In Light of This Alarming Survey, SES’s Open House for Potential New Students on March 18 Is Particularly Relevant
CHARLOTTE, N.C.—According to a new survey from the American Culture and Faith Institute, seven out of 10 Americans call themselves Christians, but just a tenth truly have a biblical worldview and are able to answer questions about the Bible and Christian beliefs. The news is even worse for the millennial generation.
Reporting on this story was The Christian Post, where Southern Evangelical Seminary (SES, www.staging.ses.edu) President and Evangelical leader Dr. Richard Land serves as an executive editor. And Land says the alarming survey results are evidence why Christians need the faith training that SES has offered for the past 25 years.
“This new study from the American Culture and Faith Institute is not only a sad commentary on the state of Christianity today, but a distressing and disturbing glimpse into one reason why our country is heading down the road it is,” said SES President and Evangelical leader Dr. Richard Land. “We can’t blame a crumbling culture on politicians or violence or even immorality if Christians don’t look at all things through the lens of a biblical worldview. The desire may be there, but the knowledge is not, which is why apologetics education is so crucial in our world today.”
In an effort to introduce even more Christians to apologetics education—or the practice of learning more about the Christian faith and how to defend beliefs—SES will host an open house on its campus from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 18 at 3000 Tilley Morris Road in Matthews, N.C. Registration is now open online. Prospective online students can attend the open house virtually by checking the ‘live-stream’ option when registering.
Regarding the survey, renowned social science researcher George Barna, who leads ACFI, noted that every person does have a worldview. “The critical question is which one people have embraced,” he told The Christian Post. “If we want to transform our culture, then we will need to change the choices people make that produce that culture. And in order to change those choices we must identify the beliefs that led to those choices.”
According to The Christian Post, “the questionnaire included 20 ‘Christianity 101’ questions about basic spiritual beliefs and 20 others assessing behavior. The researchers then reviewed respondents’ answers to the 40 questions ‘in relation to biblical content and the number of biblically consistent answers was tallied for each respondent.’ Only 4 percent of young people ages 18-29 scored 80 percent or better, qualifying as ‘integrated disciples’ by the researchers.”
For 25 years, SES has been teaching students of all backgrounds and stages of life to rationally, intelligently and lovingly defend their beliefs, and to know what they believe and why they believe it.
SES recently announced the 2017 National Conference on Christian Apologetics, one of the largest events of its kind, with the fitting and timely theme of “Pursuing a Faith That Thinks.” The conference, offered for 24 out of SES’s 25 years, is set for Oct. 12-14, 2017, at Calvary Church in Charlotte, N.C.
The conference will welcome the nation’s top apologists, who will give the thousands in attendance new presentations on studies, research, history and insight into apologetics and other intellectual, scientific and religious fields. In addition to Land and SES co-founder Norman Geisler, confirmed conference speakers include Richard Howe, Greg Koukl, Jay Richards, Hugh Ross, Frank Turek and J. Warner Wallace, along with many others.
The conference will also feature a debate between SES professor emeritus Richard Howe and co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, minister turned atheist Dan Barker, on the topic “Is There A God Who Speaks?”
SES was incorporated on Jan. 6, 1992, and began offering classes on Sept. 10, 1992. The year-long 25th anniversary celebration will culminate at the conference.
At SES’s apologetics blog, www.WhyDoYouBelieve.org, Land and other SES voices address the most pressing issues of the day. SES also explores ethical issues through its “Ethics in Emerging Technology” program; for more information, visit www.ethics.staging.ses.edu. Read more about Southern Evangelical Seminary and SES President Dr. Richard Land here.
For more information on SES, visit its web site at www.staging.ses.edu or its Facebook page, follow the SES Twitter feed, @sesapologetics, or call (800) 77-TRUTH.
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To set up an interview with Dr. Richard Land or another representative from SES, contact Jen Retallick, 610-584-1096, ext. 100,Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, or Deborah Hamilton, 215-815-7716 or 610-584-1096, ext. 102.
