Millennials lack a biblical worldview today

[Original Happy Camper]

"... Because 24 of every 25 Millennials lack a biblical worldview today"

Very interesting read.
Barna detects dangerous breach in the wall

“The light esteem in which the law of God is held, even by religious leaders, has been productive of great evil. The teaching, which has become so wide-spread that the divine statutes are no longer binding upon men, is the same as idolatry in its effect upon the morals of the people. Those who seek to lessen the claims of God’s holy law are striking directly at the foundation of the government of families and nations. Religious parents, failing to walk in his statutes, do not command their household to keep the way of the Lord. The law of God is not made the rule of life. The children, as they make homes of their own, feel under no obligation to teach their children what they themselves have never been taught. And this is why there are so many godless families; this is why depravity is so deep and wide-spread.” Christian Education, page 220.

The above paragraph was published in 1903

 

[Original Happy Camper]

"For the purposes of the survey, a "biblical worldview" was defined as believing that absolute moral truth exists; the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches; Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic; a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or do good works; Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today. In the research, anyone who held all of those beliefs was said to have a biblical worldview."

http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2009/march/barna-how-many-have-biblical-worldview.html

 

[Dave-W]

It is the spirit of the age - unbelief in God and His ways.

 

[GeorgeJ]

"... Because 24 of every 25 Millennials lack a biblical worldview today"

That's not the only thing millennials lack.......!

 

[Papias]

Note that the survey you gave is from 8 years ago. Recent polls have not only confirmed that millennials are fleeing Christianity, but that now every age group and every region of the country is fleeing Christianity as well - and that the trend with the millennials has sped up. The data show that it averages out to 400 more non-Christians every hour of every day. More of the same.....

In Christ-

Papias

 

[PloverWing]

"For the purposes of the survey, a "biblical worldview" was defined as believing that absolute moral truth exists; the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches; Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic; a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or do good works; Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today. In the research, anyone who held all of those beliefs was said to have a biblical worldview."

http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2009/march/barna-how-many-have-biblical-worldview.html

I wasn't able to find a list of the actual questions on the questionnaire, to see exactly what was asked and how it was worded. It may be that Barna is defining "biblical worldview" overly narrowly, and that that's part of why the numbers are so low. It's possible to see Satan as a metaphor for evil, and still be faithful to the Bible's teachings. It's possible to believe that the behavior that God expected from the ancient Israelites during their wanderings was different from what God expected of Israel as a nation, and different still from what God expects of Christians now, and still be following the Bible, but I don't know how a person with this view would answer the question "Does absolute moral truth exist?"

So I want to see the questionnaire before rendering a judgment, and if it were up to me, I might reword some of Barna's questions if I were evaluating people's Christian orthodoxy.

 

[Greg J.]

Moral failings in leadership—Christian, political, parental, etc.—in the last half century has decreased our ability to believe and trust. (I'm sure it goes farther back than that.) People are more afraid. (Terrorism helps fuel it.) We are more predisposed to skepticism and to not believe something unless (1) we can see it ourselves and/or (2) we can understand it ourselves. Hence the rise of reliance on science as a source of truth. As @DaveW-Ohev says: unbelief.

Remember to lock your doors before you go to sleep. Actually, keep them locked all the time. When I was a kid, it didn't matter very much. Culture still programmed people with a fear of God. There was more respect for people. The degree of harm people were comfortable with was much less—for both causing harm and hearing about harm.

Note that the survey you gave is from 8 years ago. Recent polls have not only confirmed that millennials are fleeing Christianity, but that now every age group and every region of the country is fleeing Christianity as well - and that the trend with the millennials has sped up.

Do you have links to any more recent data/articles?

 

[Mountain_Girl406]

"For the purposes of the survey, a "biblical worldview" was defined as believing that absolute moral truth exists; the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches; Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic; a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or do good works; Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today. In the research, anyone who held all of those beliefs was said to have a biblical worldview."

Barna: How Many Have a Biblical Worldview?

Is it possible to be Christian without holding to that definition of a Biblical worldview?

 

[faroukfarouk]

"... Because 24 of every 25 Millennials lack a biblical worldview today"

Very interesting read.
Barna detects dangerous breach in the wall

“The light esteem in which the law of God is held, even by religious leaders, has been productive of great evil. The teaching, which has become so wide-spread that the divine statutes are no longer binding upon men, is the same as idolatry in its effect upon the morals of the people. Those who seek to lessen the claims of God’s holy law are striking directly at the foundation of the government of families and nations. Religious parents, failing to walk in his statutes, do not command their household to keep the way of the Lord. The law of God is not made the rule of life. The children, as they make homes of their own, feel under no obligation to teach their children what they themselves have never been taught. And this is why there are so many godless families; this is why depravity is so deep and wide-spread.” Christian Education, page 220.

The above paragraph was published in 1903

You can see that the apostasy is deep seated. But at an individual family and local church level, prayerful engagement with the Scriptures and the Lord needs to be a constant thing.

 

[RC1970]

"...for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments." ~ Deuteronomy 5:9-10

"Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him." ~ Proverbs 13:24

"But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." ~ 1 Timothy 5:8

 

[brinny]

Tragic.

God have mercy.

Praying.

 

[faroukfarouk]

Is it possible to be Christian without holding to that definition of a Biblical worldview?

One would hope that those who say they believe in the Lord Jesus would indeed go to the Scriptures prayerfully as a daily recourse.

 

[Archivist]

I wasn't able to find a list of the actual questions on the questionnaire, to see exactly what was asked and how it was worded. It may be that Barna is defining "biblical worldview" overly narrowly, and that that's part of why the numbers are so low. It's possible to see Satan as a metaphor for evil, and still be faithful to the Bible's teachings. It's possible to believe that the behavior that God expected from the ancient Israelites during their wanderings was different from what God expected of Israel as a nation, and different still from what God expects of Christians now, and still be following the Bible, but I don't know how a person with this view would answer the question "Does absolute moral truth exist?"

So I want to see the questionnaire before rendering a judgment, and if it were up to me, I might reword some of Barna's questions if I were evaluating people's Christian orthodoxy.

I agree, I would want to see the actual questionnaire. Having said that, there is evidence that many Millennials are leaving the church.

 

[PloverWing]

Update: I was able to find an abbreviated version of the questions at Survey Details How the Core Beliefs and Behaviors of Millennials Compare to Those of Other Adults | American Culture and Faith Institute and https://www.culturefaith.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/3-15-17-table.jpg . I still haven't found the full questionnaire with the exact wording of the questions.

In reply to @Mountain_Girl406, yes, as far as I can tell, it's possible to be a committed Christian who can say the Nicene Creed without your fingers crossed and still not meet Barna's definition of a biblical worldview.

 

[OpenYourBibles]

This is not going to be very popular, but it is what I believe... I am a teacher, and when a student is failing in class the first person I look at is me... is there something that I am doing that is causing the shortcoming? After me I look at mom and dad and the home life, is there something going on that is causing the shortcomings in class? The final assessment I make is if the problem is with the kiddo.

I am technically a "millennial" born in 1989. I have been married for going on 8 years, I have three beautiful children. I love God and am an active and productive member of the body of christ. I have graduate college with a teaching degree and have spent the past few years working with at-risk students in a variety of different capacities... I can say with 100% surety that, I didn't get to the place I am today by myself. From a young age my parents held standards, loved me and cared for me, and taught me how to love God. It is in large part because of my upbringing that I turned out he way that I did.

There are plenty of millennials that are severely lacking in a lot of areas, including a love and reverence for God; and a lot of people are quick to wag their fingers at them and tear them down. But where does the fault really lie. Just like at school with a failing student, at home when a kiddo turns 12, 16, definetly 18 years old and is "severely lacking in a lot of areas" isn't the parent copable in that deficiency??? Isn't the parent perhaps even more guilty than the kiddo, we all know the kiddo is dumb that is why they are supposed to have parents that know better to teach them!

I'm not excusing their behavior, I don't believe it is entirely there fault but I do believe it will be entirely their problem. The fact that 24 out of 25 millennials (I think that was the statistic that was quoted) lack a biblical world view, has far less to do anything with millennials and far more to do with the perverse and twisted society we live in. Many times in the OT it says, "and then there arose a generation that knew not God" that generation arose because the generation before (their parents and grandparents) didn't pass along the message! We are seeing the fruits of a string of generations who have failed to pass on the message, and the few of us that have the message are scrambling to figure out how to restore the old pledge. We'll never get there by pointing and wagging our fingers at these kiddos that truly and honestly don't know any better and have not developed the personal integrity to search out truth themselves in spite of what their parents gave them.

 

[pakicetus]

.

 

[pakicetus]

Remember to lock your doors before you go to sleep. Actually, keep them locked all the time. When I was a kid, it didn't matter very much. Culture still programmed people with a fear of God..

 

[OpenYourBibles]

What are you suggesting with these statistics? What I interpolate... which could be incorrect... is that you are suggesting that the world is now a safer place than it was in the 1990's. If that is what you are saying, I simply ask you to apply common sense! I grew up in the 90's and rode my block around the block, I won't let my kids ride out of my eye sight! My parents never locked their doors and we never had a break in, I lock my doors every night and have had people try to pry through a locked dead bolt. I am not hanging the blame on millennials, but I surely will not accept that our world is becoming a better and safer place!

 

[Archivist]

This is not going to be very popular, but it is what I believe... I am a teacher, and when a student is failing in class the first person I look at is me... is there something that I am doing that is causing the shortcoming? After me I look at mom and dad and the home life, is there something going on that is causing the shortcomings in class? The final assessment I make is if the problem is with the kiddo.

I am technically a "millennial" born in 1989. I have been married for going on 8 years, I have three beautiful children. I love God and am an active and productive member of the body of christ. I have graduate college with a teaching degree and have spent the past few years working with at-risk students in a variety of different capacities... I can say with 100% surety that, I didn't get to the place I am today by myself. From a young age my parents held standards, loved me and cared for me, and taught me how to love God. It is in large part because of my upbringing that I turned out he way that I did.

There are plenty of millennials that are severely lacking in a lot of areas, including a love and reverence for God; and a lot of people are quick to wag their fingers at them and tear them down. But where does the fault really lie. Just like at school with a failing student, at home when a kiddo turns 12, 16, definetly 18 years old and is "severely lacking in a lot of areas" isn't the parent copable in that deficiency??? Isn't the parent perhaps even more guilty than the kiddo, we all know the kiddo is dumb that is why they are supposed to have parents that know better to teach them!

I'm not excusing their behavior, I don't believe it is entirely there fault but I do believe it will be entirely their problem. The fact that 24 out of 25 millennials (I think that was the statistic that was quoted) lack a biblical world view, has far less to do anything with millennials and far more to do with the perverse and twisted society we live in. Many times in the OT it says, "and then there arose a generation that knew not God" that generation arose because the generation before (their parents and grandparents) didn't pass along the message! We are seeing the fruits of a string of generations who have failed to pass on the message, and the few of us that have the message are scrambling to figure out how to restore the old pledge. We'll never get there by pointing and wagging our fingers at these kiddos that truly and honestly don't know any better and have not developed the personal integrity to search out truth themselves in spite of what their parents gave them.

One reason I hear for Millennials for their leaving the church is hypocrisy.

Several years ago the old pipe organ at our church finally died. Older members insisted that we buy a new one (pipe organs are not cheap) because we had always had a pipe organ and we just had to have a new one. Several of our Millennial members suggested buying something cheaper and using the extra money to expand our community food pantry. Something about Jesus telling his followers to feed the poor. The older members won out and we got the new organ. Does anyone see why Millennials leave the church?

 

[Original Happy Camper]

I wasn't able to find a list of the actual questions on the questionnaire, to see exactly what was asked and how it was worded. It may be that Barna is defining "biblical worldview" overly narrowly, and that that's part of why the numbers are so low. It's possible to see Satan as a metaphor for evil, and still be faithful to the Bible's teachings. It's possible to believe that the behavior that God expected from the ancient Israelites during their wanderings was different from what God expected of Israel as a nation, and different still from what God expects of Christians now, and still be following the Bible, but I don't know how a person with this view would answer the question "Does absolute moral truth exist?"

So I want to see the questionnaire before rendering a judgment, and if it were up to me, I might reword some of Barna's questions if I were evaluating people's Christian orthodoxy.

see the link in the OP for the questions