CP Readers Unfazed After Learning That 1 in 4 Believers Are 'Christians in Name Only'
CP Readers have something to say about the recently released results of a quiz conducted by Changing the Face of Christianity Inc., which was designed to determine how well Christians live the teachings of Jesus Christ. The quiz results indicate that one in four self-proclaimed Christians admit that they do not live according to Christ's teachings.
Many readers of The Christian Post report, however, are not shocked by the results.
"These are not surprising numbers," said reader Patricia Keen in a Facebook post. "Many people say they are Christians but only attend church on holidays, or they think they can interact with God in nature better than on a pew. When a Christian is truly living for the Lord they LONG to be with other believers."
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Reader Daniel J. Galley had a similar viewpoint.
"If someone tells me they're a Christian I simply ask them to articulate the Gospel and that's usually where the fun begins," he said. "If you don't have a fundamental grasp of the truth of what God has done to save you from God then there is no reason we should expect to see any change in behavior. 1 in 4? More like 1 in a 100."
The anonymous assessment consisted of 10 multiple choice questions asking participants how often they read the Bible, how they would act in particular scenarios provided, etc., and at the end returned a score numbered from one to 40.
Participants were then ranked on a scale based on their numbers as "Far from Christ," a "Worldly Christian," a "Good Christian," or a "Spiritually Mature Christian," which was the highest rank possible and defined by R. Brad White, the founder of Changing the Face of Christianity Inc., as "someone who represents Jesus Christ through his words and actions" and "engages with the world in a positive and loving way and truly brings glory to God."
The responses, which were collected over a seven-month period from January 2011 to July 2011, indicated that 23.7 percent of Christians in the pool of over 2,000 questioned were classified as "Worldly Christians" or Christians in name only, according to White.
"When posed with a real world situation which tests their faith, they tend to do what the rest of the world does, instead of living as Jesus instructs," White said about "Worldly Christians."
He added, "To be clear, these aren't 'bad' people. The score results suggest they think much more about themselves than they think about God and other people. Reading the Bible and praying aren't a common practice. These are people that you would probably be surprised to find are Christian, if it weren't for the cross around their neck. These people are in the sweet spot of where we need to do our work. We are here to walk along side them, love them, educate them, mentor them, and guide them into living their faith through their words and actions."
Facebook user Donna Davis said it is not enough to simply believe in God or call oneself a Christian, but that he or she must act as Christians are called to by God.
"You can 'believe' head knowledge, without ever having heart knowledge to really believe," she posted. "As Joshua said, even demons believe. It isn't just believing that makes one a christian, it's repentance and a changed heart."
