Thinking God’s Thoughts

Longer essays and shorter, commentary-based articles that attempt to think God's thoughts, to respond to an issue from a Biblical point of view. Look for the (New) and (Updated) postings as you browse.

Christian, What Do You Believe?

While most Christians (75%) believe that Jesus literally rose from the dead, 39% also think that Jesus sinned when he was on earth. There was a similar majority (73%) of Christians who agreed that the Bible was accurate in all the principles it teaches, while one-third (33%) agreed that the Bible, the Koran and Book of Mormon all taught the same truths, even though the three sacred books have very different ideas about salvation and the nature of God.

Embryonic Stem Cell Research and Our Inward Parts 

Scientists largely agree that stem cells hold potential for the treatment, and possible cure, of many serious medical conditions such as Parkinson's disease, cancer, diabetes and heart disease. While the use of adult stem cells in biomedical research is widely accepted, many religious groups oppose embryonic stem cell research, which involves the use and destruction of human embryos. The Catholic Church and many evangelical Protestant groups have called for a ban on all embryonic stem cell research, believing that “embryos constitute life.”

Holy, Holy, Holy is the Bible to Americans

In a national survey by the Barna Group, George Barna commented that “Most Americans consider the Bible to be the word of God - and do not believe any other document fits that description.” About two dozen different books were identified by American adults as “sacred literature” or “holy books.” Only four of the various books were listed by at least 1% of the public, and just one book, the Bible, was considered sacred or holy by at least 5% of the survey participants.

How Committed to God and Church are Americans? 

Four out of five adults in the United States consider themselves to be Christian. How committed are they to the beliefs and practices of the Christian faith? According to the Barna Research Group, it depends on how you measure commitment. “For most Americans, being a Christian is more about image than action.”

Morality Gone Bust?

Americans see themselves as concerned about morality and view themselves as moral people. But they disagree on what a “moral” life should look like; how to define moral standards; and how ethical decisions should be made. “Moral values are shifting very quickly and significantly within the Christian community as well as outside of it.”

Religion in America

An extensive survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life details statistics on religion in America and explores the shifts taking place in the U.S. religious landscape. Based on interviews with more than 35,000 Americans age 18 and older, the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey found that religious affiliation in the U.S. is both very diverse and extremely fluid. What follows are excerpts and selected findings from the survey.

State of the Church

What follows is an examination of selected religious beliefs and practices within American Christianity. Among the beliefs and practices discussed below are: commitment to the Christian faith; belief about God; the accuracy of the Bible; the frequency of prayer, Bible reading and attendance of religious services. Two data sources were used for following discussion: the Barna Group’s The State of the Church: 2006 and the Pew Forum’s “U.S. Religious Landscape Survey.”

What is an Evangelical?

When measuring the social, political, religious and behavioral characteristics of evangelicals, the Barna Group found major differences between self-described evangelicals and Americans who are “evangelical” according to a nine point criteria of theological belief. Almost 40% percent of Americans are self-described “evangelicals.” But when nine basic theological beliefs are used as the criteria for who is evangelical, that number drops to a mere 8% of Americans; approximately 18 million adult Americans.

Women Are the (Spiritually) Stronger Sex 

A new analysis of data from the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey found that women are more religious than men on a variety of measures–from religious affiliation and daily prayer–to attending weekly worship services. An older survey by the Barna Group found similar tendencies in 2000.