It's clear that many Americans don't know their Bible.
CBN.com - Some Christian leaders say this generation is the most biblically illiterate generation they've ever seen. The problem: Americans are not guiding their lives by the Scriptures; they're guiding their lives by psychology and popular culture.
The consequences have been devastating, not just for the church but for society as a whole.
In a random survey Bible-related questions were asked of several passers-by:
Question -- Can you name 5 of the Ten Commandments, or any of the Ten Commandments? Woman – “No."
Question -- Thou shalt not kill, anything else? Older man- “No”.
Question -- Can you name any of the 10 commandments? Young man (just laughs)
Question -- Can you name the first and last books of the Bible? Older man – “First Testament...and I think second one."
Question -- True or false, the Bible teaches God helps those who help themselves? Young man -- “True”.
Question -- Do you know who gave the Sermon on the Mount? Man -- “Moses."
It's clear that many Americans don't know their Bible. According to a recent study from Christian pollster George Barna:
60% of Americans can't name half of the Ten Commandments;
63% can't name the four gospels of the New Testament;
81% believe that "God helps those who help themselves" is a direct quote from the Bible; (which it's not)
80% of born-again Christians hold the same belief; and
31% believe a good person can earn his/her way into heaven;
So what are the consequences of being a Biblically illiterate society?
Dr. Vinson Synan says: "You can see the results everywhere, the breakdown of homes, divorces, the permissiveness of sex, homosexuality, AIDS, all of these things are consequences of not knowing the word of God."
Dr. Vinson Synan, Dean of Regent University's School of Divinity, calls Biblical illiteracy the "ultimate disaster" for a nation, even greater than AIDS or atomic war.
Dr. Vinson Synan went on to say: "Because if people lived Biblical lifestyles, they would not have AIDS, if people followed the Scriptures there would be no nuclear war, so most of our problems are from unbiblical behavior."
Author, George Gallup Jr. comments: "Most people say the Ten Commandments are valid rules for living but they can't name them."
George Gallup, Jr., who recently wrote a book called "Surveying the Religious Landscape," says America is reaping the consequences of Biblical illiteracy...
Mr. Gallup further remarked: "Because people don't know really know their own traditions and don't know the Bible that well, they're really open to a wide variety of spiritual movements."
