57% of EVANGELICALS Believe that Many Religions Can Lead to Eternal Life
- Posted by: Todd
- Posted on: Tue, June 24, 2008
- Viewed 227
- (42) comments so far
You can read the whole article here...
I wonder… if you polled YOUR congregation, how many people would admit that they think that many religions can lead to eternal life?
According to a Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life survey of 35,000 adults, 57% of evangelical church attenders say they believe many religions can lead to eternal life.
According to a recent AP article "The survey shows religion in America is, indeed, 3,000 miles wide and only three inches deep," said D. Michael Lindsay, a Rice University sociologist of religion. "There's a growing pluralistic impulse toward tolerance and that is having theological consequences," he said.
By many measures, Americans are strongly religious: 92 percent believe in God, 74 percent believe in life after death, and 63 percent say their respective scriptures are the word of God. But deeper investigation found that more than one in four Roman Catholics, mainline Protestants, and Orthodox Christians expressed some doubts about God's existence, as did six in ten Jews. Another finding almost defies explanation: 21 percent of self-identified atheists said they believe in God or a universal spirit, with eight percent "absolutely certain" of it.
Comments
if you want a Globally Recognized Avatar (the images next to your profile) get them here. Once you sign up, they will displayed on any website that supports them.
Peter Hamm on Fri, July 04, 2008
Mark,
I feel very mis-represented and perhaps misunderstood by you. If you really want to dialogue further, click on my name, go to my blog, and send me an email. (Hint: I never claimed that “Jesus’ command to not judge others doesn’t really apply to” me)
Mark on Sat, July 05, 2008
Peter Hamm wrote:
>Mark, I feel very mis-represented
>and perhaps misunderstood by you.
Well, gosh, Peter shall we get back to the original question that Todd posted? Since then you have called me a Troll, a Universalist, a coward, and a man of “questionable qualifications” to speak on Matthew 7 and you also tried to get me banned from the group. Yet, after all this evil behavior, out of grace, we should give you another chance to clear up your feelings of being misunderstood.
Lets now review the discussion on Todd’s original question, shall we?
Peter Hamm wrote:
“...In context, or by itself, Matthew 7:21
> is not saying that “if you are sitting
> around judging others then you
> yourself won’t be going to heaven.”
I replied:
>Matthew 7:21 outlines the consequences.
>Matthew 7:1 points out the sin. How can
>you be missing that??
>If you are trying to claim there is some
>other “context” to Matthew 7 that you prefer
>to believe instead of what’s plainly written
>there in black and white then I’m afraid
>you will have to explain your thinking in
>detail.
The best attempt at backing up your claim I’ve seen from you so far was this:
>Nowhere in [Matthew 25] does Jesus
>imply or even give us the grounds to
>infer that judgment is based on “how
>we judged others” (although I contend
>that indeed, judging others in the
>context of Matthew 7:1 is very wrong
>indeed).
You seem to be making an attempt to claim that, since Jesus didn’t tell you again in Matthew 25 what he already said in Matthew 7, you therefore are free to ignore what Jesus commanded you to do in Matthew 7.
Well, Peter, Jesus clearly commanded you not to judge others in Matthew 7 and he clearly commanded you to care for the poor and the sick in Matthew 25. Its obvious to me that we need to be doing both. The consequences of not doing both is painfully clear in both chapters.
A christian sitting around gossiping as to whether people of other religions are going to heaven or not is clearly judging and its clearly not engaged in taking care of the poor or the sick. That’s two mortal sins thus the consequences outlined by God himself clearly do apply.
Jesus said: “...away from me you evildoers, I never knew you…”
If that doesn’t mean going to hell then I don’t what does.
Peter Hamm on Sat, July 05, 2008
Mark,
I would love to continue the discussion, but not in Todd’s forum. I feel I am only misunderstood by you, and as such, don’t really see a value in a continuation of this debate publicly.
Mark on Sun, July 06, 2008
Peter Hamm said:
>“I…don’t really see a value in a
>continuation of this debate publicly.”
You don’t see the value in publicly discussing and understanding the word of God?
What a strange thing to say.
>“I would love to continue the discussion,
> but not in Todd’s forum.”
Todd is the one who asked the question about which we are discussing.
Like I said before, if you have something to say to me then say it here in the light of day. Don’t be skulking around in private emails where a christian can gossip and manipulate and tell everyone a different story depending on what one wants them to hear at the given moment.
Search your soul, Peter. Could your real intention be to interpret God’s word so that it always makes you look brilliant in front of the masses? Since this discussion has not served that purpose very well for you, could it be the reason why you see no need to continue in a public forum?
Its a funny thing about christians who love to judge others. They get really nervous and uncomfortable when I point out God’s direct command not to judge and the severe consequences of doing it.
Its all right there in the Bible. Try reading it sometime with an open heart and not a concealed intention to spin God’s words to your own advantage.
To summarize:
In Matthew 7:1 God himself said “do not judge”
In Matthew 7:21-23 God said “‘I never knew you. Away from me…”
Leonard Lee on Sun, July 06, 2008
Todd’s question was “I wonder… if you polled YOUR congregation, how many people would admit that they think that many religions can lead to eternal life?”
The answer for me is probably about 20-30%. Most of those are just coming into faith or the church.
Leonard Lee on Sun, July 06, 2008
technically Mark you cannot answer that question since you do not go to church.
Mark on Sun, July 06, 2008
Leonard wrote:
>“technically Mark you cannot answer that
>question since you do not go to church.”
Hi, Leonard. I see that you enjoy speaking for others as much as Peter does.
Technically speaking, Leonard, I can indeed answer the question and I in fact did answer the question.
Technically, Leonard, all you can say is that you didn’t like the fact that I did indeed provide an answer to the question and also perhaps that you didn’t like the answer itself.
Tell me, Leonard, have you now appointed yourself the judge of what the correct answer is to the question and also have you appointed yourself the judge of who is entitled to answer it?
Why does none of this surprise me coming from either Leonard or Peter??
Also, Leonard, I’m quite sure that the church I attend would not be allowed to be called a church by someone like you.
Leonard, please make careful note of Matthew 7:1 and Matthew 7:21 as your eternal destination may well depend on it.
Peter Hamm on Sun, July 06, 2008
Leonard,
Now that we’re back to the question for a moment, We have a lot of not-yet-believers and new believers in this church, so I bet our number would be higher than that. The danger, to me, is if they think that we believe that any belief that is opposed to faith in Jesus could lead to a right relationship with God, totally outside of Christ. However, I think we make what the Bible says pretty plain and pretty clear in our preaching and teaching. (Although we also don’t chase these folks out… by any stretch. For some it takes a short time to come to faith, for others longer.)
DanielR on Wed, July 09, 2008
Pew researchers found that most evangelicals held an inclusive view of heaven, with 59 percent saying that many religions lead to eternal life.
But LifeWay Research did a poll asking the same questions, only worded better and found that less than a third of evangelicals believed salvation could be found outside Christianity.
Ed Stetzer, director of LifeWay research, says that, Pew was asking the wrong question.
Pew pollsters asked respondents to choose between two options: “My religion is the one, true faith leading to eternal life” or “Many religions can lead to eternal life.” Pew researchers, who polled more than 35,000 Americans, did not attempt to find out what respondents meant by “many religions” and had Catholics and Protestants listed as separate religions.
LifeWay, on the other hand, asked specifically about Christianity: “If a person is sincerely seeking God, he or she can obtain eternal life through religions other than Christianity.”
Those are two completely different questions, says Stetzer. While evangelicals believe that other Christians, such as mainline Protestants or Catholics, may go to heaven, they draw the line at other faiths.
There’s a world of difference between evangelicals saying that Catholics or Pentecostals can go to heaven, and saying that Muslims or Buddhists can go to heaven.
According to the LifeWay research, eighty percent of those who held to a core set of nine evangelical beliefs said Christianity offered the only road to heaven.
Mark on Thu, July 10, 2008
Daniel,
What is the core set of the nine evangelical beliefs according to LifeWay research?
Do you have the list?
Jeanie M. on Tue, August 26, 2008
Mr. Leonard, although I am new here, I just wanted to say “thanks” for your comment to Peter and Daniel, because I’ve been ‘there’ “too many” times to count, and if I’m not mistaken have I not read somewhere the we are not to ‘debate’ when it comes to the Bible?
I am not sure how ‘sincere’ Mark is, but I don’t care how many ‘scriptures’ you give to ‘some’ people inside and out, I find myself getting almost the ‘exact same’ response as if what I’m saying is a total lie.
So, I now find myself, giving them ‘what thus saith the Lord’ (via His Word) and moving on from there, because as things start to ‘progress’ , the unbelievers, athethists, agonistics, etc. start to ‘weigh in’ and the ‘real’ issue of God’s Word starts to get muddied in the waters, and if we aren’t careful satan can end up getting the victory out of what ‘belongs’ to God.
I’ve learned to give them The Word, pray for them, and let the Lord do the rest. If they are “for real” and want to know God for themselves, they will ‘seek Him’ and God/Jesus will take it from there.
Take care my brothers in Christ and my the Lord continue to lead and guide you as you proclaim His Word.
P.S. As one of my favorite Pastors (Charles Stanley) says, ‘Obey God and leave the consequences to Him’.
Hilton on Wed, May 13, 2009
Sorry. People fail forward to success. Help me! Help to find sites on the: photoshop ramki skachat’. I found only this - photoshop cs2 uroki na russkom. Our international experience lets us combine vision, goals, and. Explore art design at the smithsonian to explore by topic, choose a category the smithsonian institution libraries art and design collections online. Best regards :confused:, Hilton from Emirates.
Page 3 of 3 pages < 1 2 3
Post a Comment