What Was That Quote?

Maybe things have changed a bit since 2007, but I doubt if there were major changes in the Pew Forum’s results regarding their "Topography of faith." Click on the graphic and you should find an interactive map. Click on each state and their topography of faith appears on the right.

What is more interesting to me is the fact that while this is ‘not a Christian nation,’ it is a nation with a large population of people who openly choose to be labeled Christian.

The world has interesting figures, too:

A click on this graphic will take you to the ReligiousTolerance.org. The pie chart is carefully labeled but labels will not tell you what I believe, nor why. It's up to me to define and display my labels.

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: (1 Peter 3:15 KJV)

I like that verse, but I like several verses in this chapter. Another comes to mind as I read Comments on some of these media pages:

Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. (1 Peter 3:9 KJV)

Aren’t we getting heavy doses of “railing for railing”? Perhaps a bit stronger this election year, but some happens every year.

Some of that railing comes from people who label themselves Christian, but do not give their reason of hope with meekness nor fear. Instead, they selective toss out fire and brimstone. We need to spend a little more time studying. We know what hope is, and fear has been explained quite well in several books:

And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding. (Job 28:28 KJV)

That’s Job’s answer to his own question in verse 20. It is echoed by those who learned the lesson, too: Psalms 111:10, Proverbs 1:17, Proverbs 9:10 and Proverbs 15:33.  But my favorite brings us to a prophesy of the Messiah:

And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. (Isaiah 11:1-4 KJV)

There’s that meekness again, too – equity for the meek of the earth. Be as the promised Messiah. As a Christian, that’s my goal and my duty. Haven’t achieved it – I am a work in progress.