Of Figs and Phonies - Mark 11:11-21
Of Figs and Phonies - Mark 11:11-21 By Pastor Lee Hemen October 17, 2010 AM George Barna does research for Christianity and faith practices in America. Recently he completed a study on the “Diversity of Faith in Various U.S. Cities.” It revealed nothing new, except there are some interesting discoveries. Of course, in the Portland, OR market, which includes Vancouver, WA, we discover that they had one of the lowest shares of self-identified Christians at 71% right behind San Francisco. In fact, 16% of this market identified itself as agnostic or atheist with 42% stating they had not attended any church service within the last six months! Notice that the figures do not add up to 100% and the reason is obvious: While many may consider themselves “spiritual” or even “Christian,” they are unwilling to specifically identify themselves. Are these folks hypocrites, phonies, or just plain ignorant of what faith means? Interestingly, during Jesus’ day he faced similar problems conce...