This study was released by Barna Group today. It is very revealing about the state of Christianity in America.

Six Megathemes Emerge from Barna Group Research in 2010

1. The Christian Church is becoming less theologically literate.
2. Christians are becoming more ingrown and less outreach-oriented.
3. Growing numbers of people are less interested in spiritual principles and more desirous of learning pragmatic solutions for life.
4. Among Christians, interest in participating in community action is escalating.
5. The postmodern insistence on tolerance is winning over the Christian Church.
6. The influence of Christianity on culture and individual lives is largely invisible.

Here is the full text of the study:
www.barna.org/culture-articles/462-six-megathemes-emerge-from-2010

Mike

Mike,

Number 5 is wholly unbelievable.

Number 6 is also a little hard to swallow given the fact an atheist could never win a nomination for President, let alone the election...not to mention the number of candidates who raised their hand at a famous primary debate when asked if they did not believe in evolution. I won't even address that party's vice presidential candidate...

Kevin

Kevin,

Your arguement is with Barna Group, not me. I too, often question the integrity and motives of poll and research organizations. However, in this case I am in agreement with each of these 6 findings. But that is just my "gut" feel.

My long standing stance is: There is no one who is truly objective.

Mike

Mike,

Of course my "opinion" not argument, although I do enjoy one !, is of course with the findings of that report you cited not you my good old friend, although we do disagree on a few things.

Hugs,

K

Thanks Kevin. I've been a tad paranoid and defensive lately. My trust and safety have been put to the test on a level I haven't experineced in a long time.

As I read your response again, there was no reason for me to take it defensively.

You've always been a good friend.

Mike

Without seeing the actual questions, this is meaningless.

Here is an exerpt from #2 "more ingrown and less outreach-oriented":

"Examples of this tendency include the fact that less than one-third of born again Christians planned to invite anyone to join them at a church event during the Easter season; teenagers are less inclined to discuss Christianity with their friends than was true in the past; most of the people who become Christians these days do so in response to a personal crisis or the fear of death (particularly among older Americans); and most Americans are unimpressed with the contributions Christians and churches have made to society over the past few years."

Reading these "examples" and concluding what Barna concluded takes far too much of a stretch for me to care about this.

Just my two cents.

Re: #5... I tend to see it like Kevin does. I've certainly not seen any real evidence of Christianity becoming more tolerant of those who are not like themselves, none at all, really... Of course this bit of "wisdom" is purely anecdotal rather than scientific in nature

I’ve been pondering over #5.

I’m thinking that maybe by “more tolerant” the meaning is not that Christians (Especially the Born Again Christians) are more accepting they simply have come to realize they have to tolerate those of us that view the world differently.

To know I’m being tolerated is simply intolerable.

Regarding #5

It would help if there was an agreement on the definition of "tolerance".

Does it mean full acceptance, embracing and agreement? Or could it mean, willing to agree to disagree? In order not to compromise my biblical faith I can only do the latter for social issues that run counter to my faith. Even so, I sometimes feel like I'm thought of as a hatemonger. Because I cannot accept embrace and agree but only agree to disagree doesn’t mean that I wish harm toward our culture that is progressively moving away from biblical values.

Mike

Works for me.