It sometimes happens while ships are sailing across vast oceans that they need to make a course correction in order to successfully arrive at their intended destination.  Depending on the distance to be travelled, if the ship is off by even just a few compass degrees it will miss its port by hundreds of miles.  After reading an article in the online version of an Associated Press article in the June 23, 2008 Lansing State Journal about a survey of people's religious views, I think a course correction is drastically needed if people are going to successfully arrive at their intended destination -- Heaven!

The article cited statistics taken from a 2007 survey of 35,000 adults conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.  The first statistic that begs addressing is that 92 percent of Americans believe in God.   Call me naïve I guess, but if I believed in a supernatural God, I'd sure want to commune with Him.  Yet many other polls indicate that only about 40-45 percent of the population attend church on any given Sunday!?  Evidently the majority of people in this nation think God exists but have very little interest in meeting with Him.  A course correction is clearly called for here.   Hebrews 10:23 says, "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing."  Where are you more likely to meet God than in the church that His Son died for which is also where people are gathered every week to praise Him?!  Just believing in God earns no one any credit in this life or the next, given that the Bible says even the demons believe, and they tremble.  Notice that even demons take belief one step further than just believing in God...at least they tremble, whereas some 40-50 percent of our population don't bother to go to church despite the fact that they apparently believe there is a God!

Another statistic from the survey cites 74 percent of the Americans believe in life after death.  I'd like to ask those people "Okay, but how many of you believe you'll get there, and on what basis?"  If they were to respond "No", then they need a course correction.  If they respond "Yes" but can't explain how or why, then again a course correction is required.  Here's what I believe from Acts 4:12, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" referring to Jesus Christ. What do I base my belief on?  On the Bible which was inspired by God the Holy Spirit, and which has been around and survived all attacks for thousands and thousands of years.

Yet another statistic the survey reported was 63 percent of those surveyed said their respective scriptures are the word of God.  Which begs for this question, "If scripture is Almighty God writing to you, how often do you read it?"  I suspect their response would be frighteningly seldom, again calling for a course correction.  The Bible calls for constant reading of its words, and even for getting it down deep in our hearts to avoid sinning against God.  In fact, the Bible goes beyond mere reading or even memorizing of it to say in James 1:22, "Be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only..." 

I wholeheartedly agree with D. Michael Lindsay who was quoted in the newspaper article and who is a sociologist of religion at Rice University.  Lindsay said, "The survey shows religion in America is, indeed, 3,000 miles wide and only three inches deep."  I think part of the explanation for why there are such bizarre responses in this survey compared to actual behavior of the population is explained by what the Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:4.  Referring to satan Paul says, "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."

To all you pastors, evangelists, missionaries, Sunday school workers, children's ministry laypeople, and church leadership, -- we have our work cut out for us. Worse, we have less time than ever to perform that work because Romans 13:11 tells us, "Now is our salvation nearer than when we believed."  Jesus is coming back soon, let's all make whatever course correction is needed to be sure we arrive in His presence when He returns.

What do you think? Post an opinion, we'd love to hear from you!

	1. 09 Jul 2008 12:38 PM
	My old Sunday School teacher, Jason Hafner, always liked to say: "The most dangerous lies are the ones with the most truth in them."    The problem with many Americans, like you suggest, is that they have several things right! They believe there is a God, they pray, they even go to church from time to time. But how much of it is *real*? I fear the answer is painful to hear. Guest

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	2. 10 Mar 2009 01:56 PM
	It is so sad to know that Americans so christen based have allowed so many other religions and worldly views to push us so off course that Americans think that they are indeed doing the right thing and that they will go to haven. But if they would spend the time to actually read the bible that they believe in. The one this country was founded on there would be a drastic course correction needed. I also believe that it is painful to hear the truth and that is the main reason that the people who do believe in go don’t go they don’t wont to hear that what they are doing Monday thru Saturday is wrong because they don’t wont to give it up. But the world will soon get a wake up call, but will it be to late? Guest

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