How many Americans believe in God? If you believe in polls, the figure hovers around 92%. But what does believing in God get them? Does believing in God mean they believe what he wrote in his book, including his promises and blessings? Surprisingly, no.Radio talk show host Dennis Prager draws a new dividing line—no longer between people who believe in God and people who don’t, but rather between people who believe in a divine text and people who don’t:
“It is divine text, not the divine existence [that is our dividing line]. If you believe in a divine text, you end up with our values. Our opponents believe in God. [But] it is divine text...that changes your mind. If you believe [only] men wrote the Bible entirely, then why listen to it? We have to make it explicit. It’s divine text that is the difference.”
~ Dennis Prager on Focus on the Family
“Preserving the Traditional Foundations of Marriage (Part 2 of 2)”, aired Sep 30, ‘08
“Preserving the Traditional Foundations of Marriage (Part 2 of 2)”, aired Sep 30, ‘08
The basis for belief in God among many of those polled is obviously not the Bible. If it were, they would also believe in heaven and hell, but the number of believers in those are less than the number of believers in God.
For those of us who do believe that the Bible is a (the!) divine text, do we treat it as such? In this age of spirituality based on...umm...I don’t know...how familiar are we with our own foundation? Can this generation be the one that bridges the chasm between faith based on personal preferences versus faith based on truths? Or will it broaden the gulf?
Don’t just know what you believe. Know why.
