As mentioned in the last post, most Americans live with a potluck of philosophies which often contradict themselves.  There can be no official definition to this Syncretistic worldview because it is customized to one’s own liking.  Before we try to find solutions to reversing this trend, it serves us well to understand just how confused and inconsistent these thoughts are that make up the worldviews of our family, friends and the public at large.  People seem to put these ideas together, not because they are seeking truth and understanding, but because it feels emotionally and intellectually comfortable to them.  In other words, there’s probably not a lot of thought put into why people believe what they believe, they just don’t give it much thought, nor try to reconcile one idea with another.

For those that don’t know Jesus as the Way, the Truth and the Light, it’s sad but not surprising that they would take this smorgasbord approach.  But for professing Christians to adopt these same ideas clearly shows that institutionalized Christianity has largely become irrelevant.  It’s no wonder that the number of people attending churches continues to drop.

Let’s take a quick look at some of the combinations of thought that American adults embrace today.  About 50% of all adults adhere to the Mormon concept that husband and wife will remain married for all eternity.  The Bible says that marriage ends at the earthly death of one of the spouses.

A study in 2024 found that 46% of all adults believe that babies are born in a neutral position and grow up to become “good” or “bad” according to the choices they make in their lifetime.  A Biblical worldview clearly states that a person is born sinful and can be restored to right relationship with the Father only by receiving the forgiveness of sins/salvation through Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Making matters worse, 28% of adults don’t accept that Jesus has already come to earth and lived among his people before being crucified.  Like the Jews, they believe a messiah will come on His initial visit someday to save His people from their sins.

One out of three adults believe that humans should live in harmony and interdependence with animals, wildlife, plants and nature because they have spirits and humans should not have dominion over them.  God clearly tells us in Genesis that mankind is His highest creation, and we are to take dominion over the earth and rule it on His behalf.

The Bible states that a successful life is one lived in consistent obedience to the Lord and the life principles in His Word.  However, one quarter of adults equate a successful life with being a “good” person.  In addition, success can be achieved by doing whatever makes you feel good as long as you’re not harming someone else. Significantly higher numbers of Gen Z (66%) hold this belief which feeds the radical individualism and rejection of law and order we see across the land today.

The typical church model – a pastor preaching a topical message, treating children’s ministry like spiritual childcare, small group discussion – has not produced fruit.  Shall we continue?  What do we have to lose by seeking a new biblical approach?

But where do we begin to tackle such a huge issue?  The bible contains so many important life principles that the thought of trying to re-educate a nation can feel just too big.  Yet, scripture tells us to “make disciples of all the nations.” (Matt 28:19) Jesus gave us a big assignment because He knew we could do it through Him!  We must believe He has equipped us for such a time as this.

One very basic approach coming from the Cultural Research Center’s annual American Worldview Inventory suggests we lay a new foundation based on Seven Cornerstones essential for establishing a biblical worldview.  Because these cornerstones are so basic, failure to adopt them all indicates the unlikelihood of developing a solid biblical worldview.

In the next post, we’ll discuss the seven cornerstones.

Shalom!