Author Archives: Clarke Morledge

About Clarke Morledge

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Clarke Morledge -- Computer Network Engineer, College of William and Mary... I hiked the Mount of the Holy Cross, one of the famous Colorado Fourteeners, with some friends in July, 2012. My buddy, Mike Scott, snapped this photo of me on the summit.
October 7, 2016

Why American Evangelicals Are Confused About What the Bible Teaches

By Clarke Morledge

Plumb LineDespite having access to more and more knowledge, it is well-known that the average American’s knowledge of the Bible, and having confidence in that Bible, is at an all-time low. But did you know that American evangelicals are becoming more confused about what the Bible teaches?

A recent survey conducted by LifeWay Research and Ligonier Ministries identified a sample group of American evangelicals; that is,  those who believe the Bible to be their highest authority, that sharing one’s faith is very important, and that trusting in Jesus’ finished work on the cross is the only way to salvation. In asking a series of questions about what the Bible teaches, the survey revealed some rather disturbing results about what self-proclaimed evangelicals really believe. Here are some of the most alarming:

  • “People have the ability to turn to God on their own initiative” (82% of evangelicals surveyed agreed with this statement).
  • “Individuals must contribute to their own salvation” (74% of evangelicals agreed).
  • “Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God” (71% of evangelicals agreed).
  • “The Holy Spirit is a force, not a personal being” (57% of evangelicals agreed).

So, if this survey is to be accepted as accurate, it means that most “Bible-believing” Christians do not think salvation is something initiated and achieved solely by the grace of God. It also means that while “Bible-believing” Christians may profess to believe in the Trinity, they actually think about the relationship between the Father, the Son, and the Spirit pretty much the same way Jehovah’s Witnesses think.

The survey does attempt to tease out why American evangelicals are so poorly informed about basic Bible doctrine. A few statements/questions posed in the survey went like this:

  • “Worshiping alone or with one’s family is a way to replace church” (42% of evangelicals agree).
  • “There is little value in studying or reciting historical Christian creeds and confessions” (21% of evangelicals agree).
  • “The Bible was written for each person to interpret as he or she chooses” (36% of evangelicals agree).

This would indicate that about 4 out of 10 “Bible-believers” do not think that regular, weekly worship with a corporate body of believers is a priority, that 1 out of 5 “Bible-believers” do not think that the study of church history and doctrine is that important, and that 1 out of 3 “Bible-believers” think that the interpretation of the Bible is merely up their own choice.

This is not very good, folks.

It could be that the statements/questions were not well understood by the survey participants. But that could be part of the problem.

I know friends of mine who think that a good portion of American evangelicals know a lot about the Bible, but that they fail to apply it. I do not agree. If this survey serves as any indication, the reason why American evangelicals do not apply the Bible is because so many of them do not know what the Bible teaches. Furthermore, they do not know what the Bible teaches because participating in the life of a church where they are being taught these things is not a priority.

The Lifeway/Ligonier survey was also intended to survey American religious beliefs in general, and the results can be studied here.

 

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October 2, 2016

Andy Stanley Responds to His Critics

By Clarke Morledge
Megachurch pastor Andy Stanley. Promoter of Biblical truth... or compromiser?

Megachurch pastor Andy Stanley. Promoter of Biblical truth… or compromiser?

A few weeks ago, I highlighted a controversy involving Atlanta megachurch pastor Andy Stanley, over a sermon entitled “The Bible Told Me So.” The topic generated a lot of discussion among Veracity readers, in particular after a blog post by Southern Baptist leader Al Mohler, who severely criticizes Stanley’s method.

Pastor Stanley has responded to his critics, seeking to explain the method in his madness, with an essay entitled, “Why ‘The Bible Says So’ Is Not Enough Anymore.” I encourage you to read it, but here is the gist:

Andy Stanley ultimately lands, in making his appeal for his approach to preaching, on Acts 17. There, the Apostle Paul preaches to the citizens of Athens, but Paul does not bring up the Bible.

Stanley’s point? We live in a culture that no longer acknowledges the Bible as being authoritative. To reach a new generation, he has chosen a different method to try to reach the disaffected in our culture. Do not assume everyone you engage accepts the Bible as being without error, because in general, most people are suspicious of the Bible. But in doing what he is doing, Stanley himself still believes the Bible to be God’s Word.

Acts 17 is a very interesting passage to ultimately make a case on. Some celebrate this passage as an example “par excellence” of Paul contextualizing the message of the Gospel to an audience at his best, which is surely Stanley’s view. Others contend that Paul’s preaching in Acts 17 in Athens was a failed strategy, that resulted in very little substantial fruit, a mistaken strategy that Paul soon abandoned.

What do you think?

UPDATE 10/3/2016: Blogger Scot McKnight, of Jesus Creed, pens his response, affirming Andy Stanley contra Al Mohler.

1 Comment   |  tags: , | posted in Apologetics

September 30, 2016

Why Many Americans Are Leaving Faith Behind

By Clarke Morledge
One out of four Americans now describe their religious affiliation as being "None." What is behind this shift in American spiritual demographics? (credit: PRRI, at http://prri.og)

One out of four Americans now describe their religious affiliation as being “None.” What is behind this shift in American spiritual demographics? (credit: PRRI, at http://prri.og)

I do not know about you, but most of the people I interact with on a day-to-day basis, live their lives as though faith in God does not matter. Sure, a number of them go to church, but what happens on Sunday makes little to no difference with what goes on the other six days a week. Now, a growing number of people I know have given up on the pretense about faith: they simply describe their faith, or “religious affiliation” as being “none.”

A recent survey conducted by PRRI.org, a Washington-based research group, observes that the number of those who consider themselves as being “religiously unaffiliated” has grown to its highest level in American history. Young people below the age of 18 are more likely to abandon their faith than others. But even more startling is the conclusion proposed by PRRI: most of these unaffiliated persons will probably never return back to their childhood faith.

Here are the primary reasons listed as to why these Americans are leaving their faith (some leave for multiple reasons):

  • Stopped believing in the religion’s teachings (60%)
  • Family was never that religious growing up (32%)
  • Negative religious teachings about or treatment of gay and lesbian people (29%)
  • The clergy sexual-abuse scandal (in the Catholic church) (19%)
  • Traumatic personal event in life (18%)
  • Church became too focused on politics (16%)

In particular, the survey notes that those who come from families that experience divorce are more likely to become disaffiliated from their faith than those from traditional family structures.

Read the survey here.

An earlier survey, published in August, 2016, by the Pew Research Center, makes similar observations.

Have you noticed this growing trend among your coworkers, neighbors, and family members?

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September 28, 2016

Final Update to the ESV?… Well, Not Exactly

By Clarke Morledge

Here on Veracity a few weeks ago, we noted the decision by Crossway, the publisher of the English Standard Version (ESV), that they had finally produced a permanent edition of the text of ESV Bible translation. However, Crossway has just announced that they have reversed this decision.

Have you ever wondered what it is like to listen in as Bible translators go about making decisions on how to translate a verse of Scripture? The following 4-minute video is an example of discussion by the ESV translation committee about I Corinthians 7, with respect to changing the word “slave” to the word “bondservant.”

HT: Dave Rudy

And “finally,” here is a very extreme view expressed by a King-James-Only advocate, Steven Anderson, an independent Baptist pastor in Tempe, Arizona, arguing why modern translations, like the ESV, “the NIV, the NAS[B], the RSV, [and] the SUV,” tamper too much with “changes” to the Bible. Conspiracy theory at its most “entertaining?” View at your own risk.

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September 27, 2016

The En-Gedi Scroll Deciphered… Virtually

By Clarke Morledge
Timeline showing where the En-Gedi scroll fits in, relative to the Dead Sea Scrolls and much later discoveries of the preserved Hebrew Bible.

Timeline showing where the En-Gedi scroll fits in, relative to the Dead Sea Scrolls and much later discoveries of the preserved Hebrew Bible.

In the early 1970s, a team of Israeli archaeologists uncovered the charred remains of a scroll at an ancient synagogue in Ein Gedi, in Israel. Unfortunately, the rolled up scroll was so heavily damaged, that it was impossible to unroll and decipher it without destroying the artifact…. until now.

A computer scientist at the University of Kentucky, Brent Seales, has developed a technique that essentially performs a series of CT scans, that could recover the ink markings from inside the scroll, without having to physically unwrap the delicate object. Inside the scroll, that dates to about the 3rd century A.D., researchers were finally able to read the first eight verses of the Book of Leviticus.

These verses correspond exactly to the ancient Hebrew text, the Masoretic text, preserved by the Jewish community since the medieval period. This would make the En-Gedi scroll the most significant find of Old Testament Hebrew writings, second only to the Dead Scrolls… Read about the geeky side of the story here.

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