WORLD OF MYTH OR REALITY

Reflecting back to January 1, 2001 ... How many of us could have ever dreamed that 2001 would have turned out as it did? The road we've traveled during the past 12 months has been paved with unexpected twists and turns. We've all had some experiences throughout the past year that we had not expected when the year began, right?

As we pause at the end of the year to review what happened throughout the past 12 months, the story of the year was the 9/11 attack on America. But plenty of other changes occurred during the past year that merit recollection. Based on more than a dozen national research studies conducted by the Barna Research Group of Ventura, California, during 2001, it is obvious that even the faith realm provided its fair share of drama.

Consider these statements from George Barna's annual review of the top religious findings:

1. Among adults who have been married, "Christians" and non-Christians have essentially the same probability of divorce.
2. Mormons are more likely to read the Bible during the week than are Protestants or Catholics.
3. Adults who attend charismatic or Pentecostal churches were more likely to possess biblical beliefs than were those attending other Protestant and Catholic churches.
4. By the end of the decade, 50 million Americans will seek to have their spiritual experience solely through the Internet, rather than at a church; and upwards of 100 million Americans will rely upon the Internet to deliver some aspects of their religious experience.
5. Roman Catholics represent the second largest denominational group of "Christians" in the nation - trailing the Southern Baptists, but way ahead of Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, and others.
6. Although one-third of all "Christian" adults claim to tithe their income, only 12% actually do so.
7. Just half of all home-schooling parents are "born again Christians."

Whether you agree or disagree with his findings is irrelevant. "One of the greatest values of research is that it can identify myths that we hold on to - myths that often prevent us from seizing opportunities, or that prevent us from responding appropriately to the world around us," Barna explained. "A lot of the anger that was expressed to us in reaction to these findings reflects the difficulty we sometimes have in changing our predispositions and coming to grips with a world that is rapidly changing and does not conform to the rules we believed were firmly entrenched. Knowing the reality, rather than the myth, can help us address reality and, if need be, redirect it."

Which world do you live in, reality or myth?

See you in Bible Class!

Ted Edwards

West-Ark Church of Christ, Fort Smith, AR
Bulletin Article, 23 December 2001

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