The State of Theology
Good Morning and Welcome to this week’s Gospel and Culture update, by Alan Vink
Post Pandemic Reflections
Tuesday 4th October 2022
The State of Theology
Every two years Ligonier Ministries (think R.C. Sproul) and Lifeway Research take the theological temperature of the United States to help Christians better understand today’s culture and to equip the church with better insights for evangelism and discipleship. You can find the report of this study published in August here.
Of particular interest and concern is the changing view US adults have about the Bible itself. I quote:- “U.S. adults increasingly reject the divine authorship of the Bible, relegating it to the same category as other religious writings and purportedly sacred texts. This view makes it easy for individuals to accept biblical teaching that they resonate with while simultaneously rejecting any biblical teaching that is out of step with their own personal views or broader cultural values”.
Take a look at this summary over just the last 8 years: STATEMENT NO. 16 reads: The Bible, like all sacred writings, contains helpful accounts of ancient myths but is not literally true.
U.S. Adult Finding:
2014: 41% agree
2016: 44% agree
2018: 47% agree
2020: 48% agree
2022: 53% agree
POV. I think it is well known amongst pastors and Christian leaders in New Zealand that biblical literacy amongst Christian adults in the western world has been declining for at least the last 30 years or so. Probably longer. In a day when everyday Christians would struggle to give a coherent and considered explanation for what they believe and why they believe we are in trouble. Add into this a general cultural trend as outlined above that clearly shows a whopping 53% of those surveyed believe that the bible is NOT literally true we are in even bigger trouble. Note: I would suggest if this study had been done in NZ then the figures would be worse still.
My questions for us today are these:- Is the Bible true? Is the Bible inerrant (no mistakes whatsoever)? Is the whole Bible inspired by God and therefore 100% reliable? If the authority of Scripture is being eroded away such that even Christians are deciding what is true and what isn’t, then what will that mean for the church’s witness in a very secular and pluralistic culture like NZ?
Alan Vink is currently the Executive Director for LeadershipWorx. Prior to this role he has been the Executive Director of Willow Creek Association NZ (WillowNZ), a Baptist pastor (23 years), Bible College teacher, and church consultant.
