In my last prayer letter I spoke about the decline of Biblical faith in America, particularly among our young people. I mentioned a study by the Barna Group which indicated that 60% of Christian teens will turn from their faith in early adulthood...
A new survey commissioned by Answers in Genesis, a creation ministry in Hebron KY, supports that statistic.
Sheila Richardson, a Christian educator, in an article 'Today's Youth-Walking Away From Truth' in the July-September 2007 issue of AIG's magazine Answers, presented the results of the survey (p. 61). The nationwide investigation, conducted by Britt Beemer of America's Research Group, focused on people in their 20s who regularly attended an evangelical church while growing up. Shockingly, 86% of those polled began to question the Bible by their high school years. Of those who said they did not believe all the accounts in the Bible are true, 82% cited doubts about the Bible's authority or its trustworthiness.
Where have we failed? For one thing, Christian youth are not being prepared for the attacks they face when confronted by the secular-humanistic culture we live in. Respondents to the survey indicated that Sunday school materials were shallow and 'irrelevant.' Our youth spend about 30 hours a week in school and another 30 hours in front of the TV. Is it any wonder that the influence of the secular world is having a greater impact than the 45 minutes or so of Christian teaching they receive in Sunday school each week?
Richardson concluded her article with this challenge:
'As the Beemer poll revealed, young people need to learn at a very early age why they believe what they believe. They need to be able to give answers that support their faith. With the Lord's enabling, Christian parents and teachers can change the results of the poll. Using the right materials, churches and parents can prepare kids to 'think biblically' and to discern false teachings when encountered' (p.65).
ABR is engaged in providing 'the right materials.' Our research and investigations result in information that supports the truth of Scripture. The exciting thing about archaeology is that every new discovery demonstrates the accuracy of God's word. In early July I was in England with a church group studying church history, architecture and music. While there, a very significant find was made in the British Museum in London. On July 5 a scholar from Vienna was translating a Babylonian tablet from among the 130,000 or so tablets housed in the museum when he came upon a Biblical name-Nebo-Sarsekim. This individual is named in Jeremiah 39:3 as one of Nebuchadnezzar's officials involved in the overthrow of Jerusalem in 587 BC. The recording of this official's name in the Bible is a mundane detail, and yet the discovery of the name in a contemporary Babylonian document, including the same title as in the Bible, demonstrates how accurately historical information is recorded in Scripture.
Thank you for standing with us with your prayers and financial support as we provide the 'hard evidence' that will build up the faith of God's people and prepare them for Satan's attacks.
