ACCORDING TO GALLUP, “Research indicates our image of Christ – while a bit murky in spots – is overwhelmingly favorable…”

 

When asked if Jesus was God or just another religious leader like Mohamed or Buddha, 70 percent of Americans surveyed affirmed he was God.

 

When asked, “In your own life, how important is the belief that Christ was fully God and fully human?”  81 percent responded this belief was either “very important” (58 percent) or “fairly important” (23 percent).

 

Some 91 percent believe Jesus existed as a historical figure.

 

After reviewing an impressive array of statistics regarding American’s evaluation of Jesus, Gallup concludes “virtually all Americans are, in some measure, drawn to the person of Christ.” 

 

But who is the Christ to whom they are drawn?

 

Gallup observed few were conversant with even the most basic Biblical material.

 

Only 42 percent of respondents knew Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount; only 46 percent could name the first four books of the New Testament; and only 70 percent knew Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

 

The lack of knowledge also betrays a lack of commitment.  Gallup says that “probing more deeply through surveys indicates that even if religion is an important force in our lives, it is not the center of our lives.  It does not have primacy.  Interest may be high, but commitment is often low.  Searching for the Real JESUS In An Age of Controversy, Douglas Groothuis, “Who Do You Say That I Am?” pp. 13-14

 

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14.6.)

 

Mike Benson