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Survey Finds Most American Christians Are Actually Heretics
The Federalist ^ | OCTOBER 10, 2016 | G. Shane Morris

Posted on 10/18/2016 3:08:25 PM PDT by Brookhaven

Evangelicals Didn’t Even Study for This Test

...this year, LifeWay used more stringent criteria for evangelical faith, as defined by some group called the National Association of Evangelicals. Only participants who called the Bible their highest authority, said personal evangelism is important, and indicated that trusting in Jesus’ death on the cross is the only way of salvation, were labeled “evangelical.” They totaled 586 survey-takers.

Everyone expected them to perform better than most Americans. No one expected them to perform worse. Seven in ten evangelicals—more than the population at large—said that Jesus was the first being God created. Fifty-six percent agreed that “the Holy Spirit is a divine force but not a personal being.” They also saw a huge increase in evangelicals (28 percent, up from 9 percent) who indicated that the Third Person of the Trinity is not equal with God the Father or Jesus, a direct contradiction of orthodox Christianity.

As before, it’s really the contradictory answers, not the outright heresies, that should most concern us. By definition, the evangelicals in this survey believed that “only those who trust in Jesus Christ alone as their Savior receive God’s free gift of eternal salvation.” Yet nearly half agreed that “God accepts the worship of all religions including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.”

Former Newsday religion reporter Kenneth Briggs recently told Religion News Service that the faith he finds in “mega-type churches” is a “Bible-less,” “alternative version of Christianity.” Scripture, he says, has become “a museum exhibit, hallowed as a treasure but enigmatic and untouched.”

(Excerpt) Read more at thefederalist.com ...


TOPICS: General Discusssion; Theology
KEYWORDS: christianity; christians; discipleship; doctrine; evangelicals
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To: WhatNot
John 3   Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

There was a man among the P’rushim, named Nakdimon, who was a ruler of the Judeans. This man came to Yeshua by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know it is from God that you have come as a teacher; for no one can do these miracles you perform unless God is with him.” “Yes, indeed,” Yeshua answered him, “I tell you that unless a person is born again from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

Nakdimon said to him, “How can a grown man be ‘born’? Can he go back into his mother’s womb and be born a second time?” Yeshua answered, “Yes, indeed, I tell you that unless a person is born from water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. What is born from the flesh is flesh, and what is born from the Spirit is spirit. Stop being amazed at my telling you that you must be born again from above! The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it’s going. That’s how it is with everyone who has been born from the Spirit.”

Nakdimon replied, “How can this happen?” 10 Yeshua answered him, “You hold the office of teacher in Isra’el, and you don’t know this? 11 Yes, indeed! I tell you that what we speak about, we know; and what we give evidence of, we have seen; but you people don’t accept our evidence! 12 If you people don’t believe me when I tell you about the things of the world, how will you believe me when I tell you about the things of heaven? 13 No one has gone up into heaven; there is only the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moshe lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life.

16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only and unique Son, so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life, instead of being utterly destroyed. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but rather so that through him, the world might be saved. 18 Those who trust in him are not judged; those who do not trust have been judged already, in that they have not trusted in the one who is God’s only and unique Son.

19 “Now this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, but people loved the darkness rather than the light. Why? Because their actions were wicked. 20 For everyone who does evil things hates the light and avoids it, so that his actions won’t be exposed. 21 But everyone who does what is true comes to the light, so that all may see that his actions are accomplished through God.”

22 After this, Yeshua and his talmidim went out into the countryside of Y’hudah, where he stayed awhile with them and immersed people. 23 Yochanan too was immersing at Einayim, near Shalem, because there was plenty of water there; and people kept coming to be immersed. 24 (This was before Yochanan’s imprisonment.)

25 A discussion arose between some of Yochanan’s talmidim and a Judean about ceremonial washing; 26 and they came to Yochanan and said to him, “Rabbi, you know the man who was with you on the other side of the Yarden, the one you spoke about? Well, here he is, immersing; and everyone is going to him!” 27 Yochanan answered, “No one can receive anything unless it has been given to him from Heaven. 28 You yourselves can confirm that I did not say I was the Messiah, but that I have been sent ahead of him. 29 The bridegroom is the one who has the bride; but the bridegroom’s friend, who stands and listens to him, is overjoyed at the sound of the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine is now complete. 30 He must become more important, while I become less important.

31 “He who comes from above is above all. He who is from the earth is from the earth and talks from an earthly point of view; he who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies about what he has actually seen and heard, yet no one accepts what he says! 33 Whoever does accept what he says puts his seal on the fact that God is true, 34 because the one whom God sent speaks God’s words. For God does not give him the Spirit in limited degree — 35 the Father loves the Son and has put everything in his hands. 36 Whoever trusts in the Son has eternal life. But whoever disobeys the Son will not see that life but remains subject to God’s wrath.”

 
 
Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.

81 posted on 10/19/2016 4:54:31 AM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: Elsie

Go to Google type in lesbian NIV, I’m sure you’ll find the info for yourself. Also, go find a KJV, and pull out your NIV, and start to compare, theres a great book on the subject called “Look what’s missing” Check it out for yourself with your own Bibles. After all I’m just a man, and I may be trying to deceive you.


82 posted on 10/19/2016 4:59:46 AM PDT by WhatNot (The Gospel doesn't promise the American dream, it promises Eternal life in the Kingdom of God.)
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To: Elsie

Go to Google type in lesbian NIV, I’m sure you’ll find the info for yourself. Also, go find a KJV, and pull out your NIV, and start to compare, theres a great book on the subject called “Look what’s missing” Check it out for yourself with your own Bibles. After all I’m just a man, and I may be trying to deceive you.


83 posted on 10/19/2016 4:59:52 AM PDT by WhatNot (The Gospel doesn't promise the American dream, it promises Eternal life in the Kingdom of God.)
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To: newgeezer

Sad situation but not surprising.


84 posted on 10/19/2016 5:03:19 AM PDT by DungeonMaster (Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft.)
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To: Elsie
Wasn't it the Jews who in the time of Jesus, looked at God Amighty in the face, and said "crucify him"?

Don't think I'll be picking up a copy of your CJB anytime soon.

85 posted on 10/19/2016 5:08:16 AM PDT by WhatNot (The Gospel doesn't promise the American dream, it promises Eternal life in the Kingdom of God.)
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To: WhatNot

A-men brother!

If the KJV was good enough for Paul, it’s good enough for me dagnabbit!


86 posted on 10/19/2016 5:27:59 AM PDT by FourtySeven (47)
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To: FourtySeven

No, I think Paul Crouch used an NIV. OH, oh that Paul :^)


87 posted on 10/19/2016 5:34:41 AM PDT by WhatNot (The Gospel doesn't promise the American dream, it promises Eternal life in the Kingdom of God.)
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To: Rashputin
Whatever they affirm, by insisting the Holy Spirit cannot and did not protect His Holy Word from the inclusion of error they don't just affirm, they act in concert with the lie that the Holy Spirit is imperfect and therefore, being imperfect, cannot be a member of the Trinity.

Rather, since the as your premise is false so is your conclusion. For your premise that the deutros are Scripture is begging the question, being the very thing that needs to be established, while since you seem to admit that the deutros were not held as being Scripture by those who sat in the seat of Moses, and whom the Lord never reproved for its canon, and it took Rome over 1400 years after the last book was penned to settle the issue of which books were Scripture, then according to your reasoning, you are charging the Holy Spirit with neglect or inability for all these years in failing to assuredly establish these books you hold as so necessary, and and therefore, being imperfect, He cannot be a member of the Trinity. This lack of certainty either impugns the church of Rome for most of her history, or the Holy Spirit.

And if want to argue that the canon was indisputably settled before 1546, then by implication your charge against Prots is applicable to esteemed Catholics down thru the centuries who doubted or rejected the deutros, and thus they were lost sinners.

And since the Orthodox hold to a (slightly) different larger canon than the church of Rome, leaving you being the one with a smaller canon, then according to your reasoning, you can charge them or they can charge Rome with impugning the character of the Holy Spirit of God, either not protecting His Holy Word from the inclusion of error, or insisting the Holy Spirit and did not assuredly provide all the counsel of God.

You can argue that the Holy Spirit used the church of Rome to affirm what the historical magisterial stewards of Scripture (Rm. 3:2; 9:4) would not, but likewise we can argue that the deutros were not part of the 1st century LXX, or quoted as Scripture/thus said the Lord etc., leaving the presumed judgment of those who sat in the seat of Moses uncontested, and with Prots holding to the most ancient canon.

The real issue is the presumption that ensured perpetual magisterial infallibility is essential to assuredly know what Scripture consists of and means, and that Rome, as the historical steward of Scripture, is that magisterium, but which is an argument that cannot stand. But Rome has presumed to infallibly declare she is and will be perpetually infallible whenever she speaks in accordance with her infallibly defined (scope and subject-based) formula, which renders her declaration that she is infallible, to be infallible, as well as all else she accordingly declares.

However, both men and writings of God were discerned as being so by the common people, even in dissent from the magisterium, with the basis essentially being due to their unique heavenly qualities and attestation. The deutros lack such and include absurd such fables as Tobit and the historically false Judith (while the Wisdom of Solomon has much to commend it, but is falsely attributed) and thus remain obscure.

88 posted on 10/19/2016 6:07:08 AM PDT by daniel1212 ( Turn to the Lord Jesus as a damned and destitute sinner+ trust Him to save you, then follow Him!)
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To: Elsie

Wow, a real life “KJ is the only true bible” nut. I actually had family that believed you were not a christian if you read any other bible than the KJ. Even more inspired than the original Greek and Hebrew. I gave up trying to argue with them.

After taking a couple of bible classes in college and learning more about the different translations, I am pretty sure one of the questions asked when I stand before God will not be “Ok, first things first, which translation did you use?”


89 posted on 10/19/2016 6:25:43 AM PDT by okkev68
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To: Luircin

As I understand it, the first editions of the KJV up til about 1610 had all 73 books of the Bible; after that they were omitted: by whom or by what authority, I do not know. But they considered the King of England to be head of the Church, and called their product the King James Version, so -— I’m just guessing -— I presume they removed books by the authority of King James I.


90 posted on 10/19/2016 6:44:29 AM PDT by Mrs. Don-o (Whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, excellent, worthy of praise: dwell on these things)
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To: heterosupremacist

Humans convert no one, that is God’s job. Eph chapter 1


91 posted on 10/19/2016 7:12:04 AM PDT by xone
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To: FourtySeven

If the KJV was good enough for Paul, it’s good enough for me dagnabbit!

? can you explain ?


92 posted on 10/19/2016 7:18:09 AM PDT by heterosupremacist ((Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God ~ Thomas Jefferson)
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To: Maudeen

That does nothing to help me ‘understand’ my mother’s sitting in church year after year misapprehending the nature of something so integral to Christian belief as the Trinity.

As for myself, I believe that doctrine is a pastiche put together so that Christianity would not be seen as being polytheistic while being polytheistic. But I’m a real heretic. LOL


93 posted on 10/19/2016 7:34:19 AM PDT by sparklite2 (When they play the race card, play the Trump card.)
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To: heterosupremacist

It’s a joke, son. The dagnabbit should have given it away.


94 posted on 10/19/2016 7:47:05 AM PDT by sparklite2 (When they play the race card, play the Trump card.)
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To: Elsie

LOL!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_James_Version

The kjv was not even printed until the late 1500s or early 1600s.

Check it out. I’m still laughing.


95 posted on 10/19/2016 8:02:28 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: WhatNot
I place blame squarely on all Christian Church congregations who have thrown away God's preserved word the KJV

If the KJV was good enough for the Apostle Paul, it's good enough for me!

/sarc

96 posted on 10/19/2016 8:26:35 AM PDT by newgeezer (It is [the people's] right and duty to be at all times armed. --Thomas Jefferson, 1824)
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To: WhatNot
Also, go find a KJV, and pull out your NIV, and start to compare

Apples and oranges.

One needs the G/H text to see what has 'changed'

97 posted on 10/19/2016 8:33:57 AM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: WhatNot
Don't think I'll be picking up a copy of your CJB anytime soon.

So; you accept the names that King James has Anglicized; in lieu of the TRUE names?

98 posted on 10/19/2016 8:35:16 AM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: WhatNot; DungeonMaster
I guess I’m even more of a pariah to most Christians, I believe God’s promises and that He preserved His word. Oh, the horror of it!

If there's any horror here, it's your false witness against your brothers.

Contrary to your charge, no one said God hasn't preserved His word. We only challenged your claim that the KJV alone is His preserved word.

99 posted on 10/19/2016 8:35:54 AM PDT by newgeezer (It is [the people's] right and duty to be at all times armed. --Thomas Jefferson, 1824)
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To: okkev68
I actually had family that believed you were not a christian if you read any other bible than the KJ.

Makes ya wonder what 'bible' the folks in GERMANY read; doesn't it!!

Or Spain, France, China, Japan, Russia...

100 posted on 10/19/2016 8:36:43 AM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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