Supernatural Beliefs
Brand new numbers are out from Gallup reporting on American beliefs about God, heaven, Satan, and hell.
That survey revealed that only 40 to 60 percent of teens believe in a real spiritual entity called "Satan," while the number who believe in God is closer to 90 percent, even among students. You'll find similar differences between teen beliefs about heaven and hell, as well as angels and demons. Why the big disconnect between spiritual light and the darkness?
For one, the existence of a good God, good angels, and a good heaven -- without any "dark side" to worry about -- would mean that I don't really have to care what God thinks about anything. If He's real, I'll get a great reward. If not -- or if I ignored Him my whole life -- I'll simply cease to exist. If I reject the presence of real supernatural evil, I don't have to think about it's influence on me -- or about a real afterlife of punishment that might be waiting for me. So much easier than wrestling with all that spiritual stuff.
As believers in a real Satan, demons, and hell, we think he'd much rather people "not think about it" than go around freaking everyone out. In fact, getting people to miss the truth is his mission, in a way: "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." (2 Corinthians 4:4)
For more about the existence of hell, check out Sean McDowell's latest worldview article called, appropriately enough, "Why Hell?"
The latest study found that 86 percent of American adults believe in God which is a drop from 90 percent in 2004 and in 2001. Seventy percent expressed belief in the Devil. Also, 81 percent said they believe in Heaven; 75 percent in Angels; and 69 percent in Hell.Did you know that a few years ago, Mark and WisdomWorks commissioned the Barna Group to conduct a survey of teens about these areas of belief, along with belief in all kinds of supernatural phenomenon? In response to that survey, Mark wrote a book called Don't Buy the Lie: Discerning Truth in a World of Deception, available on this site.
That survey revealed that only 40 to 60 percent of teens believe in a real spiritual entity called "Satan," while the number who believe in God is closer to 90 percent, even among students. You'll find similar differences between teen beliefs about heaven and hell, as well as angels and demons. Why the big disconnect between spiritual light and the darkness?
For one, the existence of a good God, good angels, and a good heaven -- without any "dark side" to worry about -- would mean that I don't really have to care what God thinks about anything. If He's real, I'll get a great reward. If not -- or if I ignored Him my whole life -- I'll simply cease to exist. If I reject the presence of real supernatural evil, I don't have to think about it's influence on me -- or about a real afterlife of punishment that might be waiting for me. So much easier than wrestling with all that spiritual stuff.
As believers in a real Satan, demons, and hell, we think he'd much rather people "not think about it" than go around freaking everyone out. In fact, getting people to miss the truth is his mission, in a way: "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." (2 Corinthians 4:4)
For more about the existence of hell, check out Sean McDowell's latest worldview article called, appropriately enough, "Why Hell?"
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