We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum. A.W. Tozer
Therefore let God-inspired Scripture decide between us; and on whichever side be found doctrines in harmony with the word of God, in favor of that side will be cast the vote of truth. --Basil of Caesarea
Once you learn to discern, there's no going back. You will begin to spot the lie everywhere it appears.

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service. 1 Timothy 1:12

Monday, December 14, 2015

Frequent Bible Reading Can Turn You Liberal?!?


Christianity Today Astray had an article back in October of 2011 which calmed that a survey demonstrated that “Frequent Bible Reading Can Turn You Liberal.”   A rank heretic who has been banned from commenting on this blog directed me to this article (he thought it was a recent article) and stated “we who have dedicated our lives to following God and reading the Bible and had it lead us away from conservative view points” were not surprised by the findings.  This individual is 100% pro-homosexual and same-sex fake marriage, and 100% pro-social gospel, pro-abortion, etc., all the while claiming that the Bible supports his position.

First, one must really question methods used in such a survey, which obviously began with a bias towards the liberal viewpoint.  No numbers given as to how many people were surveyed, nor were we given any real details as to the beliefs of such people prior to reading the Bible, or even what teachings they sat under to determine what worldview they would have upon reading the Bible.  Let’s look at a few of the claims from the article:

But unlike some other religious practices, reading the Bible more often has some liberalizing effects—or at least makes the reader more prone to agree with liberals on certain issues. This is true even when accounting for factors such as political beliefs, education level, income level, gender, race, and religious measures (like which religious tradition one affiliates with, and one's views of biblical literalism).

Well, this is just an assertion with no factual evidence to support it.

Some of the most interesting findings relate to moral attitudes. "How important is it," the survey asked, "to actively seek social and economic justice in order to be a good person?" Again, as would be expected, those with more liberal political leanings were more likely to say it's very or somewhat important. And those who read the Bible more often were more likely to agree. Indeed, they were almost 35 percent more likely to agree at each point on Baylor's five-point scale.

Really? Perhaps there should be a definition given for “social justice” or “economic justice,” which are liberal buzz-phrases with no correlation to anything in the Bible, and are quite vacuous in themselves!  And please show me from Scripture where “seeking” such things makes one a “good person.”

Likewise, the survey asked whether one must consume or use fewer goods in order to be a good person. Political liberals and frequent Bible readers are more likely to say yes. A conservative Bible reader might not be as prone to say yes as a liberal non-reader, but think of it this way: Ask an evangelical who is politically conservative, has some college education, has an average level of income, is a biblical literalist, and does not read the Bible, and you'll have only a 22 percent chance he or she will say reducing consumption is part of ethical living. Ask the same person, only now they read the Bible, and you'll have a 44 percent chance they'll say so. It's still not a majority, but the swing is dramatic.

Please show me from reading the Bible where it says consuming/using fewer goods makes one a good person.  The data in this paragraph is just assertions. 

I’d like to see the data as to the actual questions asked, the numbers of people surveyed, the actual demographics, etc.  Surveys of this sort are pretty much worthless to anyone but those with an agenda.  

By the way, in my almost 42 years experience as a Christian, I've seen those who do a lot of Bible studying become very conservative and are authentic Christians!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Even their reasoning seems convoluted. The whole thing smacks of Jim Wallis and Sojourners, doesn't it?

Glenn E. Chatfield said...

Sounds like everyone from the "Christian" left who wants to justify their apostasy.

Stan said...

Interesting how the liberals pick and choose from the story to make it say what they want. The CT story says, "Frequent Bible reading has some predictable effects on the reader. It increases opposition to abortion as well as homosexual marriage and unions. It boosts a belief that science helps reveal God's glory. It diminishes hopes that science will eventually solve humanity's problems." That is, reading the Bible frequently brings on more conservative views. The only place it causes "liberal" views is in areas of things like how we should treat one another (to which I would hope all Bible-believing Christians would respond, "We should love our neighbor."). That is, they aren't "liberal views." The article clearly indicates that reading the Bible produces views opposed to those of the "rank heretic" you mention.

The LifeWay Research report indicated that this study was done on people who claim to read the Bible without outside influence. Since the Bible calls for "outside influence" -- teachers (Eph 4:11), fellowship (Heb 10:25), unity (Phil 2:2), traditions (1 Cor 11:2; 2 Thess 2:15), etc. -- it would seem that to read the Bible without outside influence would be to do so in opposition to the Bible.