First time I saw this graphic, I said to myself: "There has got to be a purpose for this, but I'm not sure I can articulate what it is." Produced by the Barna Group (founded by George Barna of church growth strategies fame), it purports to tell the reader which sizable US cities (96 of them) are more "Bible-minded" than others.
Bible-minded? What?
You mean as opposed to Koran-minded, or Veda-minded? Or do you mean as opposed to secular-minded (i.e. readers of Asimov and Hitchens and the NY Times)? Or as opposed to business-minded (devoted to stock tickers & the WSJ)? Or culture-minded? Or porn-minded? Or crime-minded? Or ... what?
Well, with Barna, you always have to consider the target audience, which is usually Evangelicals who are involved in church-related ministry (or companies like the one I work for who market to that same audience). If you want to find a really ripe mission field for the Gospel, you could target New England. From this chart it looks like a Bible-less wasteland. If you want to find where the "Bible-believing churches" or their attendees live (in order to sell them Bible-related stuff), why... just work your way down the west side of the Blue Ridge and make straight for the Gulf. You'll find the picking's nice & ripe. Folks down there read the Bible most every day, and think it gives a mighty accurate description of the way things are.
At least that's how Barna Group defined being Bible-minded: weekly Bible reading and a commitment to its accuracy.
Hm. Typical of those east-coast elites & intellectuals to disagree.
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