Historically the church, as it does today, often contends against
extra-Biblical beliefs emerging from the current culture. Generally the sources
are from secular pressures (often from academia, media, or the government) and then
cultural pressures from inside the church.
For example, churchgoers may support truisms that seem Biblically based,
but may deviate just enough to promote lies about God. Such cultural influences
have caused even some seminaries to abandon the founding principles of the
Bible!
The impact of these cultural pressures may be important to pastors
because they can dilute the positive influence on wellbeing that religious
adherence has demonstrated, as noted in the medical and psychological
literature.
For this reason recently we surveyed
graduates of three seminaries that hold to Biblical teaching (Master’s, Denver
and Westminster) in spite of cultural pressures to drift from Biblical teaching.
Questions were based on exhortations derived from
Scripture or frequently accepted attitudes within the church but not directly sourced
from the Bible. 200 pastors
participated in the survey.
Our results showed that pastors generally believed it was ‘important’
to ‘very important’ for church members to maintain Biblical exhortations
related to their attitudes towards: one another, the church body and leaders,
their speech and the outside community. Extra-Biblical attitudes, although
perhaps accepted or fashionable within the church, were more often deemed
either ‘not important’ to ‘somewhat important’. Look below at the results.
Table: Average ratings for questions (N = 200)
(Biblical exhortations are highlighted
in gray and
extra-Biblical attitudes are
highlighted in green)
Reference
|
Answer
Options
|
Rating average
|
My congregation’s attitude towards other members
should be expressed by:
|
||
I John 3:11
|
An “agape” type love consistent with
the Bible
|
2.9
|
Galatians 6:2
|
Bearing one another’s burdens
|
2.8
|
James 5:16
|
Praying for each other
|
2.9
|
O’Day, 2014
|
Helping others find their spiritual
gift(s)
|
2.0
|
Colossians 3:16
|
Encouraging each other to godliness
|
2.8
|
Easley, 2006
|
Participating in an accountability
group
|
1.9
|
Ephesians 4:3
|
Maintaining the unity of the body of
Christ
|
2.8
|
My congregation’s attitude towards the church
should be that each member:
|
||
Romans 12:1
|
Serves God through the church
|
2.6
|
I Thessalonians 1:2
|
Is grateful for fellow members, lay
leaders and pastors
|
2.8
|
Van Auken, 2013
|
Desires more church programs, larger
facilities, greater membership
|
0.6
|
Jennings, 2013
|
Desires a greater emotive worship
experience
|
1.0
|
Thumma, 1996
|
Assures success of church organized
programs by their participation
|
1.3
|
Acts 2:42
|
Views it as a source of: prayer,
praise, teaching, fellowship and community outreach
|
2.8
|
Why are these findings important?
-
These results should encourage church leaders because they demonstrate that a substantial group of church pastors recognize the importance of maintaining fidelity to Biblical teachings. To our knowledge this is the first time a survey has shown that pastors trained in a Biblically adherent seminary maintain a current focus on Scriptural exhortations.
- Church leaders can take comfort that extra-Biblical attitudes are deemed generally less important by pastors. These data should encourage both pastors and church leaders to maintain their focus on strong Biblical teachings that are associated with an improvement in wellbeing in many religion and wellness studies.
- This should inspire seminaries not to bend their theological stance with cultural trends. Such seminaries will produce Biblically adherent pastors who will tend to maintain these teachings, thereby providing the best chance of promoting physical and mental health.
Is it important to correct popular Christian jargon that may not be
accurate scripturally? To
participate in our latest poll question - please visit our website at http://teleiosresearch.com/#anchorpoll
Thank you for taking time to
visit my blog. I look forward to seeing you again next week.
WC Stewart
1. MacIlvaine WR, Nelson LA, Stewart
JA, Stewart WC. Association of strength of community
service to personal wellbeing. Community Ment Health J 2014;50:577-582.
2. Stewart WC, Adams MP, Stewart JA,
Nelson LA. Review of clinical medicine and
religious practice.
J Relig Health 2013;52:91-106.
3. MacIlvaine WR, Stewart WC. The apologetic value of religion and
wellness studies.
Christian Apologetics Journal 2013;11:65-83.
4. Dehning DO, Nelson LA, Stewart
JA, Stewart WC. Association of strength of religious
adherence to attitudes regarding diabetes. J Christian Nurs 2013;E1-E11.
5. MacIlvaine WR, Nelson LA, Stewart
JA, Stewart WC. Association of strength of religious
adherence to quality of life measures. Complement Ther Clin Pract
2013;19:251-255.
6. Stewart WC, Sharpe ED,
Kristoffersen CJ, Nelson LA, Stewart JA. Association of strength of religious
adherence to attitudes regarding glaucoma or ocular hypertension. Ophthalmic Res 2011:45:53-6.
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