#94 What you believed at age 13

“Adults essentially carry out the beliefs they embraced when they were young,” he explained (George Barna). “The reason why Christians are so similar in their attitudes, values and lifestyles to non-Christians is that they were not sufficiently challenged to think and behave differently – radically differently, based on core spiritual perspectives – when they were children. Simply getting people to go to church regularly is not the key to becoming a mature Christian. Spiritual transformation requires a more extensive investment in one’s ability to interpret all life situations in spiritual terms.” Read the rest of Barna’s report here.

He points out that upon comparing data from a national survey of 13-year-olds with an identical survey among adults, the belief profile related to a dozen central spiritual principles was identical between the two groups. Those beliefs included perceptions of the nature of God, the existence of Satan, the reliability of the Bible, perceptions regarding the after-life, the holiness of Jesus Christ, the means of gaining God’s favor, and the influence of spiritual forces in a person’s life.

So at least statistically, what you believed at age 13, you will believe when you die. Scary isn’t it? This is not true in my case. I grew up in a liberal Protestant denomination and knew nothing about sin or grace or the deity and saving work of Jesus. However, I don’t doubt that in a survey of large numbers it would be accurate. I’ll have to reevaluate my opinion of the value of various children’s ministries. Having the church form the attitudes and beliefs rather than the family doesn’t seem to be Biblical, but I’m willing to take another look.

And I still may be correct about the time, effort and money that go into children’s programming. In an earlier report, Barna stated that “For most teenagers who have spent years attending church activities their faith is not integrated into who they are and how they live. Most of the young people who claim they developed an understanding of the Bible that enables them to make decisions based on biblical principles show no evidence of using that understanding in relation to the core beliefs and lifestyle choices that we studied.”