Barna Report Reveals We’re Misled About Evangelical Influence in America
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Barna Report Reveals We’re Misled About Evangelical Influence in America
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A headline from an article by a Christian leader quotes a specific number of Christians in America saying this is the key to the upcoming presidential election. But is that number accurate? And what is the truth about our current Christian cultural influence?
Dr. George Barna, Director of the Cultural Research Center at Azusa Christian University and author of 60 books helps us understand if we are succumbing or shaping society as Christ’s ambassadors and how many of us are really out there.
Post a prayer for your state!
Barna’s most recent project is a no holds barred, realistic, objective and honest assessment of data that many “watchmen on the wall” believe God is giving us to wake us up in this time of crisis. He’s informing and inspiring us to be “salt” holding back decay plus awaken authentic Christ followers to be informed influencers and change agents before it’s too late!
We need a sense of urgency so he’s exposing counterfeit “Christians” and an “evangelical exodus” as many pastors avoid addressing “hot button” issues while church attenders simply enjoy sermons about books of the Bible but don’t apply the Scriptures to address extremely serious issues accelerating America’s moral decline.
How we desperately need this kind of brutal honesty today. Example: I.C.E. (Immigration and Custom Enforcement) released their recent findings that 450,000 unsupervised criminal aliens are in America now including 13,000 convicted or accused of murder! The media avoids or downplay these shocking figures, causing masses to treat “open borders” as no big deal when it is having a catastrophic effect on our society. Likewise, we need accurate stats on the actual number of Christians in America so we can gauge their real impact in elections.
An Accurate Assessment
Major media polling tells us that about 40% of America’s adult population (representing about 90 million votes!) is “Christian.” Barna research shows the figure is inflated – it’s actually around 10% (representing maybe 30 million votes).
This data is surprising and sobering to many who identify as evangelicals who may have illusions about our impact today.
Let’s break it down for the sake of clarity and realism.
When people are asked general questions – “Are you a Christian?”- millions respond in the affirmative because that’s their childhood experience; they attend periodic church services; they’re not Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu or Muslim so they surmise they must be Christian or Catholic or some facsimile.
Back to Basics
Barna pollsters ask specific questions that are more revealing in light of historic Christian beliefs. Identifying as an evangelical means salvation is by “grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone;” Jesus Christ is God incarnate; the Bible is divinely inspired as the revealed will of God; we are “born again” [converted as Jesus stated we must be (John 3:1-21)] when we repent and trust Jesus Christ and His sacrificial, substitutionary death on the Cross “not by good works lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
If we ask questions like the following, we find massive numbers of so-called “Christians” who aren’t really Christians after all!
“Do you believe that Jesus is God? Is Jesus Christ the only way for a person to be forgiven and go to heaven? Is a person a Christian because he/she was baptized and confirmed? A person who is sincere in any religion will be saved, right? Is the Bible the actual Word of God? Are people basically good? Do all good people who go to church, pray, help the poor and do good deeds go to heaven? Since God is love most people go to heaven but some like Hitler or Charles Manson probably end up in hell (if it exists), right? Most religions are similar and if people are sincere God grants them eternity with Him in heaven after death.”
Brutal reality: From the clear teaching of scripture, millions professing to be Christians are sadly deceived into believing these incorrect beliefs about salvation and eternal life and communicate (when asked) that they are Christians but are not and are in need of being evangelized!
Even Pope Francis recently said in Singapore: “All religions are paths to reach God. There is only one God and religions are like languages, paths to reach God.” Sorry, this is not scriptural!
Biblical Worldview
Barna’s meticulous and objective research also reveals mind-boggling data showing scores of “evangelical Christians” failing to put their faith into action to impact society. Scores are neglecting, ignoring and tragically compromising commands and important aspects of the Christian life that bring light into darkness and preserve us from moral decay.
Examples
- Only 1/3 of “evangelical Christians” have a biblical worldview.
- 7 of 10 believe it’s best to follow instincts in decision-making.
- 50% believe that all people are basically good resulting in minimal intentional sharing of the transformative message of the gospel. (Note: Pope Francis declared this unbiblical belief on 60 Minutes on 5/19/24. “We are all fundamentally good. There are some rogues and sinners, but the heart itself is good.” Error!)
- 25% accept lying when it’s in their best interests.
- Millions accept abortion as legitimate. 50% of “Catholics” voted for the pro-abortion candidate in the last presidential election!
- 1/3 choose not to vote, refraining from our duty as citizens to “render to Caesar” (Mark 12:17) as Jesus directed and modeled.
- 6 of 10 don’t pay attention to news about government and politics.
- Millions don’t engage in advancing God’s agenda by choosing to refrain from dialogue with others where they differ.
Call for SAGECONS
The Family Research Council, led by Tony Perkins, a man I deeply respect, is issuing a call for “Spiritually Active, Governance Engaged, Conservatives.” It’s a clarion call for evangelical Christians to stand up and speak up on the issues of our day in order to change the hearts and minds of those surrounding us in our spheres of influence.
Many of you are aware of the Bullseye initiative which is similar in its mission to equip informed influencers to speak courageously and confidently on the 30 hot button issues we’re facing at this critical time in America’s history. 16 top leaders donated their time and ministry to put together 30 free, brief compelling videos instantly available for pastors, politicians, youth leaders, parents, educators and everyone arising to take a bold stand and rescue those being swept up in deception on our watch. Simply go to larrytomczak.com and click on the Bullseye graphic and begin being mentored by leaders such as Dr. Michael Brown, Dr. Alveda King, Stormie Omartian, Dr. Che Ahn, Dr. David Barton and others. It’s all free.
Here’s the Deal: Dr. George Barna’s latest research project is certainly a needed “eye opener” with the coming election. May it jolt scores out of any complacency to get engaged, vote Biblically and strongly but lovingly exhort all we can to see God’s purposes fulfilled in 2024.
Share your prayers for the church ahead of this election in the comments.
Larry Tomczak is a best-selling author of 10 books, cultural commentator of 50 years, Intercessors for America board member and a public policy advisor with Liberty Counsel. Go to www.larrytomczak.com to watch 30 amazing, free, on demand, brief videos done by some of America’s top leaders to confidently address today’s tough issues. Photo Credit: Aaron Burden on Unsplash.
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Some Christians today are in the dark about the corruption in our elections, in our government, in our justice system and the deeds of darkness in our nation, in our Churches and in the world.
Ephesians 5:14 “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”
Proverbs 2:3-5
Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures.
John 8:32
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Praying for the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of all Christians and give them discernment to recognize the truth from deception. The Father of lies is prowling around deceiving many. Reveal and expose the truth. In Jesus name I 🙏
Salem Media, the Christian producer of 2000 Mules, released a statement to the effect that they had been misled about the evidence of voter fraud. In other words the book and film, 2000 mules, were based on fraudulent information.
There was some fraud in the 2020 election. There is always some fraud, but investigations by professionals, the ones who understand what constitutes proof, professionals who were working on the part of foxnews, newsmax, Salem Media and others and were motivated to find proof, were not able to find proof that could stand up in court.
Investigations by mostly Republican committees posted their findings online. I have yet to find anyone who claims that the election was stolen who has actually read even one of those findings.
What I have noticed on the IFA website is that many sincere people do not understand what constitutes proof and what does not.
Not removing felons from registered voters lists is not fraud. It indicates that election officials in some locations are either not cross checking enough or the databases they rely on are not accurate (a very real possibility). The articles I have seen do not mention if the felons had voted, but one would assume that this was checked and since not mentioned, probably means that they did not vote and were probably unaware that their names were still on the voter lists. Printing out a fake driver’s license on which is the claim of citizenship is fraudulent. Printing out a fake American birth certificate is fraudulent. (Using documents for ID is not fool proof.)
Trying to register people who normally don’t vote is a strategy. It is not fraudulent. Changing the voting rules at the last minute is complicated because the laws are different state by state and county by county. There is also the complication of COVID appearing with little advance notice so less time for what people considered to be necessary changes to go through the courts (which takes years). All of these cases have been worked out slowly (Yes, there was over reaction to COVID but election officials have no control over that.)
There have been detailed and extensive investigation of Dominion with those on the other side of the lawsuit, foxnews, arriving at the same conclusion as the courts and Dominion.
A person can be a naturalized citizen. In other words, have gone through all the steps and still not have the paperwork. What happens when you apply for your citizenship paperwork is that you mail off all of the original documents when you apply. It can take a very long time for the paperwork to get back and in the meantime, a person would have trouble proving anything. And then there is also this, a naturalized citizen has only one original copy of their citizen paperwork. If twenty years has passed and someone feels like their citizenship has long since been established, they can lose track of where that particular document is because they never have to use it.
When an article says that 100 were on the voters rolls and they need to provide proof and doesn’t explain, you really can draw no conclusions as to why. Did those registered provide paperwork when they first voted, and no record was made of what documents were provided and now since there is more of a concern, the election officials are going through the lists and noting the documentation? Did the law change about what documents should be provided and so what they presented was not enough during the new laws? If someone doesn’t answer a question about providing proof, that does not mean that they are not citizens.
There is some corruption in the lower courts. This is not new. Think about the prejudice against a black man facing a crime against a white person in the early twentieth century. But on the whole our checks and balances work. So, while, yes, there is some corruption, there are many more judges who try to rule in a just manner. Part of the problem is that there are different ways of viewing laws. The majority on the Supreme Court are constitutionalist. That means they believe in taking the constitution literally.
Iwill pray for your ministry and will speak to my family and friends about he importance of voting and be aware of how important that we know this is not a political vote but it is a spirital concern for this country
LORD GOD
ELIMINTE ALL THE CORRUPTION IN NEVADA, BRING TRUE JUSTICE TO THIS PLACE.
I ASK IN JESUS’ NAME
AMEN
God, I’ve heard what our ancestors say about you, and I’m stopped in my tracks, down on my knees.
Do among us what you did among them. Work among us as you worked among them.
And as you bring judgment, as you surely must, remember mercy.
HABAKKUK 3:1-2
Oh ,God please remember mercy as we look at Jesus hanging on the cross. What great Love you have for us! Wake us up and get us ready for battle ! Open our eyes to see and our ears to hear what the Spirit is ! Amen
I think the portion of evangelist who support Trump and believe he won the 2020 election has discredited all evangelist and has caused many to see them as flaky and out of touch.
Surely, my informal analysis is less rigorous that what Mr. Barna has done. But, over the years, my small-population sampling has indicated that only 5-15% on American adults have beliefs consistent with the Bible. In essence, the two results agreed. This explains a lot about America.
What might be the analogous results for professional clergy?
Larry, thank you for the article.
I am the way the Truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6 Pope Francis is a false teacher.
I think many are disheartened at the candidates for president we have to choose between.
Afterall, the Republican party had an opportunity to choose someone who was truly against abortion (Trump obviously is not) and against the woke agenda and followed Republican economic principles for lower taxes and less regulation but who also had the courage to deal with our debt, had a solid platform for building up our military and knew something about international diplomacy and someone who was not narcissistic and unpredictable. Such a candidate could have drawn in the rest of the Republicans, Independents and moderate Democratic votes. But MAGA ramrodded Trump down the throat of the Republican party. Now we face the real prospect of losing. I can’t blame people for not wanting to vote.
All professing Christians who sit out this election will miss their opportunity as instruments to save our nation from a certain communist takeover. Others will deserve the misery coming if that tragedy occurs. Prayers for revived hearts, and that God will compel His true Church to arise and vote wisely!
Very ,very sobering facts Larry !! We must apply all the knee time we can these last couple of weeks!!
I’ve wondered about this for some time.
Lord, draw many to Yourself in this troubled land.