For the last 40 years Gallup has polled Americans on their view of the Bible. For the purposes of this research, respondents are asked to choose between inspired by God not to be taken literally actual word of God to be taken literally, and fables, history, and moral precepts recorded by people. Over the entire 40 year period the most common way Americans have interpreted the Bible is as a book that is inspired by God but not to be taken literally. That perspective has held Read More …
inspired
Sermon: That’s the Book for Me (#1583)
Sermon Text: 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (The Message) Sermon Excerpt The B-I-B-L-E yes, that’s the book for me. I stand alone on the Word of God. What a song! I know many of you sung it years ago, but I don’t even know how to begin to respond. Huh? What? How? Stand alone? Word of God? The Bible may be the best-selling book of all time, but it is certainly not a book in the traditional sense. It is a collection of 66 “books.” It is a sacred text for those of us who seek Read More …
Bible-believing Means . . . (#0526)
Casey and Bob Baggott, executive minister and senior minister of the Community Church of Vero Beach, recently wrote an article for TCPalm about just what it means to call one's self "Bible-believing." In contrast to those who are Biblical literalists, the Baggotts propose: . . . none of us is capable, nor do we choose, to live out every literal dictate of the Bible. Instead, all faithful people must apply some principle by which we are capable of discerning the underlying Read More …
How Americans Interpret the Bible (#0424)
According to the latest research by Gallup, within "most major U.S. subgroups, a plurality or majority holds the view that the Bible is the inspired word of God, rather than the actual word of God or a book of fables, legends, history, and moral precepts." The chart below illustrates how views of the Bible have changed over time. So What? Currently, 3 in 10 Americans are biblical literalists who believe that the Bible is the actual word of God. Preference for the literal Read More …