Misunderstanding or Repudiation
Thursday, January 22, 2009 Labels: Bible, doctrine, evangelicals, Theology 7 commentsI was just made aware of a recent poll done by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life and the USA Today published a story on it about a month ago. The results will be shocking to any Bible believing Christian. The question was not some deep, theological question. The question was as simply asking how many ways are there to heaven? The result "an overall majority (54%) of people who identified with a religion and who said they attend church weekly also said many religions can lead to eternal life. This majority included 37% of white evangelicals, 75% of mainline Protestants and 85% of non-Hispanic white Catholics."
In addition, "Pew's new survey also found that many Christians (29%) say they are saved by their good actions; 30% say salvation is through belief in Jesus, God or a higher power alone, which is the core teaching of evangelical Protestantism; and 10% say salvation is found through a combination of behavior and belief, a view closer to Catholic teachings."
Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, calls the findings "a theological crisis for American evangelicals. They represent at best a misunderstanding of the Gospel and at worst a repudiation of the Gospel." Mohler sees behind the statistics the impact of pluralism and secularism in U.S. society and the challenge of facing family and friends with "an uncomfortable truth... We are in an age when we want to tell everyone they are doing just fine. It's extremely uncomfortable to turn to someone and say, 'You will go to hell unless you come to a saving knowledge of Jesus,' "
In my opinion this is clear repudiation. How can someone misunderstand John 14:6 "Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." I think Mohler is spot on. It is a combination of pluralism, secularism, postmodernism and political correctness that is distorting the gospel.
Great post.
We (the Church) would be in big trouble were it not for Jesus Christ.
He will always take care of His Church.
But all over the place, we've got people "playing church" witout a clue as to what the gospel is.
There is definitely a famine of the Word.
Those are shocking numbers. Heartbreaking.
--Nick
www.RightMichigan.com
I must say based on my personal experience with "Christians" around me, that those numbers are not completely shocking. Still, it's a very sad travesty to see enumerated in black and white, and certainly calls for fervent prayer. Looking around, it's never been more clear to me that Christians are in dire need of revival. However, I wonder whether we're in an age where it's too late for that, and judgement is the next step of God's intervention. It's certainly not outside the realm of possibility....
DILinator,
I hope He does wrap all this up...and soon!
Come Lord Jesus, come!
steve martin,
When Jesus comes, there will be great tragedy for the world. Don't think that you or any other Christian will be spared by the rapture from most of that because Jesus would never have told us of the high cost of following Him if He intended to beam us up before most of his had a chance to experience the winnowing.
That is why I don't look forward to the second coming. Yes, it will bring great peace, but it will also bring great tragedy with it.
Uh Oh! We might be about to head down a "Pre-Trib", "Mid-Trib", "Post-Trib" debate! lol
I'm "Pan-Trib" I believe in however it all pans out! ;)
Mike,
"Don't think that you or any other Christian will be spared by the rapture"
I am not going to get into the whole pre, mid, and post tribulation, but I would like to point out that Christians will not receive God's wrath.
Romans 5:9 "Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him."
1 Thessalonians 1:10 "and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come"
1 Thessalonians 5:9 "For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Chris"