A “Biblical” Worldview?

Posted by Jonathan Brink
April 20, 2009

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George Barna recently published a report on the Mosaic generations worldview.  And I’m beginning to wonder if we’ve created such a limitation on what it means to be Biblical that we rule everyone out. The study looks at Mosaics, or the emerging generation.

“The Mosaic generation, those between the ages of 18 and 23, “rarely” have a biblical worldview as defined by The Barna Group. The research data found that less than one-half of one percent of Mosaics have a biblical worldview.”

A line like this stirs up the imagination, doesn’t it?  Only ONE percent?  But what if the survey is so narrowly defined that it eliminates most of the group?  Barna defines a “Biblical” worldview as follows:

“A biblical worldview, as defined by the Barna study, is believing that absolute moral truth exists; the Bible is completely accurate in all of the principles it teaches; Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic; a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or do good works; Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today.”

I used to do research and even developed questionnaires for my marketing clients.  And it is entirely possible to so narrowly define a spectrum you are looking for as to eliminate most people from it.  And let me be clear. I think Barna is an exceptional researcher.  I have no doubt that the one percent number is accurate for that age group.  The results are not the problem.  The problem is in creating a ridiculously narrow definition.

I would bet a thousand dollars that if you asked the same group of people if they believed in Jesus or were even interested in Jesus, the number would skyrocket.  Do they fully understand what that means yet?  Probably not. But then who amongst us has it all figured out?  Raise your hand please.

But what if someone on that list is wrestling with what it means to believe in absolute moral truth, or Satan, or that the Bible is completely accurate.  Is that a necessary element to our faith?  Is that a true understanding of what it means to be saved?  I would say not.  I find it interesting that there is no mention of the cross in that statement.  There’s no mention of the following, or the divinity of Jesus.  When Jesus asked Peter, “Who do you say that I am,” Peter didn’t respond with “perfect.”  He didn’t respond with a list that looked like the above.  He simply said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  Jesus simplified it.  He made it easy for people. Absolute moral truth didn’t even come up.

What if the problem is not in their worldview?  What if the problem is in our assumptions about the way Mosaics think?

This is the first generation to grow up almost completely wired.  They’re knowledgeable about the realities of the way the world works.  They’re not narrowly defined because Nike and every fashion label has taught them to search for the always changing, next big thing.  They refused to be defined by us.  Yes they may be cynical but they also have learned to live in the shadow of tension. They’ve learned to hold the paradox of the both/and.  They’ve learned a right answer is silly because nobody lives it.  We’re all broken.  And we don’t like that do we?  We don’t like that Mosaics can live in the paradox of the not knowing.  They can hold two opposing views simultaneously.

I wonder when we’re going to realize that defining people out of our box doesn’t work anymore.  It doesn’t have the same effect it used to, to shift people into our way of thinking. This generation is too smart for that. Mosaics are first children of God.  They are first human beings, made in His image.  They are not defined by what we/they believe but by who made them.

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Emerging Church, Quotes, faith, postmodern

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  • very well said and exactly why I'm not "worried" about these surveys and why I'm not completely sold on the idea that we're becoming a completely post Christian nation (as if we were ever Christian in the first place - which I don't buy)

    I personally don't like that all these surveys play on fear - they remind me of commercials - you need this new immunization because if you don't get it you will die a horrible death (never mind the fine print, just buy the drug dammit). In this case it's "the world is horrible, everyone is evil, everyone is going to hell, no one believes in Jesus anymore - YOU NEED TO EVANGELIZE! You need to pray more, you need to go to church more"

    I don't like people selling me Christianity by manipulating with fear.
  • Mak, why does that sound an awful lot like religion to me.
  • Keesha, ;-)

    I love the immunization analogy...SOOO true. In this case, you need to be immunized from these postmoderns 'cause they are going to effect what/how you believe, ergo: no longer saved.
  • Jonathan,

    You do a amiable job not turning this into a rant. The thing about Barna is that they want the statistics to be as "bad news" as possible, it works well with their own demographic: fundamentalist churches that use these types of statistics to puff themselves up and justify their own worldview.
  • Thom, what surprises me is that this is from Barna. I've been following George and his work for a while and he is in some ways the evangelical emergent. He sits in both camps. He knows changes is coming but in some ways sounds like he wants it to look like the old thing it is leaving.
  • Yeah, I agree. I didn't mean anything personal about George Barna, I just used "Barna" as shorthand for Barna Group. I think I have just always had a prejudice against stats and surveys as being more about marketing and less about authenticity, which I think is valid. Thinking about this a bit more I wonder at how hard it is for a group like Barna to just put out data and see it being manipulated to different ends. It would make me apathetic!
  • My concern is that he is responsible for this because he is the one creating the definition.
  • Maybe we need to re-write the biblical worldview from the Father's perspective... not ours:

    "My creation is good and flows from my deep and affectionate love. My creativity is expressed so as to be the luscious flavor for Adam's seed; that all may know of My love and loyalties. My personality is steeped in love being expressed through the purest form of affection, to those willing to dive into My refreshing waters. My Words, are the deep Narrative of the universe, inviting all to experience life anew. My Son, He's My messenger of kindness to those who are broken-hearted and depleted by circumstance. For He, My Son, reflects Me perfectly and is the ultimate expression of my fondness for the sons and daughters of Adam. He is My eternal expression of Agape. My Sacred Pneuma, transforms the lifeless, and fills the empty voids and chaos of Adam's seed. My Sacred Pneuma is Life invigorated, Garden-like life, while traversing the desert. We are a Family, the true Family and this is Our Creation, Our Words, Our Life... it is Our invitation to all."

    So the only question to us is not do we hold to a set of facts that reveal nothing of our true condition, but, do we believe, and more importantly, do we experience, the restorative character qualities of each member of the Trinity as we live out this journey?

    Reading Barna's definition disturbed me a bit, as I felt what a disconnected statement that in no way expresses what our Father is really up to on our behalf.

    Thanks for the inspiration and as always, great post. ;-)
  • Speak it brother.
  • i just turned 40 and identify with the mosaics of living in the the tension and a both/and view of the world.

    i think what we will be seeing more of is people coming from the south ie Africa and South America to evangelize the USA. And this tends to be more of this 'Biblical worldview' Barna speaks of, which i will be curious to see how it plays out. Will it be their form of an attempt at their own colonialization?

    Makeesha - i agree with you when you said this, 'as if we were ever Christian in the first place - which I don't buy' Brian McLaren speaks about this today on his blog.
    http://www.brianmclaren.net/archives/blog/a-chr...

    Great post and thanks for your thoughts!

    Warm Regards,

    EP
  • jonmholmes
    Have you read "The Existential Jesus"? Fantastic read if you haven't. Thanks for the McLaren blog link.
  • That definiton of a "biblical worldview" is pretty disturbing. Where's the poetry? Where's the grace? But then "statistics" deal with information and demographics, not truth as I understand it.

    I like this bit from the Gospel of Thomas 13 :

    Jesus said to his disciples, "Compare me to something and tell me what I am like." Simon Peter said to him, "You are like a just angel." Matthew said to him, "You are like a wise philosopher." Thomas said to him, "Teacher, my mouth is utterly unable to say what you are like."
  • the pastor at New Life here in Chicago pulled this statistic out a few weeks ago, and when he read the definition they used of a "Biblical worldview" i had to bite my tongue and grab my arm to keep from standing up and shouting "i don't believe that, either, should i lieave?"
  • So what was your answer?
  • answer to what.
  • You said, "i don't believe that, either, should i lieave?"
  • i said i bit my tongue to keep from asking. i already know what the answer would have been based on the way he was utilizing the statistics.
  • "I bit my tongue."

    That's very wise.
  • lizdyer
    Biblical worldview = Evangelical worldview

    I was deeply entrenched in the evangelical culture until a few years ago and when a biblical worldview was spoken of it was like a dividing line between us and them. It began to feel like it was a way to control what we (the members of the evangelical community) believed - if we didn't believe just right then...gasp...we didn't have a biblical worldview. I'm surprised Barna is fooling with the term at all unless he is trying to prove that people today are tired of "God In A Box"
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