Americans Mistakingly Attribute Bible Verse to...Captain America?

Captain America had a huge summer. As of August 29, the comic book character's big-screen showing grossed a global total of $326,008,620. In fact, the hero is so popular that, in a recent poll, some Americans mistakingly attributed a Bible verse to him.

According to a study commissioned by the American Bible Society, 63 percent of respondents claimed that the following quote came from Captain America, Martin Luther King, Jr. or former President George W. Bush: "We often suffer, but we are never crushed. Even when we don't know what to do, we never give up."

While this certainly seems like something one of the nation's bravest comic book heros would say, the quote isn't his (nor is it MLK or Bush's). It's actually from 2 Corinthians 4:8 in the Bible. Apparently, Americans need to brush up on their biblical trivia. Deseret News does make an interesting point, though, regarding wording:

...if the survey had used the King James Version of the quote ("We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair") instead of the Contemporary English Version, people may have recognized it better as a Bible verse.

The ABS commissioned the study to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, while also highlighting the release of The Freedom Bible, a new version of the Holy Bible that focuses on spiritual openness. In addition to the aforementioned Captain America oddity, ABS also found the following (as per the press release):

• Despite significant security measures taken since Sept. 11, only 9 percent of Americans feel safer today than they did prior to Sept. 11. Thirty-six percent felt safer prior to the attacks of Sept. 11 than they do today.

• Only 4 percent of Americans rely most on professional counseling to help deal with trauma. Four times as many (16 percent) rely most on the Bible.

• Despite living in a predominantly Christian nation, 82 percent of Americans who have dealt with trauma rely most on sources other than the Bible to cope, including 6 percent of whom say they do not rely on anything.

These findings are certainly relevant, considering the 10th anniversary of the attacks that forever changed America -- and the world. Safety fears and the ability to deal with personal trauma are issues that have impacted U.S. citizens greatly since the attacks.

On a lighter note, considering the new Bible edition's focus upon freedom, who better to mistakingly attribute a quote to than Captain America?