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by Anthony Baker | March 14, 2016 · 7:00 am

General Survey of Understanding and Belief

In the twentieth chapter of Acts, the Apostle Paul called for a meeting with the elders of the church at Ephesus. Knowing the dangers posed by “wolves” from the outside and perverse deceivers on the inside (vs 29-30), He warned them to pay close attention to the things he had taught them. After all, they were responsible for flocks purchased by God with his own blood (v28) – what a thought!

Paul said (v27), “For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.” Well, folks, I’ve been pastoring this little flock for nearly 8 years, and I’m afraid I might have left something out. Therefore, I thought this little survey (conducted anonymously) might help me determine some areas where I need to do some “declaring.” I don’t want to be guilty of shunning any of God’s counsel.

Glance over the following survey. How would you answer? (The “U” is for “unsure”)

2o16 General Survey of Understanding and Belief

Jesus became God
1. When born of a virgin
2. When filled with the Holy Ghost
3. When resurrected from the dead
4. None of the above
How many books in the Bible
1. 55
2. 66
3. 100
There are errors in the Bible because it was written by men. T / F / U
God is
1. One God, but with three names
2. Three Gods with one Name.
3. One God in three Persons.
Jeremiah fought the battle of
1. Jericho
2. Nineveh
3. None of the above
Because Jesus prayed to the Father, that made him less than the Father. T / F / U
You have to be filled with the Holy Ghost to be saved. T / F / U
Where does the Bible say, “Cleanliness is next to godliness”?
1. Matthew 7:19
2. Romans 12:1
3. None of the above.
4. Unsure
Have you determined your own spiritual gifts? Y / N
Do miracles still happen today? Y / N / U
Christians and Muslims worship the same God, but by different names. T / F / U
Jesus was the first “born again” Christian. T / F / U
Adam and Eve were literal people. T / F / U
Salvation can be lost because man has a free will. T / F / U
We become angels when we die. T / F / U
Everyone will eventually go to heaven, sooner or later. T / F / U
Jesus didn’t physically rise from the dead; He was a spiritual being. T / F / U
Those who have died are
1. Asleep until the resurrection
2. In heaven or hell right now
3. No more – they ceased to exist
The proper day to worship is the Sabbath, but it was changed to Sunday by the Catholic Church. T / F / U
You must be baptized to be saved. T/ F/ U
Abortion is OK until the baby can breathe on its own. T / F / U
The only difference between the religions of the world is how we choose to worship God T / F / U
It is a sin to drink or smoke. T / F / U
The King James Version of the Bible is the only one given by God to the English-speaking world. T / F / U
Modern translations of the Bible deny the Virgin birth and divinity of Christ. T / F / U
God’s power on earth is limited when we don’t give Him permission to use us. T / F / U
We should only pray to God the Father or Jesus, not the Holy Ghost. T / F / U
I feel God is angry or disappointed with me most of the time. T / F / U
It doesn’t matter how you live as long as you love God. T / F / U
Preaching and teaching are pretty much the same thing. T / F / U
There’s a difference between the God of the OT and the God of the NT. T / F / U
I am sure of my salvation. T / F / U
Things I’ve done in the past keep me from being used by God. T / F / U
I feel confident I could show another person how to be saved. T / F / U
People who answer surveys in Church are guaranteed a blessing. T

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Filed under baptist, Christian Maturity, Christianity, Church, ministry, Preaching, Theology, translations

Tagged as beliefs, Church, Doctrine, Survey, Theology

by Anthony Baker | September 28, 2010 · 1:36 pm

Study to Show Thyself Approved on a Survey

The results of a study just came out and there are about as many reactions as there are results. Some are very alarmed at the findings; while others couldn’t care less. Personally, I think that there are some interesting statistics from which we can learn. Go to the link at the bottom of this article and check out the findings for yourself.* You may find yourself enlightened and disturbed at the same time.

Today, in response to the survey conducted by The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, a story came out on Fox News entitled, “Survey: Many Americans Know Little About Religion.”** The part that has every one in a tizzy is the following:

“Atheists and agnostics scored highest, with an average of 21 correct answers, while Jews and Mormons followed with about 20 accurate responses. Protestants overall averaged 16 correct answers, while Catholics followed with a score of about 15.”

Should this be a shock? I mean, really, what do we as Christians expect? Since when do we teach about the dogmas of other faiths in our Sunday Schools? How often, at least in our more rural Baptist churches, do we even attempt to preach or teach the critical doctrines or our own faith? When we do, if we do, the people in the congregation start complaining that the subject matter is over their heads. I don’t advise that we spend the little time we have in church and training to go into detail about the five pillars of Islam, or even the differences between Vishnu and Krishna. But what I am saying is that Christians should at least know at least the fundamentals of the Bible and key doctrines of the faith.

As I looked over the survey results, I did find some things that I thought were interesting, if not humorous. One of those things had to do with atheists. What is it that an atheist is supposed to believe? According to atheists, the reason that they cannot trust in Christ is because they don’t believe in God. Not believing in the existence of any god is at the root of the very term “atheist” (from ἄθεος, meaning ἀ- [without]+ θεός [god]).*** Why is it then, when asked about the existence of God, 8% were “absolutely certain” He existed? What?! And get this, they even believe in heaven and hell, too (heaven = 12%; hell = 10%)! So, maybe we should give the Christians a little slack, huh? You can’t even trust an atheist to know what he believes anymore. Dang!

Another humorous finding in this survey was tucked away in the percentage numbers of “believers” within the population. To start, it was not unusual to see that nearly 80% of Americans consider themselves Christian (Protestant 51.3; Catholic 23.9; Mormon 1.7; Jehovah’s Witness 0.7; Orthodox 0.6; Other Christian 0.3), but it was funny/sad to see that both Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses are becoming recognized as official Christian denominations. What is worse is when you look at the statistics, more Mormons and J.W.s believe in a personal God (91% and 82%) than even evangelical churches (79%). These cults, sadly, are looking more like Christians than the TRUE followers of Christ.

But the real point of the story is that Christians know less about their faith than the Enemies of their faith.

Paul knew way back long ago what Timothy needed to do, so he said, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). When we ONLY go to church for the fellowship and singing, or the food and good times, even when they are spiritual and up-lifting, we fail to grasp what the early church did in Acts 2:42a, “…they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine…”

The church in America is on the decline, the reason for which could be debated in volumes. But one thing is for sure, we need to know what we believe, why we believe, and in Whom we believe. Once we know these truths, then we need to defend them, preach them, and live them, “ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you” the questions on a survey about your faith.

Oh! By the way…Muslims only make up .06% of the population. Why are we running in fear?

* http://religions.pewforum.org/reports#

** http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/09/28/survey-americans-know-little-religion/

*** http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheist#Etymology