OPINION:
Today, the Bible vies for our attention in a progressively distracting world — especially in America, with instant gratification at our fingertips, the 24/7 news cycle, a multitude of entertainment options, and increasingly divisive social norms discounting biblical beliefs.
Yet, as we grapple with the declining spiritual state of our nation, we have to ask ourselves where we’ve ultimately gone wrong — and how we are to fix it.
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Practical significance of establishing biblical values
A recent study reported that private schools teaching Christian values produce more students with civic awareness than public schools, specifically in areas like “political tolerance, political participation, civic knowledge and skills, and voluntarism and community engagement.”
When we consider the fact that our founding fathers established our nation on biblical values — values of honesty, hard work, love for others and freedom — we are reminded that these elements of goodness are rooted in God alone. Therefore, we must go back to these roots, a firm foundation of God’s Word, for the sake of our nation and its citizens.
Over time, America’s foundation on these biblical values has eroded, reflected in the following subsects of society:
- The decimation of the family unit following the sexual revolution
- The decline of educational systems and student discipline as Bible teaching and prayer have been eradicated from our schools over the last 61 years
- The desire of many Western churches today to care more about being well-liked and culturally savvy than about sharing the truth of the Bible; thus, we are seeing a staggering decline in American faith, the largest portion being Millennials
- The polarization of our political system, which has become more about division and candidate worship than about standing up for what is best for its citizens
We must return to the Bible if we ever hope to save our dying nation. America needs Christ woven back into its every fiber — one nation, under God.
The Bible in Eastern Europe: Profound transformation of culture
If you think that Bible implementation doesn’t transform nations, think again. It begins with our kids, who then grow up to craft the future culture. We’ve witnessed this in Ukraine, with a significant positive influence bleeding into the rest of Eastern Europe.
Around two decades ago, leaders from diverse religious and political backgrounds in Ukraine approached our ministry with a vision to introduce Bibles into public schools. Now, with more than two-thirds of these schools having integrated Bibles and Bible-based materials into their programs, Ukraine has observed significant improvements in student behavior and performance in the majority of its schools.
This initiative has also spread to other parts of Eastern Europe over 20 years, resulting in many of these formerly communist-run nations providing Bibles and teaching Christian values within their schools, which has led to enhanced student morale and performance across the region.
Hope for Gen Z
Even though the recent State of the Bible report shows a decline in Scripture engagement in the United States, it also reveals that Gen Z has shown promising signs of interest in the Bible. In fact, this year alone, 54% of Gen Z adults (ages 18–27) agreed that the message of the Bible has transformed their lives – an increase of 8% over last year.
Though America faces challenges in the decline of faith and biblical values at large, we also have a good reason for hope as we strive to foster this positive growth within Gen Z – our nation’s future leaders.
If we can revive faith in American schools, specifically through incorporating prayer and the Bible, as has been done across areas of Eastern Europe, we hold hope that we will then witness similar positive change here in the U.S. These biblical values instill civic care, unity and morality for a generation to thrive — and develop a thriving nation.
Where can we start?
Our call to instill this change is far from passive. Rather, we must recognize the importance of starting within the home, prioritizing time spent in prayer and in the Bible with our families, incorporating its transformative truth into our personal lives — and into our “why” behind the things we do.
Second, it is crucial that we bring the Word of God back into our public school systems, championing this valuable text as the foundation of goodness and morality to better serve our nation. In doing so, we must actively urge our government leaders to enact this invaluable change.
We are an example to younger and future generations. Let us not fail them by quelling the fire of goodness that they have begun to experience. Instead, might we encourage these young believers, as well as those exploring faith, to go back to the Bible as their source of truth? Then, we will be able to revive our nation — in obedience to God.
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Bob Burckle is president of EEM (Eastern European Mission,) which has been delivering God’s Word to the people of Eastern Europe since 1961, now reaching 37 countries in 27 languages. It provided nearly three million children’s and teen Bibles and Bible-based materials free of charge in the region in the last two years, including in public schools in several nations. Learn more at www.eem.org/bfk .
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