Considering we have folks in the counterterrorism department of the FBI cheering about 9/11, and those folks have been promoted, I have to wonder how far the infiltration has occurredWhen Christian leaders point out the Christian hypocricy, these leaders take a lot of flak from fellow Christians.
Barna Continues to Defend Survey Showing Divorce Rates Among ChristiansJesus said that by our fruits we will be known.
The Barna Research Firm is defending a recent survey which found some disturbing statistics regarding born-again Christians and divorce. The survey found that born-again Christians were just as likely as non-believers to divorce. In fact,the survey found that the divorce rate is higher for Christians when compared with non-believers.
Dave Kinnamon, who is with the Barna organization, says when it comes to the attitudes of Christians and non-Christians regarding marriage, there is not much difference.
"Born-again Christians don't seem to be very different when it comes to their attitudes about marriage," Kinnamon says. "If you look at their perspectives about what they hope to get in a marital relationship, about what level of sacrifice it takes...about whether divorce is an option they would realistically consider, their perspectives about marriage and about divorce are very similar to non-Christians."
Kinnamon believes part of the problem lies with churches and their reluctance to speak out against divorce.
"I think a lot of churches have failed to make a 'full court press' in defending marriages," he says. "They've done everything they think they can, but I don't know that they've developed a holistic strategy about how to prepare people for marriage appropriately before they get married, how to support marriages when things are going good, and how to bolster marriages that are 'on the rocks.'"
Kinnamon says he was surprised at the harsh criticism of the survey from born-again believers. Officials at Barna say they stand by the survey's results.
The fruits of the American Church are not very Christian-like. Rampant use of controversial contraceptives, widespread premarital sex, high rates of divorce and even plenty of abortions.
How can we claim that Christ has had a positive influence on our lives as a group?
Many claim to be Christians ,yet support earth worship, infant sacrifice, and abominations.
There's an apostate church in the world today. The variable is whether the poll was done on apostates, or real Christians.
Even the homosexual pedophile priest claimed to be Christians, so what's that tell you?
As an evengelical Christian, this does not surprise me. It is impossible now to expect people to endure hardship to fulfill vows.
Summary of Rumor:
Marriage has deteriorated so much that half the marriages in the United States are failing. There is a 50 percent chance that your marriage will not make it.
The Truth:
This is a fascinating piece of misinformation that is so respected that it is quoted without attribution by some of the best authors, broadcasters, and writers.
Marriage is a lot of hard work and people who are putting that work into it don't need the discouraging and untrue burden hanging over their heads that their relationship has only a 50 percent chance of surviving.
The error has resulted from various misreadings of the statistics.
One is to compare the number of marriages in a given year to the number of divorces in a given year. It is true that in any given year there may be twice as many marriages as divorces. If, in your state or county, there were 100 marriages last year but 50 divorces, it would seem, at first glance, that half the marriages were ending in divorce. But that figure does not take into account all the marriages that already existed. In a year in which there were 100 marriages and 50 divorces, for example, there may have already been 1,000 other marriages that already existed. That's an entirely different picture and means that only 5 percent of the marriages ended in divorce, not fifty percent. Of course, if that continues to happen every year, there is going to be an impact on the overall number of divorces compared with the overall number of marriages.
Veteran pollster Louis Harris says that only about 11 or 12 percent of people who have ever been married have ever been divorced. That means that by his figuring, 90 percent of American marriages survive.
Researcher George Barna did a professional survey which was designed to reflect the nation as a whole. He found that 24 percent of adults who had ever been married had experienced divorce.
Regardless, there isn't any credible source that we've found to support the fifty percent divorce rate myth.
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/d/divorce.htm
Is It Really 50 Percent? By Rich Buhler
It's been called America's most-often-cited statistic. It's so widely held to be true that it is repeated without question by authors, speakers, broadcasters, politicians, counselors and ministers.
Here are some examples from just a few Web sites on the Internet:
"Fifty percent of marriages will end in divorce." — An infidelity support group
"Fifty percent of all marriages now end in divorce." — Promotion for a book on divorce
"Fifty percent of all marriages in America end in divorce." — From the treasurer's office of a Midwestern state
"Over 50 percent of marriages end in divorce." — From a men's counseling center in California
Divorce is too common in America and that should not be taken lightly, but those who are committed to a lifetime of marriage don't need the discouragement accompanying the notion that half the marriages are going to self-destruct anyway.
I was once told by a young bride-to-be that she and her fiance had decided not to say "Till death do us part" in their wedding vows because the odds of it really happening were only 50-50.
Let me say it straightforwardly: Fifty percent of American marriages are not ending in divorce. It's fiction. A myth. A tragically discouraging urban legend.
If there's no credible evidence that half of American marriages will end up in divorce court, where did that belief originate?
Demographers say there was increased focus on divorce rates during the 1970s when the number of divorces rose, partly as a result of no-fault divorce. Divorces peaked in 1979 and articles started appearing that claimed 50 percent of American marriages were ending in divorce.
A spokesperson for the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics told me that the rumor appears to have originated from a misreading of the facts. It was true, he said, if you looked at all the marriages and divorces within a single year, you'd find that there were twice as many marriages as divorces. In 1981, for example, there were 2.4 million marriages and 1.2 million divorces. At first glance, that would seem like a 50-percent divorce rate.
Virtually none of those divorces was among the people who had married during that year, however, and the statistic failed to take into account the 54 million marriages that already existed, the majority of which would not see divorce.
Another source for the 50-percent figure could be those who were trying to predict the future of divorce. Based on known divorce records, they projected that 50 percent of newly married young people would divorce. University of Chicago sociologist and researcher Linda Waite told USA Today that the 50-percent divorce stats were based more on assumptions than facts.
So what is the divorce picture in America? Surprisingly, it's not easy to get precise figures because some states don't report divorces to the National Center for Health Statistics, including one of the largest: California.
Some researchers have relied on surveys rather than government statistics. In his book Inside America in 1984, pollster Louis Harris said that only about 11 or 12 percent of people who had ever been married had ever been divorced. Researcher George Barna's most recent survey of Americans in 2001 estimates that 34 percent of those who have ever been married have ever been divorced.
One of the latest reports about divorce was released this year by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). It is based on a 1995 federal study of nearly 11,000 women ages 15-44. It predicted that one-third of new marriages among younger people will end in divorce within 10 years and 43 percent within 15 years. That is not a death sentence, however; it's a forecast. Martha Farnsworth Riche, former head of the Census Bureau, told USA Today, "This is what is going to happen unless we want to change it."
Most important, the statistics and predictions about Americans in general don't tell the whole story about the future. There are other factors that affect a person's chances for a long marriage. The NCHS study of women, for example, shows that age makes a difference. Women marrying before age 20 face a higher risk for divorce. Marriages that have already lasted for a number of years are less likely to end in divorce. If your parents did not divorce, your chances are better than if you came from a broken home. Couples who live together before marriage are more likely to divorce.
http://www.family.org/married/youngcouples/a0021826.cfm