Modern American Classroom<\/b><\/p>\n
Another survey conducted by the Lutheran Brotherhood asked, \u201cAre there absolute standards for morals and ethics or does everything depend on the situation?\u201d Seventy-nine percent of the respondents in the 18\u201334 age group said that standards did not exist and that the situation should always dictate behavior. Three percent said they were not sure.<\/p>\n
If this poll is correct, 82 percent of all students believe that right and wrong are relative terms and that morality is a ridiculous concept. This is the den of lions into which I walk every day. It is called the modern American classroom.<\/p>\n
Imprimis, August, 1998, pp. 4-5<\/p>\n
Quotes<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2022 Americans today are in tragic shape when it comes to ultimate truth. – George Barna in his book Absolute Confusion.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Most Americans reject the notion of absolute truth.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Most people believe that it does not matter what god you pray to because every deity is ultimately the same deity, shrouded in different names and attributes by humankind.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Nearly two out of three adults contend that the choice of one religious faith over another is irrelevant because all faiths teach the same basic lessons about life.<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n
Archbishop of Canterbury<\/b><\/p>\n
A few years ago on the Dick Cavett Show, the Archbishop of Canterbury was speaking with actress Jane Fonda. The Archbishop said, \u201cJesus is the Son of God, you know.\u201d Fonda replied, \u201cMaybe he is for you, but he\u2019s not for me.\u201d To which the Archbishop profoundly answered, \u201cWell either he is or he isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fonda\u2019s response reflects the silly thinking of our postmodern world, that truth is simply a matter of subjective opinion. But the ultimate good news is this: \u201cIn these last days, he [God] has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe\u2026.and he provided purification for [our] sins\u201d (Hebrews 1:2\u20133).<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n
\u201cA\u201d is Good News<\/b><\/p>\n
The story is told of a man who came to visit his old friend, a music teacher. As the man came in, he said, \u201cWhat\u2019s the good news today?\u201d The old teacher was silent as he stood up and walked across the room. He picked up a small hammer and struck a tuning fork. As the note sounded throughout the room, he said, \u201cThat is \u2018A.\u2019 It is \u2018A\u2019 today; it was \u2018A\u2019 5, 000 years ago, and it will be \u2018A\u2019 10, 000 years from now. The soprano upstairs sings off-key, the tenor across the hall flats on his high notes, and the piano downstairs is out of tune.\u201d He struck the note again and said, \u201cThat is \u2018A,\u2019 my friend, and that\u2019s the good news for today!\u201d<\/p>\n
The only hope for a world out of tune is to know that Jesus is the truth: \u201cYesterday, today and forever\u201d (Hebrews 13:8). That\u2019s the good news of truth!<\/p>\n
Dr. Clyde McDowell, Focal Point, Spring, 1997, p. 3<\/p>\n
Relativism & Subjectivism<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2022 Relativism: what is right\/wrong, true\/false is determined by some group.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Subjectivism: what is right\/wrong, true\/false is determined by each individual.<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n
Poll<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no such thing as absolute truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 1991 in a George Barna poll 66% of Americans agreed: 3\/4\u2019s of 18\u201325 year olds, 59% of 55+ year olds.<\/p>\n
In a 1989 L.A. Times poll, 61% said that abortion is wrong, and 74% said abortion should be kept legal.<\/p>\n
George Barna<\/p>\n
Lied On Resume<\/b><\/p>\n
Lon Grammer claimed some impressive credentials when he transferred to Yale from Cuesta Community College in San Luis Obispo, Calif., two years ago, including a 3.9 grade point average. He did well at Yale, too, playing rugby while earning a B average. But a bare month before he was to graduate with a degree in political science, Yale expelled the 25-year-old and charged him with taking $61,475 under false pretenses. School officials say he lied about his GPA and forged recommendations from nonexistent teachers. He will be arraigned on larceny charges next week.<\/p>\n
In a TV interview, he pleaded that his actions were no worse than what happens every day when people lie on resumes.<\/p>\n
U.S. News & World Report, April 24, 1995, p. 20<\/p>\n
What Time Is It?<\/b><\/p>\n
An airline pilot flying over the southeastern U.S. called the local tower and said, \u201cWe are passing over at 35,000\u2014give us a time check.\u201d The tower said, \u201cWhat airline are you?\u201d \u201cWhat difference does it make? I just want the time.\u201d replied the pilot. The tower responded, \u201cOh, it makes a lot of difference. If you are TransWorld Airline or Pan Am, it is 1600. If you are United or Delta, it is 4 o\u2019clock. If you are Southern Airways, the little hand is on the 4 and the big hand is on the 12. If you are Skyway Airlines\u2014it\u2019s Thursday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peter Dieson, The Priority of Knowing God, p. 91<\/p>\n
There Was a Time\u2026.<\/b><\/p>\n
There was a time when most Americans respected the Bible, and you could quote it with authority. In 1963, according to Gallup, 65% believed the Bible literally; today the number is only 32%. There was a time when most Americans were familiar with biblical doctrine. You could say, \u201cBelieve in Jesus,\u201d and at least they knew what you meant. But today most would be mystified. Newsweek tells of a child who saw a crucifix and asked, \u201cMommy, what\u2019s that man doing?\u201d There was a time when most Americans accepted absolute standards. They might disagree on what those absolutes were, but they knew that some things are really right or wrong. Today 70% reject moral absolutes.<\/p>\n
Chuck Colson, Christianity Today, November 9, 1992, p. 112<\/p>\n
Is There Absolute Truth?<\/b><\/p>\n
A recent Barna Research Group survey on what Americans believe confirms what this brief scenario illustrates: we are in danger of becoming a nation of relativists. The Barna survey asked, \u201cIs there absolute truth?\u201d Amazingly, 66 percent of American adults responded that they believe that \u201cthere is no such thing as absolute truth; different people can define truth in conflicting ways and still be correct.\u201d The figure rises to 72 percent when it comes to those between the ages of 18 and 25.<\/p>\n
Christianity Today, October 26, 1992, p. 30<\/p>\n
Men Have Forgotten God<\/b><\/p>\n
In his 1983 acceptance speech for the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion, [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn] recalled the words he heard as a child, when his elders sought to explain the ruinous upheavals in Russia: \u201cMen have forgotten God; that\u2019s why all this has happened.\u201d He added, \u201cIf I were called upon to identify briefly the principal trait of the entire twentieth century, here too I would be unable to find anything more precise and pithy than to repeat once again: \u2018men have forgotten God.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
John Wilson, reviewing \u201cSolzhenitsyn and the Modern World,\u201d in Christianity Today, Feb. 7, 1994, p. 57<\/p>\n
Objective Morality<\/b><\/p>\n
Modern thinkers have rejected the very idea of objective morality: Darwin, who reduced morals to an extension of animal instincts; Freud, who regarded repression of impulses as the source of neurosis; Marx, who disdained morality as an expression of self-interest.<\/p>\n
Charles Colson, Christianity Today, March 7, 1994, p. 80<\/p>\n
Poll I<\/b><\/p>\n
A March (1994) poll for U.S. News and World Report\u2019s April 11 issue found that 93% of Americans say they believe in God or a universal spirit. Of those polled, 65% say religion is losing its influence on American life, although 62% say religion is increasing its influence in their personal lives. Other findings:<\/p>\n
\u2022 The Bible is the actual word of God to be taken literally, word for word: 34%<\/p>\n
\u2022 The Bible is the inspired word of God, but not everything in it can be taken literally: 46%<\/p>\n
\u2022 The Bible is an ancient book of legends, history and moral precepts, recorded by man: 16%<\/p>\n
\u2022 God is a heavenly father who can be reached by prayers: 76%<\/p>\n
\u2022 God is an idea, not a being: 11%<\/p>\n
\u2022 God is an impersonal creator: 8%<\/p>\n
Poll II<\/b><\/p>\n
Agree<\/b><\/p>\n
Disagree<\/b><\/p>\n
We have to keep church and state completely separate<\/p>\n
53%<\/p>\n
42%<\/p>\n
There is no one set of values that is right<\/p>\n
48%<\/p>\n
44%<\/p>\n
Each individual must determine what is right or wrong<\/p>\n
70%<\/p>\n
25%<\/p>\n
The president should be a moral and spiritual leader<\/p>\n
78% <\/p>\n
17%<\/p>\n
Our government would be better if policies were more directed by moral values<\/p>\n
84%<\/p>\n
9%<\/p>\n
Individual freedom is critical to democracy in this country<\/p>\n
91%<\/p>\n
4%<\/p>\n
God is the moral guiding force of American democracy<\/p>\n
55%<\/p>\n
35%<\/p>\n
Nearly 60% of Americans say they hold their current religious beliefs because of their parents\u2019 example. More than 8 of every 10 Americans today believe that it\u2019s possible to be a good Christian or Jew even without attending a church or synagogue.<\/p>\n
U.S. News & World Report, April 4, 1994, pp. 48-59<\/p>\n
Poll III<\/b><\/p>\n
In his book Dying for Change, Leith Anderson cites a 1988 survey of 18,000 respondents published in McCall\u2019s magazine which found that 55% claimed to be \u201cborn again\u201d and 41% said they attended church every week: \u201cYet most said they relied primarily on their own consciences rather than the traditions of their religions to make moral decisions. Less than 3% said they would go to a clergyman for guidance. A typical comment came from a Cincinnati woman who clearly stated that out-of-wedlock pregnancies and divorce are sin, but added that \u2018the Bible is definitely against divorce, for instance, but sometimes you don\u2019t have a choice. God will forgive you\u2026and He will give you the strength to go on with your life and be happy.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Source unknown<\/p>\n
Jar of Beans<\/b><\/p>\n
A pastor I know, Stephey Belynskyj, starts each confirmation class with a jar full of beans. He asks his students to guess how many beans are in the jar, and on a big pad of paper writes down their estimates. Then, next to those estimates, he helps them make another list: their favorite songs. When the lists are complete, he reveals the actual number of beans in the jar. The whole class looks over their guesses, to see which estimate was closest to being right. Belynskyj then turns to the list of favorite songs. \u201cAnd which one of these is closest to being right?\u201d he asks. The students protest that there is no \u201cright answer\u201d; a person\u2019s favorite song is purely a matter of taste. Belynskyj, who holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Notre Dame asks, \u201cWhen you decide what to believe in terms of your faith, is that more like guessing the number of beans, or more like choosing your favorite song?\u201d Always, Belynskyj says, from old as well as young, he gets the same answer: Choosing one\u2019s faith is more like choosing a favorite song. When Belynskyj told me this, it took my breath away. \u201cAfter they say that, do you confirm them?\u201d I asked him. \u201cWell,\u201d smiled Belynskyj, \u201cFirst I try to argue them out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tim Stafford, Christianity Today, September 14, 1992, p. 36.<\/p>\n
Judgmentalism<\/b><\/p>\n
At a recent gathering of seminary professors, one teacher reported that at his school the most damaging charge one student can lodge against another is that the person is being \u201cjudgmental.\u201d He found this pattern very upsetting. \u201cYou can\u2019t get a good argument going in class anymore,\u201d he said. \u201cAs soon as somebody takes a stand on any important issue, someone else says that the person is being judgmental. And that\u2019s it. End of discussion. Everyone is intimidated!\u201d<\/p>\n
Many of the other professors nodded knowingly. There seemed to be a consensus that the fear of being judgmental has taken on epidemic proportions.<\/p>\n
Is the call for civility just another way of spreading this epidemic? If so, then I\u2019m against civility. But I really don\u2019t think that this is what being civil is all about.<\/p>\n
Christian civility does not commit us to a relativistic perspective. Being civil doesn\u2019t mean that we cannot criticize what goes on around us. Civility doesn\u2019t require us to approve of what other people believe and do. It is one thing to insist that other people have the right to express their basic convictions; it is another thing to say that they are right in doing so. Civility requires us to live by the first of these principles. But it does not commit us to the second formula. To say that all beliefs and values deserve to be treated as if they were on a par is to endorse relativism\u2014a perspective that is incompatible with Christian faith and practice.<\/p>\n
Christian civility does not mean refusing to make judgments about what is good and true. For one thing, it really isn\u2019t possible to be completely nonjudgmental. Even telling someone else that she is being judgmental is a rather judgmental thing to do!<\/p>\n
Uncommon Decency, Richard J. Mouw, pp. 20-21<\/p>\n
Openess<\/b><\/p>\n
Allan Bloom writes: \u201cOpenness\u2014and the relativism that makes it the only plausible stance in the face of various claims to truth and various ways of life and kinds of human beings\u2014is the great insight of our times. The true believer is the real danger. The study of history and of culture teaches that all the world was mad in the past; men always thought they were right, and that led to wars, persecutions, slavery, xenophobia, racism and chauvinism. The point is not to correct the mistakes and really be right; rather it is not to think you are right at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Against the Night, Charles Colson, p. 84<\/p>\n
Tolerance or Despair?<\/b><\/p>\n
As Dorothy Sayers observed, \u201cIn the world it is called Tolerance, but in hell it is called Despair. The sin that believes in nothing, cares for nothing, seeks to know nothing, interferes with nothing, enjoys nothing, hates nothing, finds purpose in nothing, lives for nothing, and remains alive because there is nothing for which it will die.\u201d<\/p>\n
Against the Night, Charles Colson, p. 93<\/p>\n
Survey on Absolute Truth<\/b><\/p>\n
In the survey taken in early 1991, interviewees were asked, \u201cDo you agree strongly, agree somewhat, disagree somewhat, or disagree strongly with the following statement: There is no such thing as absolute truth; different people can define truth in conflicting ways and still be correct.\u201d<\/p>\n
Only 28% of the respondents expressed strong belief in \u201cabsolute truth,\u201d and more surprisingly, only 23 percent of born-again or evangelical Christians accepted this idea! What a telling revelation! If more than 75 percent of the followers of Christ say nothing can be known for certain, does this indicate, as it seems, that they are not convinced that Jesus existed, that He is who He claimed to be, that His Word in authentic, that God created the heavens and earth, or that eternal life awaits the believer? That\u2019s what the findings appear to mean. If there is no absolute truth, then by definition nothing can be said to be absolutely true. To the majority, apparently, it\u2019s all relative. Nothing is certain. Might be. Might not be. Who knows for sure? Take your guess and hope for the best!<\/p>\n
James Dobson, December, 1991, letter, quoting George Barna, What Americans Believe<\/p>\n
How Rich Is Rich?<\/b><\/p>\n
How rich is rich? According to a survey of people who ought to know, the answer is $1 million to $5 million in assets. Investment managers Neuberger & Bergman sponsored the survey of people who stand to give or receive inheritances (median household assets: $500,000). Paradoxically, 55% of those whose assets ranged from $1 million to $5 million don\u2019t consider themselves wealthy.<\/p>\n
USA Today, 11\u201311-91, D1<\/p>\n
American Men \u2018Most Pagan\u2019 on Earth<\/b><\/p>\n
GLENDALE, CA (EP) – American men are among the world\u2019s \u201cmost pagan,\u201d according to pollster George Barna. A study reported in The Barna Report, his newsletter, found that the church has little or no influence on many American men.<\/p>\n
About one in three American men claims to be a born-again Christian, but only 28 percent attend church on any given weekend. Other forms of religious activity\u2014including Bible reading, Sunday school attendance, and giving time or money to a church\u2014have all declined among American since 1991.<\/p>\n
Barna also found that even men who claim to be Christians often hold unorthodox beliefs that are at odds with biblical Christianity. For instance, 28 percent deny that Jesus was physically raised from the dead, while 27 percent say He committed sins. Surprisingly, 55 percent of self-identified Christian men agreed that all people \u201cexperience the same outcome after death, regardless of their way into heaven.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barna found that less than half of Christian men believe that there are absolute moral truths (47 percent) or that the Bible and religion should be primary influences on moral thinking (40 percent).<\/p>\n
To reverse this trend, Barna says churches must provide a male-friendly environment, including opportunities to interact with other men, practical Bible teaching, and real-world solutions to personal problems.<\/p>\n
Northwest Christian Journal – MAY 1997<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Modern American Classroom Another survey conducted by the Lutheran Brotherhood asked, \u201cAre there absolute standards for morals and ethics or does everything depend on the situation?\u201d Seventy-nine percent of the respondents in the 18\u201334 age group said that standards did not exist and that the situation should always dictate behavior. Three percent said they were … Continue reading “Relativism”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1048"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1048\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}