Monday, January 22, 2007

Who are the real Evangelicals?

I've been thinking about creating this post all day. I recieved my weekly email from the Barna Group and it includes an article that discusses how we truly define the term evangelical. I'll leave it to you to read the article, I'll just post a few highlights to ponder upon.
  • Asking people if they consider themselves to be evangelicals produces a comparatively large number: 38% of the population accepts that label
  • The Barna Group has traditionally used nine questions to categorize people as evangelicals, whether they consider themselves accurately described by that label or not. Using the nine questions about their beliefs produces a much smaller figure: just 8% of the adult population in 2006 fit the criteria.
  • The most striking differences relate to the beliefs of each group. Compared to the 9-point evangelicals, those who say they are evangelicals are:
    60% less likely to believe that Satan is real
    53% less likely to believe that salvation is based on grace, not works
    46% less likely to say they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs with others
    42% less likely to list their faith in God as the top priority in their life
    38% less likely to believe that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth
    27% less likely to contend that the Bible is totally accurate in all of its teachings
    23% less likely to say that their life has been greatly transformed by their faith
  • the Barna research also noted that one out of every four adults (27%) who say they are evangelicals is not even born again, based upon their beliefs

No wonder the world thinks that Christians are hypocrites?!?!?!?

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