Christianity, according to the majority of Evangelicals, is just one form of worship, and that God accepts the worship of all religions. Furthermore, Christians find it difficult to discuss faith or matters of faith in public.
The aforementioned are the results of a recent study conducted by Ligonier Ministries. The research further shows that many Christians have grown confused about some of the core doctrines of the Christian faith.
According to Chris Larson, the President of Ligonier Ministries; “The State of Theology survey highlights the urgent need for courageous ministry that faithfully teaches the historic Christian faith. It’s never been popular to talk about mankind’s sinfulness or the exclusive claims of Jesus Christ, but at a time when a darkened world needs the light of the Gospel, it’s disheartening to see many within the evangelical church confused about what the Bible teaches. We hope this survey provides local churches with a little more insight into what people in our neighborhoods and in our pews actually believe,” Larson said in a statement.
In the survey in which a representative sample of 3,000 Americans were interviewed, evangelicals were asked about their views on a series of theological statements including: “God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.”
Fifty-one percent of the persons tested agreed with the statement; further, roughly forty-two percent disagreed with the report. The results of this year’s study are comparable to the survey taken in 2016; however, it does show that the confusion is getting worse; 49 percent of evangelicals were found to agree with the statement while 43 percent said they disagreed.
“The Bible is clear that the Gospel is the only way of salvation, and God will not accept the worship of other faiths. It is only through Jesus Christ and by His Spirit that we are able to worship the Father in spirit and in truth (John 4:24),” the researchers note.
“These results show the pressing need for Christians to be taught Christology, especially as the outcome has gotten worse since 2016. There is a general lack of teaching today on the person of Christ, a doctrine for which the early church fought so hard,” Ligonier Ministries said.
In addition to the distressing results, the study displayed that a some seventy-eight percent of evangelicals believe that most people are basically good by nature and that Jesus was the first and greatest being created by God the Father.
While the results of the study are rather alarming, it is senseless to get upset with evangelicals who are ill-informed or to be put off by those who don’t understand. It is paramount that Christians recognize the crisis and discuss matters of faith in a manner that is Christ-like.