"It hurts more to have a belief pulled than to have a tooth pulled, and no intellectual Novocain is available." - Elmer Davis
The International Christian Digest records: In 1963...65 percent of
Americans said they believed in the absolute truth of all words in the
Bible. Within 15 years, by 1978, the proportion of the population
holding this belief had declined to 38 percent. The current figure of 32
percent represents a new low in literal belief in the Bible" (PRRC
Emerging Trends (January 1992):1). The same thing has happened in
England. The proportion of people who believe in a personal God has
declined from 36 percent in 1981 to 31 percent today. Those who believe
that Jesus Christ was the Son of God has fallen from 52 percent in 1981
to 48 percent today.
The content of belief is important: Jonathan
Whitfield was preaching to coal miners in England. He asked one man,
"What do you believe?" "Well, I believe the same as
