Barna Research Group reports that the number of American adults who view the Bible as “just…a book of stories and teachings written by men” has increased from 10% in 2011 to 17% in 2013. That’s a significant increase in just two years.
Read the entire report here.
Thinking to Believe 
April 4, 2013 at 4:49 pm
The supernatural aspect of the bible will continue to decrease as more and more people realize that the supernatural exists only in Hollywood as the Bible mini series clearly conveys and in the circles of religious zealot. After watching several episodes of The Bible mini series, it was evident that the creators of the series catered purely to the myth old magic of supernatural illusions. To perpetuate the hoaxes of miracles may seem to generate money at the box office but loses credibility as fewer and fewer people see them as fantasies like the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy only for Tinkerbell children, I’m afraid, certainly not coming close to the realm of reality. It reminded me of a Movie Musical when just as everything is serious and you are wondering what will happen next, the Stars break out in a song and dance that destroys the captive moment and audience take advantage of the nonsense diversion like a 3 minute TV commercial break to go to the bathroom or grab some munchies.
Increasingly the younger generation are more awestruck by the cosmos computers and cell phone technology than they are about a burning bush or someone walking on water like Chris Angel Mindfreak and David Copperfield.
Religion is losing the battle on every front and indeed becoming more visually offensive as the only religion in the news these days, Islam, (notwithstanding recent Catholic sexual abuse and the election of a new Pope, a passing oddity) with their bombings and killings and actually demonstrating the utter disrespect religion has for the sanctity of life and disregard for fellow humans of the same or similar religion.
Therein the world sees the current monstrosity of religion as it has existed throughout history albeit the other religions like Christianity have tempered their insanity somewhat in the last 50 years as secularism has diluted the role of religion since World War II when the second last of the world’ conquering religions was defeated: Shintoism in Japan.
There remains only one religion left to supplant with secular common sense, Islam, but which will take a few more generations for the youth of third world countries to abandon the stoneagism of parental indoctrination as they learn about first world miracles.
Nevertheless, other religions acquiesce and remain silent, as Jihadists take centre stage; women groups remain silent as women are forced to wear burlap sacks to hide their humanity; female genital mutilation and Shariah Courts are popping up all over the so called Christian, western world, with greater frequency, generally in Europe but in particular the UK where religion continues to treat women as chattel and equality is a like bit in the horse’s mouth as half of the human race suffers perpetual abuse.
The Religion of Peace is the Religion of Permanent Offense; the Spokesreligion for all the world to see just what religion is like when it is a dog.
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April 4, 2013 at 9:49 pm
Well, I suppose your first sentence was more or less directly addressing the post, Leo. So kudos for that, though it rapidly derails from there.
As for the rest of the religiophobic polemic digression, I think having your own blog would do you well to get stuff off your chest. That way you can make the topic whatever you wish to fit the content and scope of what you feel like saying (obligatory Pat Condell rants included!). If you do, let everyone know so we can enjoy and provide feedback!
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April 5, 2013 at 4:40 pm
David:
Thanks for your comments.
I think it is a good thing that I commented on the topic at hand; otherwise, you would have had nothing to say about the topic.
As it is you have plenty to say about my comments but of course it is noted offered nothing about the topic yourself. One might even conclude that if I had not commented, you would have had nothing to say whatsoever. Don’t you agree?
However, If I were inclined to have my own blog I would have done so but I find it more interesting to comment on diverse blogs because a lot of blogs do not have enough diversity; most of them are boring, repetitious nonsense that in some way or another supports only the blog perspective; it seems to me that blogs need robust dissensions so that bloggers and commentators don’t become so complacent so as to lose the perspective that they might be wrong.
Well take care David. If you have any point of view to offer about the fact that the Bible is beginning to become irrelevant in this day and age, by all means let’s hear what you have to say.
Leo
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April 6, 2013 at 11:53 am
Be ye assured of this earthshaking, unshatterable truth:
The Supernatural is a mindset, not a reality. ( ltg )
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April 8, 2013 at 9:45 pm
Would I have had nothing to say? Not at all. Would I have chosen to write nothing? Possibly. But of course my point was clearly to respond to your style and quality of commenting. That is all. Carry on, as you will.
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April 8, 2013 at 11:10 pm
So David:
It seems we both responded accordingly.
Thanks
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April 10, 2013 at 7:12 pm
The Magic of Reality: A Book.
This talks about magic and miracles and how real science is always to be preserved. It is a response to the claim that scientists think they know everything.
There things that not even the best scientists today can explain but that doesn’t mean that we should block off investigation by resorting to phony explanations invoking magic or the supernatural which don’t actually explain at all.
Just imagine how a medieval man, even the most educated man of his era would have reacted if he had seen a jet plane, a laptop computer, a cell phone, a satlab device; he would have called them supernatural, miraculous but these devices are now commonplace; we know how they work.
People have built them, following scientific principles. There never was a need to invoke magic or miracles or the supernatural. We now see that the medieval man would have been wrong to do so.
And we don’t have to go back as far as medieval times to make the point: a gang of Victorian international criminals equipped with modern cell phones could have coordinated their activities in ways that would have looked like telepathy to Sherlock Holmes. In Holme’s world a suspect in a murder case who could prove he was in New York the evening after the murder was committed in London would have a perfect alibi because it was literally impossible , in the 19th century, to be in New York and London on the same day.
The eminent science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke summed the point up as Clark’s Third Law: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
The very idea of levitation has long been a byword for the supernatural, for mysterious magic. And I am going to show you a little film now, a demonstration from the superconductivity group of Tel Aviv University: of a feat of levitation that’s done by purely naturalistic physics, quantum physics. Levitation is no longer a miracle, it’s physics.
The more you think about it the more you realize the very idea of a supernatural miracle is nonsense. If something happens that appears to be inexplicable by science you can safely conclude one of two things: either it didn’t really happen, the observer was mistaken or was lying or was tricked; or, we have exposed a shortcoming in present day science. If present day science encounters an observation or an experimental result that it cannot explain, then we should not rest until we have improved our science so that it can provide an explanation.
If it requires a radically new kind of science, a revolutionary science so strange that old scientists scarcely recognize it as science at all that’s fine too, it happened before but don’t ever be lazy enough, defeatist enough, cowardly enough to say “I don’t understand it so it must be supernatural, it must be a miracle”; say instead, “It’s a puzzle, it’s strange, it’s a challenge that we should rise to”.
Whether we rise to the challenge by questioning the truth of the observation or by expanding our science in new and exciting directions the proper and brave response to any such challenge is to tackle it head on. And until we have found a proper answer to the mystery it’s perfectly okay to simply say, “This is something we don’t yet understand but we’re working on it”. It’s the only honest thing to do.
Miracles, magic, myths, they can be fun and we can have fun with them. Everybody likes a good story and I hope that readers of this book will enjoy the myths which begin each chapter throughout the Magic of Reality. But even more I hope they enjoy the science that comes after the myths and I hope you agree that the truth has a magic of its own. The truth is more magical in the best and most exciting sense of the word than any myth or made up mystery or miracle. Science has its own magic, The Magic of Reality. rdawkins
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April 10, 2013 at 9:42 pm
A lovely riddle don’t you think?
Her esto pands pend aquie thou
rinh armless mir thand fun letfri
ends hip reign beju stand kin
dand evils peak of noone.
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April 11, 2013 at 4:55 am
I’m not sure it is such a bad idea to worry about the statistics really. If the few that remain wedded to the inerrancy are trained in apologetics, we would still be able to rely on scripture as evidence for God and the christian faith (since WLC argues from a historical perspective).
Evangelism shouldn’t even argue from inerrancy since it should be an internal debate. If we hold to scripture as historical writings from great christian believers and thinkers, we would still become more Christ-like by adopting their views!
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April 11, 2013 at 6:21 am
The statistics don’t bother me either.
As a believer, I worship God not a book. I will qualify that by saying that I still believe God inspired the writers of the scriptures through His Spirit. However, I’m not going split hairs or lose my faith because there are a few passages that have been poorly translated or is unclear. We must keep in mind that inspiration is based on the original autographs, not the translations.
I think there is enough in the scriptures for one to know the truth and to come to faith in Jesus Christ. In the end, the splitting of hairs for this scripture or that won’t matter.
Naz
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