Cultural Survey

March 17th 2024

Survey of Students: 5 critical cultural topics identified that impact their physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness

Food & Nutrition:

What to believe: What is healthy vs. unhealthy. “Bread vs. No-bread, Eggs are good, high cholesterol, Fats make you fat vs. natural fats are healthy” see section on education, training, upbringing

Smart Phones & Social Media

The amount of information we process these days is so much more that are brains are challenged far more than previous generations “like Einstein”.

Religion / Bible

“Bible is mis-translated”; what can we trust from Bible, or who can we trust if they’re teaching the Bible, how to believe it’s valid.

World Events

Especially politics, everyone is lying. How to believe who is right, Russia vs. Ukraine, Israel vs. Palestinians, North Korea and China...

Gender / Identity

It’s all open for personal subjective interpretation. It’s based on how we feel, and also a really good way to get attention. If one can claim a threat to their psychological stress or psychological safety, they can control others to get what they want pretty much anytime.

How do you know something is real or true:

Based on past experiences or beliefs, what you were taught. For religious denominations etc, it’s based on the tradition they were raised with. Confirmation and Youth trips, Young-life groups, Retreats.

Even though 87% of adult households in the United States own a Bible, a recent Lifeway Research survey revealed Americans do not prioritize reading their Bible, saying they “don’t have time.” Only 11% of those surveyed said they’ve read all of the Bible once, while 30% said they’ve only read a few passages or stories.

It’s no wonder church leaders are concerned about biblical literacy. As the world around us continues to change, our hope must be rooted in the God who is the same “yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb 13:8) and has given us his promises “as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul” (Heb 6:19). Where is our foundation if not in God’s unchanging Word? Yet many of us are letting our Bibles collect dust, treating the Bible (Kenneth Briggs says) like “a museum exhibit, hallowed as a treasure but enigmatic and untouched.” 

But it’s not all bad news. In fact, the state of biblical literacy in the West has created a huge opportunity to impact Bible engagement—but the time to act is now. The church must remain the voice of truth in a dark world. 

Keep reading to learn more about the biblical illiteracy epidemic in the church. Feel free to skip around to the sections that interest you most. Otherwise, read along from the top to learn more about how you can turn the tide of biblical illiteracy in your congregation.

Biblical literacy also helps people understand who they are in relation to God. The Bible calls those who receive Jesus and believe in his name “God’s children” (John 1:12), Jesus’ friend (John 15:15), justified and redeemed (Rom 3:24), no longer a slave to sin (Rom 6:6), and joined with God and one in spirit with him (1 Cor 6:17). As such, they are a reflection of God and his nature to a lost world and intended to bear “fruit” (John 15:1)

In his article “The Scandal of Biblical Literacy,” Dr. Albert Mohler says Christians who lack biblical understanding “are the products of churches that marginalize biblical knowledge.” Though that stings, it’s a point we shouldn’t cast aside. Acts 2:41–42) tells us what the early church “looked” like:

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayers. And every day in the temple and from house to house they did not cease teaching and preaching that Jesus is the Christ.