A brief news article quoted noted atheist Richard Dawkins making the claim "I'm a cultural Christian in the same way many of my friends call themselves cultural Jews or cultural Muslims."

Apparently, truer words were never spoken. At least according to the recent poll of some 35,000 Americans by the Pew Research Center. The results of the poll were released Monday and the story made all of the network news shows Monday night.

It seems no matter a person's personal faith choice, whether Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddist or Hindu, the majority believe that many religions lead to eternal life and that there is more than one true way to interpret the teachings of a particular religion. Of the 92 percent of respondents stating a belief in God, fully 74.8 percent identified themselves as Christian.

I can't say that I was surprised by the findings in the poll. Just last fall, I wrote a column titled "How's that again?" detailing my dismay at the plurality of beliefs found among self-identified Christians here in McCook and on a national level.

A cultural Christian is someone who agrees in large part with the tenets of the faith, for instance, the Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you." They believe that good morals improve the quality of life -- in individuals, in families, in communities and in the nation. So far, so good.

However, a cultural Christian falls easy prey to the cultural pressures of the day and so, though unlikely to actively participate or show support for abortion or same sex relationships, the cultural Christian doesn't see anything inherently wrong with those activities.

A cultural Christian will assent to the existence of God, easily accepting the broadest definition of that "Higher Power" but is not very likely to seek out a closer relationship with him or even a deeper understanding of who God is and what he either desires or requires of man.

Cultural Christians may actively participate in church-related activities, even serving on church boards, much as they serve on civic boards or volunteer at charitable events. Cultural Christians therefore are prone to believe that these good works (and they are good works) are good enough to earn God's favor.

The Bible has a place in the home of most cultural Christians, perhaps even a place of honor, however, it may rarely be opened and read with comprehension.

Sin, except in its most heinous forms, is passe to the cultural Christian. After all, some may rationalize, "God made me the way I am, he'll just have to take me as I am." This rationalization easily transitions to a statement I've heard more times than I care to count, "When I see God, he's got some explaining to do."

Cultural Christianity is dangerous. Its influence is insidious. Many, many Americans consider themselves to be Christian, but their faith does not impact their culture, rather, their faith is in their culture. The results of the Pew Research Poll bear this out. Not only do 66 percent of self-identified Christians believe that there is more than one religion that leads to eternal life, only 22 percent of mainline Christian denominations believe that the Bible is the literal true word of God. The false sense of security that permeates cultural Christianity will bring unparalleled dismay to the cultural Christian because their faith cannot sustain them in the trials that are to come. That dismay will only increase when they hear "Depart from me, I never knew you," when they finally meet Jesus face-to-face.

Scripture promises that every knee will bow before the Jesus. Better we should bow before him today as king than in abject dismay on the day he judges the living and the dead. Better we should acknowledge that it is Christ who defines us, we do not define him. Better we should understand that as good as we can be, we can never be good enough, else why would Jesus have had to suffer and die?

Do I promote biblical Christianity above all other world religions? Most assuredly. No other religious leader walked himself to his death, poured out his life blood and then rose from the dead to defeat both sin and death, not for his sake, but for our sakes and to the glory of God.

"Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11 (NIV)

Things you won't see in heaven: Polls