More than three-quarters of Americans believe the Bible is literally the word of God or inspired by the word of God, according to a trio of Gallup surveys, with 19 percent saying the Good Book is a compendium of myth and legend.
The three surveys found that an average 31 percent of the respondents said that “the Bible is absolutely accurate and should be taken literally word for word,” according to Frank Newport, editor in chief of the Gallup Poll.
Forty-seven percent said the Bible was “the inspired word of God,” and 19 percent said it was a book of ancient fables, history and “moral precepts” recorded by man.
The breakdown of beliefs has not changed much recently: The average number of people who take the Bible literally, in fact, has remained steady since 1991.
I confess to struggling with the value of these polls without some agreed definition of terms. Read it all–KSH.
“I confess to struggling with the value of these polls without some agreed definition of terms.”
Exactly, if people really believed it was the word of God, you would think our society’s behavior would be quite different.
TEC is supposed to:
BCP
Rite I and Rite II
The Lessons
The people sit. One or two Lessons, as appointed, are read, the Reader first saying
A Reading (Lesson) from _____ .
A citation giving chapter and verse may be added.
After each Reading, the Reader may say
The Word of the Lord.
People Thanks be to God.