Christian, What Do You Believe? Probably a Heresy About Jesus, Says Survey

Christianity Today ^ | 10/23/2018 | Jeremy Webber

[SeekAndFind]

American evangelicals are “deeply confused” about some core doctrines of the Christian faith—and the fourth-century heretic Arius would be pleased, according to a new survey.

For the third time, Ligonier Ministries has examined the State of Theology in the United States, conducted by LifeWay Research and based on interviews with 3,000 Americans. The survey, also conducted in 2014 and 2016, offers a detailed look at the favorite heresies of evangelicals and of Americans at large.

Ligonier wanted to know what Americans “believe about God, salvation, ethics, and the Bible.”

“Overall, US adults appear to have a superficial attachment to well-known Christian beliefs,” stated the ministry. “For example, a majority agreed that Jesus died on the cross for sin and that he rose from the dead.

“However, they rejected the Bible’s teaching on (1) the gravity of man’s sin, (2) the importance of the church’s gathering together for worship, and (3) the Holy Spirit,” stated Ligonier. For example:

• More than two-thirds (69%) of Americans disagree that the smallest sin deserves eternal damnation—and 58 percent strongly disagree. Ligonier finds this “alarming.”
• A majority of US adults (58%) said that worshiping alone or with one’s family is a valid replacement for regularly attending church. Only 30 percent disagree.
• A majority of US adults (59%) say that the Holy Spirit is a force, not a personal being.

Ligonier cites relativism for such a “casual outlook.” In the survey, 6 in 10 Americans agree that “religious belief is a matter of personal opinion [and] not about objective truth”—and 1 in 3 evangelicals (32%) say the same.

[caww]

Exactly....the Holy Spirit is never referred to as ‘it’ , but those who do so would reflect they have further to go in their understanding......heck I had to learn the truth about such things until they were ‘my own beliefs’ and not just those taught I should believe.

[ConservativeMind]

God is three distinct “beings.” He is not “people.”

[Sirius Lee]

Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God,

Yes, very peculiar. My church's credo is that He was "begotten, not made." But I suppose that bumps up against Jesus' own words that "Before Abraham was born, I Am."

Theology gets messy, and that's why we have so many different flavors of Christians.