Author: Weylan Deaver

minister: Church of Christ | admin: BiblicalNotes.com | admin: The Scattershot Report | southpaw | tunesmith (ASCAP) | bear hunter | Texan | alumnus: Southwest School of Bible Studies ('88), Freed-Hardeman University (B.A.), Bear Valley Bible Institute (M.B.S.)
Posted in Doctrine

Pope Tweets and Purgatory

Posted on by Weylan Deaver

By Weylan Deaver

Twitter is a very popular social media site where millions of people post short messages, called “tweets,” consisting of 140 or fewer characters. Twitter users include celebrities, politicians, athletes, academics, conservatives, liberals, government agencies, schools, businesses, etc. and cover any and every interest imaginable. Twitter users pick accounts they want to follow, which lets them keep up with their favorite tweets. Even Francis, the new Roman Catholic Pope, has a Twitter account. Yes, the Pope tweets.

Tom Kington has an article in The Guardian (July 16, 2013 http://www.guardian.co.uk) titled “Vatican offers ‘time off purgatory’ to followers of Pope Francis tweets.” Excerpts follow, in italics.

“In its latest attempt to keep up with the times the Vatican has married one of its oldest traditions to the world of social media by offering ‘indulgences’ to followers of Pope Francis’ tweets.

The church’s granted indulgences reduce the time Catholics believe they will have to spend in purgatory after they have confessed and been absolved of their sins.

The remissions got a bad name in the Middle Ages because unscrupulous churchmen sold them for large sums of money. But now indulgences are being applied to the 21st century.

But a senior Vatican official warned web-surfing Catholics that indulgences still required a dose of old-fashioned faith, and that paradise was not just a few mouse clicks away.

‘You can’t obtain indulgences like getting a coffee from a vending machine,’ Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, head of the pontifical council for social communication, told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera.

Indulgences these days are granted to those who carry out certain tasks – such as climbing the Sacred Steps, in Rome (reportedly brought from Pontius Pilate’s house after Jesus scaled them before his crucifixion), a feat that earns believers seven years off purgatory.

But attendance at events such as the Catholic World Youth Day, in Rio de Janeiro, a week-long event starting on 22 July, can also win an indulgence.

Mindful of the faithful who cannot afford to fly to Brazil, the Vatican’s sacred apostolic penitentiary, a court which handles the forgiveness of sins, has also extended the privilege to those following the ‘rites and pious exercises’ of the event on television, radio and through social media.

‘That includes following Twitter,’ said a source at the penitentiary, referring to Pope Francis’ Twitter account, which has gathered seven million followers. ‘But you must be following the events live. It is not as if you can get an indulgence by chatting on the internet.’

In its decree, the penitentiary said that getting an indulgence would hinge on the beneficiary having previously confessed and being ‘truly penitent and contrite’.

Praying while following events in Rio online would need to be carried out with ‘requisite devotion’, it suggested.”

There are so many things to be said about this piece. Then again, it seems to fit perfectly in the category of, “no comment necessary.” Anyone who can read this story with straight face surely has little to no acquaintance with the Bible. It doesn’t matter how many qualifiers they try to add to pass it off as legitimate, like “you must be following the events live,” you must be “truly penitent,” and that paradise is “not just a few mouse clicks away,” such a bankrupt, unbiblical theory of salvation is simply past salvaging. Did the Apostle Paul ever talk about the church having a “court which handles the forgiveness of sins”? Did Jesus do any preaching about a “Pope”? Did the Apostle Peter write about “purgatory”? All those Catholic mainstays are just as absent from Scripture as is the concept of indulgences. When salvation is connected to a church court which offers sinners early release from an imaginary place if they follow the Pope’s tweets (but only in real time), then Catholicism has become a caricature.

Posted in Christianity and Culture, LGBTQ

Then and Now

Posted on by Weylan Deaver

By Weylan Deaver

“While we are zealously performing the duties of good citizens and soldiers, we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion. To the distinguished character of Patriot, it should be our highest Glory to laud the more distinguished Character of Christian.” General George Washington gave those words to his army at Valley Forge on May 2, 1778. Modern sensibilities and prejudices (allegedly enlightened and tolerant) would disallow Gen. Washington from even thinking about saying that out loud. Were he alive today, the Founder of our Country would be supremely unelectable and condemned in the court of public opinion. On May 12, 1779 Gen. Washington told some Delaware Indians, “You do well to wish to learn our arts and ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ.” With today’s political-correctness run amok, that statement would be deemed totally unacceptable on so many levels. In March of 1778 Gen. Washington had a soldier drummed out of the army, “never to return,” for “attempting to commit sodomy.” Our current Commander-in-Chief does not seem proud of America’s historic beliefs and achievements (made possible by a gracious God), but he does take pride in homosexuality and seeks its tireless promotion and forced acceptance–even designating June 2013 as “gay pride month.” The cultural divide is quickly opening into a chasm so wide it will not be closed without one side’s defeat. We can seek our country’s roots, grounded in principles taken directly from the Bible, or we can continue transforming into an increasingly godless, secular, immoral, confused people who proudly tolerate everything except the very beliefs that got America off the ground. The difference in then and now is a difference of day and night. We are reminded of the sobering words of Thomas Jefferson, “And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with his wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep for ever….”

Posted in Announcements, Books

Upcoming Book by Mac Deaver

Posted on by Weylan Deaver

We’re very pleased to announce the forthcoming book by Mac Deaver, Except One Be Born From Above, published by Biblical Notes Publications in the summer of 2013. It will contain sixteen chapters and over three hundred pages of intriguing material on the new birth, centering around Jesus’ statements to Nicodemus in John 3. Realizing traditionally held views are not correct by virtue of having been long adopted, this book examines current belief and practice in light of what the inspired text actually does and does not say. Thoughtful readers may find themselves challenged with nearly every turn of the page. Thoughtful critics should find their hands full in trying to undermine or refute the book’s vigorous case. The interest here is not to win an argument, but to understand and defend the gospel, around which all Christians should be united. Stay tuned for more details. At the printer now, the book will, hopefully, be ready to ship to readers as early as July.

Posted in Christianity and Culture, LGBTQ

Sin Pride Month

Posted on by Weylan Deaver

By Weylan Deaver

In case you haven’t heard, we Americans are supposed to be celebrating sin this month. At least, that’s what our President tells us. From his whitehouse.gov website comes a proclamation which reads, in part:

“NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2013 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to eliminate prejudice everywhere it exists, and to celebrate the great diversity of the American people.”

Sin has come a long way, hasn’t it? There was a time when it troubled people. Remember when Abraham’s nephew, Lot (a resident of Sodom), was “greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked” (2 Peter 2:7)? Of course, Lot was distressed by wickedness because he was “righteous” (ibid.). Which explains why our President is not distressed at all about homosexuality. President Obama proudly endorses evil, doing whatever he can to force its acceptance by the rest of us. We refuse to follow him on such a misguided errand. In fact, here is another quote, but, instead of coming from a presidential desk, it comes from the throne in heaven:

“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9-10, ESV).

Now, if it is right to single out a particular sin as an object of celebration (a concept which ought to be too absurd to mention), then why not add some more special months to the calendar, such as…

  • National Pride in Sexual Immorality Month
  • National Pride in Idol Worship Month
  • National Adultery Pride Month
  • National Thief Pride Month
  • National Drunk Pride Month

Not long ago there were laws on the books against sodomy (i.e. homosexuality). Today, we are supposed to prop up homosexuality at every opportunity, applaud it by governmental proclamation, and reserve hatred only for those who refuse to endorse it. If the President is serious about the need to, in his words, “eliminate prejudice everywhere it exists,” then my question to him is this: Why does your Oval Office harbor such prejudice against the Bible and those who believe it? When is the President going to become intolerant with a culture that increasingly is willing to kick Christianity in the teeth? Obama’s hypocrisy is as odious as it is obvious and, for all his championing of “great diversity,” he clearly has no respect and little tolerance for views differing from his own, such as those held by Christians who still understand the distinction between good and evil.

No, Mr. President, we take no “pride” in homosexuality in any of its perverse manifestations. Neither in this month, nor in any other will we respect your directive to do so. Moreover, we hold your proclamation in contempt, realizing the utter foolishness of taking “pride” in anything which the Lord condemns. We bow to no king but Jesus, and he has already made a proclamation that excels and supercedes yours in every way. But, as long as we’re talking about “pride,” Mr. President, we submit this truth to your consideration: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18).

Posted in Christianity and Culture, World Religions

Leftists and Islamists: Strange Bedfellows

Posted on by Weylan Deaver

By Weylan Deaver

The church of Christ and the gospel it seeks to uphold and defend are under attack from all directions. If we take seriously what the Bible teaches about Satan’s efforts, this should come as no surprise. If we realize that every Christian will be called on to suffer persecution of one brand or another (2 Tim. 3:12), we should be expecting it.

In point of fact, the “schemes of the devil” (Eph. 6:11) are so clever that we can even expect the unexpected. Have you ever been astonished at the palpable reluctance of the American media to criticize Islam? For example, on May 22 two Muslims plowed into a young British soldier in London in their car, then got out and attacked him with knives and a meat cleaver, nearly beheading the corpse. The murderous Muslims shouted “Allah Akbar” (Arabic for “God is great”) and recorded on camera a hateful speech before police arrived. In the recorded rant, one of the Muslims, hands covered in blood, said: “We swear by the almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you until you leave us alone…You people will never be safe. Remove your government, they don’t care about you…You think politicians are going to die? No, it’s going to be the average guy, like you, and your children.”

By now, American journalists and politicians should readily acknowledge the undeniable pattern emerging from a growing string of tragedies. In 2009 a Muslim soldier murdered thirteen and injured over thirty while shouting “Allahu Akhbar” at Ford Hood in Killeen, Texas. Yet, the Obama administration insists it was simply a case of workplace violence. On April 15, 2013 two bombs went off at the Boston Marathon, killing three and injuring 264, perpetrated by two foreign-born Muslim brothers. Yet, on May 23, 2013 President Obama boasted of his tenure, “There have been no large-scale attacks on the United States, and our homeland is more secure.” It seems we are doomed to the delusion that the religion of Islam is not an existential threat to American life.

Thus, to return to the late case of the murdered British soldier, consider how it was reported in America on the evening it happened (according to a newsbusters.org piece, “Networks’ Evening Shows Don’t Name Islam in London Terror Attack,” by Matthew Philbin). Brian Williams of NBC news said the killers vented “their message about religion and politics,” while NBC correspondent Michelle Kosinski remarked that one of the murderers “made a long political statement…”. Over at CBS, reporter Charlie D’Agata observed, “Witnesses said that the men shouted ‘god is great’ in Arabic during the attacks,” but there was no effort by CBS to emphasize or lay blame on Islam as a motive. At ABC news, Diane Sawyer said “officials in the United States and the United Kingdom are studying the meaning of this tape,” while ABC news reporter Lama Hasan said authorities were trying to learn “whether or not one of [the attackers] is of African origin with ties to terrorist groups.”

Even though one of the killers, moments after the murder, looked at a video camera and said, “We swear by the almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you until you leave us alone,” (which is what the Koran demands), our naivety knows no bounds. Leftist Americans scratch their heads and wonder what could have motivated such a grisly attack. Though a picture emerges, each new attack is met with an unwillingness to connect the dots.

Islam represents everything an increasingly godless American culture claims to hate. Islam puts to death adulterers and homosexuals, where godless liberals celebrate a sexual free-for-all where anything goes, and perversion is placed on the pedestal of respect. Islam calls for women to be covered, while the irreligious celebrate nakedness (in print, on film, in public). Islam opposes the consumption of alcohol, while America consumes it in volume. Islam opposes pornography while the Left supports it. Islam calls for everyone to submit to Allah, while godless liberalism refuses to submit to any lawgiving deity. Islam calls for a world ruled by Islam, whereas cultural leftists decry any organized religion. Islam says the Koran is ultimate law, but Leftists seem to recognize their own lusts as ultimate law, and the U.S. Constitution is respected by neither as the country’s highest authority. If truth be told, America’s constitutional republic and an Islamic society are definitionally incompatible. But there is none so blind as he who will not see.

Disparate as liberalism and Islam are, you would think liberal American journalists and Hollywood-types would be first in line to criticize Islam every chance they got. You might think the Left would see Islam as its greatest enemy. All things considered, Muslims should be coming under ever-increasing scrutiny and condemnation by the Left, since their respective worldviews are so diametrically opposed to each other. Or, are they?

It might be suggested that the Left is afraid to criticize Islam due to the latter’s obvious violent inclinations. While that is doubtless so in many countries, Islam in America has not reached a level of influence to scare us into submission. Muslims represent a small minority of our population. There must be another, more relevant answer. Why do American Muslims want to live in a country whose culture and governmental institutions stand in the way of the Koran’s influence? And why does our liberal American society seem so reluctant to offer criticism of Islam, when it stands for so many things liberals have a visceral reaction against?

Perhaps the answer lies in what they both have in common. The American Left hates the church of Christ. Islam hates the church of Christ. If there is one thing a godless worldview and an Islamic worldview have in common, it is this: they both fundamentally oppose the gospel of Christ. They both hate the Bible and the truth it contains. Think of it this way. By rejecting the truth of the gospel, liberalism embraces a worldview authored by the devil (who is the “father of lies,” John 8:44). By rejecting the truth of the gospel, Muslims also embrace a worldview from the same author. So, though they at first seem inherently different, liberalism and Islam both stem from worldviews issued from the devil. Both mindsets ultimately come from the same place! And the devil knows, whether it helps liberalism, or whether it helps Islam, it will make things harder on the Lord’s church. Since preventing men’s salvation seems his chief concern, Satan cares not from which direction the hindrance comes. In the case of American liberals, the devil has made for them a strange bedfellow, indeed.

Posted in Christianity and Culture, LGBTQ

Why “Same-Sex Marriage” Is a Bad Idea

Posted on by Weylan Deaver

By Weylan Deaver

“Same-sex marriage” may be winning the polls, but it will lose every time against God’s word in the Bible. Consider several reasons. First, it fails to recognize God’s role in marriage (Matt. 19:6). God does not join anyone in marriage contrary to his law, and if God doesn’t do the joining, then there is no marriage in God’s eyes. For that reason alone, no homosexuals will ever have a God-endorsed marriage. Second, it cannot harmonize with Jesus’ teaching on marriage (Matt. 19:4-5). Jesus endorsed a concept of marriage dating back to Creation, when they were made male and female, and in which a man leaves his parents to cling to his wife. No other definition of marriage meets with Jesus’ approval. Third, it tries to make the unnatural into the normal. A simple reading of Romans 1:26-27 should convince anyone that God deems homosexuality dishonorable, unnatural, shameless, and erroneous. Fourth, it makes marriage an elastic institution (but cf. 1 Cor. 7:2). If marriage can be redefined to include homosexuality, then there is no sustainable argument against redefining it to include polygamy, bestiality, and whatever perverse behavior lurks in man’s darkest imagination. Fifth, it cannot produce children (cf. 1 Tim. 5:14) and, since some homosexual couples inevitably demand to raise children, it creates all kinds of twisted scenarios in which children grow up with multiple fathers or mothers, while implying that neither a mother nor father is necessary to a child’s well-being. Biologically, only a man and woman can produce a child. Biblically, only a man and woman married to each other can produce a child. Sixth, it can only be maintained by perpetual sin (cf. 1 Cor. 6:9-10). That is, if homosexuality is inherently sinful, then there is no way to create a marital bond between homosexuals that would not also be inherently sinful. Seventh, it dishonors marriage, which all of society is obligated to hold in honor. Marriage cannot be honored while trampling what Jesus taught on the subject. Marriage cannot be redefined without compromising its God-given integrity. “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous” (Heb. 13:4, ESV). Political correctness won’t get anyone to heaven. We need to repent and get back to God’s word, for it will judge us all eventually (John 12:48).

Posted in Doctrine

The Tomb Was Empty

Posted on by Weylan Deaver

By Weylan Deaver

No event in history is more staggering in consequence than the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the Sunday morning following his Friday death by crucifixion. The apostle Paul would say in Romans 4:25 that Jesus was “raised for our justification.” That means, without Jesus’ resurrection, there is no justification of sinners in the eyes of a holy God. His blood was given for our sins (Matthew 26:28), but it would all have been for nought had the devil been able to keep Jesus in the tomb. Elsewhere, Paul says that Jesus’ blood is what purchased the church (Acts 20:28). It is only in the church of Christ that anyone can find justification in Christ by the blood of Christ. The church is the Lord’s spiritual body, and Christ is “the saviour of the body” (Ephesians 5:23). Thus, to be outside his body is to be without salvation. But, whether you are in the Lord’s church or not, you are coming out of the grave eventually. As Paul taught the Athenians two millennia ago, the fact that God raised Jesus from the dead is what guarantees that God will one day raise all of us from the dead (Acts 17:31). “And these shall go away into eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life” (Matthew 25:46). Come visit us at the church of Christ, where Jesus’ empty tomb still motivates us to prepare for our own.

Posted in Christianity and Culture, Evangelism

“Bar Church”

Posted on by Weylan Deaver

By Weylan Deaver

933Bar Church is the brainchild of Southern Hills church of Christ in Abilene, Texas. The sobriquet was chosen because, starting March 24, 2013 some of their members will begin conducting worship services at a local bar called “Memories” each Sunday morning at 11:30. Both Southern Hills and the new Bar Church have websites (quoted in italics below) extolling the virtues of such a novel approach. Their online list of questions and answers is revealing, if not disturbing.

Southern Hills plainly states, “Bar Church is a satellite location of Southern Hills, and therefore under the oversight of our eldership.” Explaining why a bar was chosen as the right location, they say, “Many people believe in God — or are curious about God — but have legitimate barriers that keep them from traditional churches. By meeting in a bar, we hope to remove some of those religious barriers and free people up to connect with God in a nonthreatening location.” Elsewhere they add, “We believe it’s something Jesus might do.” Really? Perhaps Southern Hills’ concept of “traditional churches” is not the same as the New Testament’s definition of congregations of the Lord’s church. It is difficult to imagine the Savior suggesting that some folk have “legitimate barriers” keeping them away from his church. It is just as hard to imagine Paul encouraging the saints at Corinth to consider assembling at the pagan temple of Aphrodite on Sunday mornings, among the cult prostitutes, in order to be gathered with as many sinners as possible when they worship God.

Furthermore, since when did Sunday worship services become all about evangelism? Worship is about saints glorifying their God — not an outreach effort for sinners. The latter has its place, but we have too long emphasized the lost during Sunday assemblies, at the expense of worship’s true purpose. Worship services are, primarily, for the saved.

Nevertheless, Southern Hills explains, “We wanted to locate Bar Church in a bar in order to place ourselves in a position to be in relationship with people who: 1) were fed up with church; 2) had dim views of church and especially church people; 3) perceived themselves to be unworthy or far from God.” Doubtless, people in those categories need the gospel, as do all. But is it really the purpose of Sunday worship that a Christian seek to surround himself with those who cannot stand the Lord’s church, and then try to encourage them to worship with him? Does Bar Church realize the lost are not even qualified to worship in Spirit and truth? Yet, their goal is to offer denizens of the local bar “carefully chosen secular music along with the singing of hymns and praise songs, prayer, sharing the Lord’s Supper, the collection of an offering, and the presentation of the Gospel.” Though there is nothing sacred about a church building, there is something very wrong about endorsing the unholy. And, while God never told early Christians to go into an idol’s temple and serve pagans the Lord’s Supper, God did say, “Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you” (2 Cor. 6:17, ESV).

It gets worse. Southern Hills states, “Due to the fact that we anticipate that many of those who attend Bar Church will have no background in acappella singing, we will use instruments for the purpose of making the singing of hymns less threatening and providing a musical sound path for all to follow.” What Christian even thinks in terms of a cappella singing being “threatening” to anyone? But, not wanting bar-goers to be threatened by simple voices praising God, they will add instruments to make the atmosphere “less threatening.” It is also telling that “carefully chosen secular music” will be part of Bar Church. Southern Hills seems to believe the end does justify the means, but without realizing the end they seek is unattainable by the means they propose.

Of course, the obvious question is whether there will be drinking in Bar Church. Yes, there will. Per Southern Hills’ website, “Bar Church meets in a bar, so alcohol will be present and available beginning at noon on Sundays. With Bar Church’s stated mission to meet people where they are, we anticipate that alcohol most likely will be consumed sometime during the meeting of Bar Church.” All are welcome at Bar Church. You need not even bring your own bottle, since alcohol will be served. In case you are under legal drinking age, “The Bar Church planning team will have a process in place to carefully check ID as people are entering Bar Church. We will use a system similar to the large X’s that bars place on the hands of underage patrons to insure they are not served alcohol.” Who knew that would ever be a concern when assembling for worship? Southern Hills does not indicate whether the Lord’s Supper will be served before or after the liquor goes on sale. Nor is it clear whether Christians will be ordering drinks, or only guests. Perhaps enough beers could help convince a bar customer to respond to the gospel. Then again, a glass of whiskey might cause a patron not to feel threatened by a cappella singing, in which case Southern Hills could leave off the instrumental music altogether. Win-win, right?

An apostle warned about those whose Christianity was so tainted that, “because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed” (2 Pet. 2:2). We cannot imagine the Lord smiling down on an assembly where alcohol is consumed alongside his memorial supper, where sinners “fed up with church” are still able to be part of one, where worship is corrupted in the name of evangelism, where the gospel is watered down but the liquor not, and all in a location specifically chosen because it is peopled by those who have or want nothing to do with the Lord’s church. At some point, a misguided plan becomes a mockery of all that is sacred. And well-meaning Christians can take an idea so far beyond Scripture that it becomes blasphemous. If Bar Church is, indeed, a righteous outreach of Southern Hills church of Christ, then we ask, in all seriousness, why not Brothel Church?

Posted in Christianity and Culture

“Bible-Minded” Cities

Posted on by Weylan Deaver

By Weylan Deaver

Recently the Barna Group published a graphic (you can view at http://cities.barna.org/americas-most-and-least-bible-minded-cities/). The chart ranked ninety-six American cities, according to the percent of population who were “Bible-minded.” The results were based on 42,855 interviews conducted from 2005 through 2012.

What does it mean to be “Bible-minded”? Well, for purposes of the survey, two criteria were used. First, in a typical week, you actually read from the Bible. Second, you strongly believe the principles taught in the Bible are accurate. That’s it. So, if you believe the Bible is right, and you read it in a typical week, you are considered “Bible-minded” for purposes of the survey.

We’ll not take time to recount all the results, but mention here a few. For example, according to the results, the most “Bible-minded” city in America is Knoxville, Tennessee (statistically tied with Shreveport, Louisiana and Chattanooga, Tennessee). In those cities, 52% of the population are “Bible-minded.”

Whether or not that is encouraging depends on one’s perspective. It is good that over half a city claims to believe the Bible, and reads it regularly. However, it also means that 48% of the population either does not believe the Bible is true, or does not read it (or both). In other words, per the survey, 48 out of 100 people you meet in Knoxville are either disinterested in or opposed to the Bible. And that’s in the most “Bible-minded” place in the country!

Interestingly, Dallas/Fort Worth ranks at #27 (with 38% “Bible-minded”), and that is the best in Texas. The Metroplex is trailed by San Antonio at #33 (with 36% “Bible-minded”), Houston at #39 (with 32% “Bible-minded”), Austin at #48 (with 29% “Bible-minded”), and El Paso at #80 (with 23% “Bible-minded”).

We live in the so-called “Bible Belt” of America. Yet, according to the survey, 62 out of every 100 people in the Metroplex are not “Bible-minded.” Thus, 62 out of 100 in DFW are disengaged from the Bible. And the rest of Texas fares even worse.

If that’s the encouraging news, what were the survey’s least “Bible-minded” cities? The worst, ranking #96, is the combination of Providence, Rhode Island and New Bedford, Massachusetts, where only 9% are “Bible-minded.” Nine percent. That means 91 people out of 100 have nothing to do with the Bible.

Other bottom-ranking cities on the list of 96 are Chicago (#76), New York City (#85), Las Vegas (#86), San Francisco (#90), Boston (#91). In all those places, fewer than 25% are “Bible-minded.”

Hartford/New Haven, Connecticut ranks #92 out of 96. In those cities, 84 out of 100 people are out of touch with the Bible. Connecticut is where the Sandy Hook elementary school massacre occurred in December.

What can we conclude? If the statistically best cities still have 48% of their populations disengaged from the Bible, then (1) the culture has drifted far from its spiritual roots, and (2) the devil has cultivated a great resistance to God’s word. We cannot accurately call America Christian. The best we can claim is that we are Christians in America. And that is a thing it is getting harder and harder to be.

“Wherefore Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, And touch no unclean thing; And I will receive you, And will be to you a Father, And ye shall be to me sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” (2 Cor. 6:17-18, ASV).