I was distressed to hear a report tonight about a recent Pew Forum study on the status of religious beliefs in this country. While the results do not surprise me too much, they do make me feel sick to the stomach. It looks like tolerance is winning the day in the United States.The results, which you can see in the table below, clearly show that Christians in this country do not, in general, think theologically or care to do so. Of those in this study who claim to be "evangelical," over 50% hold to relativistic beliefs about their own religion and others.
I always thought evangelicals believed that the bible is true. If they do, but also believe other religions are true and valid, then the only conclusion I can come to is that many evangelicals simply do not know what their bibles say.
The implications of this study are immense. We must conclude that there is much poor teaching going on in many evangelical churches. Generally, there must be a serious lack of discipleship within the evangelical church community. Furthermore, the concept of absolute truth seems to have been defeated by ideas of acceptance, tolerance, and the desire not to hurt anyone's feelings.
This study should be a wake-up call to all who care about the church in the USA.
2 comments:
I also recently encountered this news bit. As an item reported in popular news, it might make a good jump-off point for speaking with acquaintances (and total strangers) about Jesus Christ-- the one and only Way, Truth, and Life.
Jacob,
The exclusivity of Christ really seems to be the main issue here. People seem to be so fearful of saying that Jesus is the only way. They've let culture take precedence over the clear meaning of scripture.
Thanks for your comment.
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