreaking research by the Barna Group several years ago revealed that, among 16 to 29-year-olds, the perception of Christianity is anti-homosexual, judgmental, hypocritical, too political, sheltered and proselytizing. Statistically, of the emerging generation of Americans, the percentage of people claiming the Christian faith is a mere 4%. Wondering about the drastic decline we're witnessing in the American church and these overwhelmingly negative perceptions, what should the church look like? How should people perceive us?
I think Jesus was painting a picture of what the church is supposed to look like when he was speaking to his disciples in John 6. Jesus said,
"For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."
What's he saying? He's saying that he came to show people the love and grace of God. And he's painting a picture of the church. The church exists to re-present Jesus to the world, to show people the love and grace of God. Why then, when people look at today's church, do they see judgment and hypocrisy? Abuse of power and arrogance?
It's easy to say that it's not our problem, but theirs. It's much more difficult to listen to what Jesus says here,
"And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day."
He takes ownership for every single person who looks to him. He understands that the will of his Father is that anyone who looks to him would not be lost. And sure, the church isn't Jesus. But it is his establishment. It represents him. It re-presents him.
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