I read this in a newsletter I stumbled upon purely by chance. Inside this newsletter was a survey taken among Evangelicals in North America, which is what this post is.
Here’s what will happen: I’ll leave this post up for a week, letting you guys read through it and post your responses as comments (I’d love to know what you all think about this). After the week, I’ll post up my own response.
Enjoy…
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Survey: Two-Thirds of Evangelicals doubt Jesus’ words regarding Salvation through Him alone.
There's a new poll out which points to a growing rejection among Evangelicals that Jesus is the only way of salvation. For years, most evangelical Christians have been taught and accepted the words of Jesus in John 14:6, where He states, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no man cometh unto the Father but my Me." But now a new Newsweek/Beliefnet poll is showing a shocking number of people who call themselves evangelical and born-again have come to reject those words. The question in the poll read: "Can a good person who isn't of your religious faith go to heaven or attain salvation, or not?" According to the poll results of more than 1,000 adults 18 years of age and older, 68 percent of evangelical Christians believe "good" people of other faiths can also go to heaven. Nationally, 79 percent of those surveyed said the same thing, with an "astounding" 91 percent agreement among Catholics, notes Beliefnet. Beliefnet spokesman Steven Waldman calls the results "pretty amazing."
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Moral Laxity
As much as it is not the nicest title to give to any post, through observation over time, I believe something needs to be addressed on this issue. I open this post with two recent examples:
Example 1
For three days out of my average week, I attend four (nee five) lectures at Bible College, plus whatever extra time I decide to spend in the Library studying. I’ve made a ton of awesome friends during my time there, and dare I venture to suggest, I’ve got a family there. But there are issues within the family. A couple of weeks ago, one of my peers left their desk for a short moment. When they came back, they found that their iPod and wristwatch were stolen. At the time of writing this post, they have not yet been recovered.
Example 2
After a three week absence, I returned to the Laser Strike arena, a game that I consider a sport, probably because I’ve never really taken up a proper sport and kept at it (I’ve stuck with L.S. for the past three, nearly four years). It’s great fitness and I’ve carved up a nice group there as well. In one game our lot played, we were joined by a bunch of nine teenagers, whom I recognized as youth from my home Church. We played the game, as you do, but it was not until we finished the game that I heard some interesting things from both camps. From my group, complaints of contact (the definition of contact within a L.S. context is broad, but I can state here that the contact was very light). But apparently, I had been told of threats from the youth side to specific member(s) of the group I was a part of. In addition, during the game it’s funny to see how people transform into green-streaked, competitive fighters, where the use of language is disregarded and the fact that they are Christians doesn’t seem to be factored into the equation. I think I’ve made my point.
In other words, to tie in these two examples, what the heck is going on with the Christian community? How can one justify the theft of any item within a Bible college? And this is a question shared by many at the college; it doesn’t seem to make sense. What kind of Christian witness is out there in the world, be it within college walls, laser strike arenas, mate’s houses, events…you get the idea.
In short, I believe there is a severe moral laxity among Christians in today’s world. And the Church, it seems, is making no inroads in dealing with these issues. It’s as if we are left to fend for ourselves, with the Church waving at us, saying “It’s OK – Jesus loves you anyway.” How do we expect to make a difference in society, proclaiming a message of hope and love, when Christians cannot even demonstrate that themselves?
I’m sorry if this sounds all too much like a whing and a whine – but someone’s got to voice their concerns…
Example 1
For three days out of my average week, I attend four (nee five) lectures at Bible College, plus whatever extra time I decide to spend in the Library studying. I’ve made a ton of awesome friends during my time there, and dare I venture to suggest, I’ve got a family there. But there are issues within the family. A couple of weeks ago, one of my peers left their desk for a short moment. When they came back, they found that their iPod and wristwatch were stolen. At the time of writing this post, they have not yet been recovered.
Example 2
After a three week absence, I returned to the Laser Strike arena, a game that I consider a sport, probably because I’ve never really taken up a proper sport and kept at it (I’ve stuck with L.S. for the past three, nearly four years). It’s great fitness and I’ve carved up a nice group there as well. In one game our lot played, we were joined by a bunch of nine teenagers, whom I recognized as youth from my home Church. We played the game, as you do, but it was not until we finished the game that I heard some interesting things from both camps. From my group, complaints of contact (the definition of contact within a L.S. context is broad, but I can state here that the contact was very light). But apparently, I had been told of threats from the youth side to specific member(s) of the group I was a part of. In addition, during the game it’s funny to see how people transform into green-streaked, competitive fighters, where the use of language is disregarded and the fact that they are Christians doesn’t seem to be factored into the equation. I think I’ve made my point.
In other words, to tie in these two examples, what the heck is going on with the Christian community? How can one justify the theft of any item within a Bible college? And this is a question shared by many at the college; it doesn’t seem to make sense. What kind of Christian witness is out there in the world, be it within college walls, laser strike arenas, mate’s houses, events…you get the idea.
In short, I believe there is a severe moral laxity among Christians in today’s world. And the Church, it seems, is making no inroads in dealing with these issues. It’s as if we are left to fend for ourselves, with the Church waving at us, saying “It’s OK – Jesus loves you anyway.” How do we expect to make a difference in society, proclaiming a message of hope and love, when Christians cannot even demonstrate that themselves?
I’m sorry if this sounds all too much like a whing and a whine – but someone’s got to voice their concerns…
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