"The Proof is in the Pudding"
By James Merritt
James 2:14-26
Introduction
1. One of the most fascinating books I have ever read is entitled, The Day America Told the Truth. In this book James Patterson and Peter Kim conducted a massive survey to take the moral pulse of America in the 1990s. One of the subjects they studied was the relevance of religious belief in the lives of Americans. In a chapter entitled, "Who Really Believes in God Today?" they wrote this:
"God is alive and very well. But right now in America, fewer people are listening to what God has to say than ever before. 90% of the people we questioned said that they truly believe in God.
It would the logical conclusion then to think that God is a meaningful factor in today's
America. But we reached a different conclusion when we dug deeper with our questions.
In every single region of the country when we asked how people make up their minds
on issues of right and wrong, we found that they simply do not turn to God or religion
to help them decide about the seminal or moral issues of the day.
For most people, religion plays virtually no role in shaping their opinions on a long list of important public questions...
Only one American in five ever consult a minister, a priest, or a rabbi on everyday issues.
Half of us haven't been to a religious service for a minimum of three months. One in three haven't been to a religious service for more than a year.
More than half of us (58%) went to services regularly while growing up, but less than half of those (27%) do so today.
Only one in ten of us believe in all of The Ten Commandments. 40% of us believe in five or fewer commandments."[1]
2. How important is America's religion? Take four burning issues in our society today: abortion, homosexuality, pornography, and pre-marital sex. The following percentages of people said that religion had no role in shaping their position a ...
By James Merritt
James 2:14-26
Introduction
1. One of the most fascinating books I have ever read is entitled, The Day America Told the Truth. In this book James Patterson and Peter Kim conducted a massive survey to take the moral pulse of America in the 1990s. One of the subjects they studied was the relevance of religious belief in the lives of Americans. In a chapter entitled, "Who Really Believes in God Today?" they wrote this:
"God is alive and very well. But right now in America, fewer people are listening to what God has to say than ever before. 90% of the people we questioned said that they truly believe in God.
It would the logical conclusion then to think that God is a meaningful factor in today's
America. But we reached a different conclusion when we dug deeper with our questions.
In every single region of the country when we asked how people make up their minds
on issues of right and wrong, we found that they simply do not turn to God or religion
to help them decide about the seminal or moral issues of the day.
For most people, religion plays virtually no role in shaping their opinions on a long list of important public questions...
Only one American in five ever consult a minister, a priest, or a rabbi on everyday issues.
Half of us haven't been to a religious service for a minimum of three months. One in three haven't been to a religious service for more than a year.
More than half of us (58%) went to services regularly while growing up, but less than half of those (27%) do so today.
Only one in ten of us believe in all of The Ten Commandments. 40% of us believe in five or fewer commandments."[1]
2. How important is America's religion? Take four burning issues in our society today: abortion, homosexuality, pornography, and pre-marital sex. The following percentages of people said that religion had no role in shaping their position a ...
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