Are you searching for hope but not finding it?

Are you searching for hope but not finding it? Many Americans are searching for beacons of hope and moral grounding amidst uncertainty and perceived moral decline. The results of a survey show that Americans overwhelmingly believe the Bible is a source of hope and a force for good even as they express growing concern for our nation’s morals.

This is an interesting quote.  The bottom line is that "many" Americans are searching for something that Americans "overwhelmingly" believe is in the Bible.  However, even as that's happening, they also think the country is going downhill.  What does that mean?

1. We have many Americans searching.
2. We have an overwhelming number of Americans believing the Bible has the answers they are searching for.
3. The country is perceived as getting worse, not better.

Obviously, there's a disconnect somewhere. If Americans are searching for hope, presumably, and they're turning to the Bible to search, then we should be getting better, not worse. So why are things perceived as getting worse? Let's try to find out.

Each of these, by themselves, could mean, respectively -

1. Maybe "many", while a large number of people in absolute terms, is actually a small percentage of the people.  I say that because they use the word "many", as opposed to overwhelming, most, or even a majority.
2. Just because someone believes what they're searching for is in the Bible, that doesn't necessarily mean they will take the time and effort to actually read/study the Bible. In other words, the object of their search is in the Bible but they won't find it. Or maybe they do find it, but they won't understand what it says, and therefore won't realize they actually did find what they were looking for.
3. Based on various other surveys that are done - political, economic, social, Etc., or even checking out the news, the perception that the country is going downhill seems to be correct.

This adds to the question of why there seems to be such a disconnect between the number of people believing the Bible has the solution, but as a nation, we seem to be getting worse, not better.

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This is part one of a new series - The State of the Bible.  Truth is, it's not really "The state of the Bible" so much as it is "The state of people who are exposed to the Bible".  After all, the Bible doesn't change. And by that I mean the original/oldest texts that we have, not the translations that are redone every so many years.  However, since the Barna group, who did the study, called it "The state of the Bible" we'll stick with that.  The data/conclusions being evaluated are from "The state of the Bible 2017".

The summary conclusions from Barna are available here.  If you'd like to get the entire document from the study with all the details, you can download it from the American Bible Society here.

That was my starting point, nearly five years ago. For various reasons, I only did a couple of them. My hope is to bring it back, complete the 2017 analysis, and then get the latest one and see how we're doing. Given all that's happened over the past few years, it will be interesting to see how we're doing, individually and as a country.

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Examine the assumptions of the State of The Bible study

Whenever trying to validate a conclusion, it's always important to look at the assumptions made from the very start.  Invalid or skewed assumptions will result in analysis that tends to be biased along the lines of the assumptions.  So, let's begin by looking at the definitions used by Barna when they did the survey.

Segment	Definition	Percent
Bible Engaged	View the Bible as a) the actual or b) the inspired word of God with no errors, or as c) the inspired word of God with some errors Read, use or listen to the Bible four times a week or more	20%
Bible Friendly	View the Bible as a) the actual or b) the inspired word of God with no errors Read, use or listen to the Bible fewer than four times a week	38%
Bible Neutral	View the Bible as the inspired word of God but has some factual or historical errors OR not inspired but tells how the writers understood the ways and principles of God Read, use or listen to the Bible one time a month or less	23%
Bible Skeptic	View the Bible as "just another book of teachings written by men ..."	19%
Bible Hostile	(a subset of Biblical Skeptics) View the Bible as a book of teachings written by men and intended to manipulate or control other people	13%

Now, let's go through them, one segment at a time to see if they're realistic. By realistic, I mean do they line up with what the Bible says we should do?

Bible Engaged

• View the Bible as a) the actual or b) the inspired word of God with no errors, or as c) the inspired word of God with some errors.

This raises some interesting questions.

1. Does the Bible itself say anything about whether it is the "actual" word of God or "inspired" by God?
   It does.

Paul’s Charge to Timothy

2Ti 3:10 You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11 persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.