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Scary Stats - Beliefs in the Exclusivity of Christ

Is Jesus Christ the only way to heaven? Is the Bible true and without error? Is the Bible the literal Word of God? These are some important and basic questions that most Christians are getting wrong.

Dr. Mohler has recently written a blog about some scary statistics based on a survey conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life this past summer.

Here are some notable quotes & statistics from both articles (linked above):
  • "52% of American Christians believe that "at least some non-Christian faiths can lead to eternal life...of these 52%, 80% name at least one non-Christian faith that can do so"
  • "37% of those specifically identified as evangelical Christians agreed, rejecting the claim that Jesus is the only Savior and identifying at least some non-Christian religion or religions as leading to eternal life"
  • "only 39 percent of Christians believe that the Bible is the literal word of God, and 18 percent think that it’s just a book written by men and not the word of God at all"
  • "Views on religious exclusivity are linked with frequency of religious service attendance, with those who attend frequently being significantly more likely than others to hold an exclusivist point of view"
  • "among white evangelicals...most of those who attend church at least once a week (60%) say theirs is the one, true faith. But among evangelicals who attend church less often, only half as many (30%) take the view that theirs is the one true faith"
  • "among white Catholics; more than eight-in-ten weekly churchgoers and less-observant Catholics alike say many religions can lead to eternal life (85% and 84%, respectively)"

Church attendance DOES have an impact on whether one tends to hold to a Biblical-worldview or to stray towards societal norms. What one believes about Biblical inerrancy and Gospel exclusivity as taught in one's denomination and church is a critical factor to the understanding of what trends of belief you may expect to find among your church members.

READ what God has to say about the matter...

Acts 4:12 "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

John 14:6 - "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'"

Hebrews 10:23-25 "23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. "

2 Timothy 3:12-4:5 "12In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 4:1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. "

The Shack - Is this what God is really like?

I originally posted this blog on The Shack on 9/27/08 but decided to repost it because of the number of Christians I have recently encountered having questions on it.... Have you heard about or read the new bestseller, The Shack by William Young? Has it transformed or challenged the way you think about God? Have you compared its teaching with a balanced and holistic handling of what Scripture teaches? Gotquestions.org continues to be my favorite website as it answers difficult questions in a Bible-based manner. Although they do not usually do book reviews, they have chosen to do one in regard to the false teachings concerning God found in The Shack. I highly suggest reading the entirety of the review available HERE, as it interacts with and presents portions of the book...here are some excerpts from the article.
  • The Trinity - God the Father is portrayed as "'a large beaming African-American woman' who introduces herself as Papa," "Jesus, a Middle Eastern man dressed as a laborer," and "the Holy Spirit, a woman of 'maybe northern Chinese or Nepalese or even Mongolian ethnicity' named Sarayu."
  • The author "wants desperately to show us the God of love as found in Scripture (1 John 4:8), but he ignores the other side, the God of utter holiness (Isaiah 6:1-5) and, ultimately, the final Judge (Revelation 20:11-15)."
  • "By emphasizing only one part of God’s nature, The Shack actually leads readers astray with regard to God’s attitude towards sin."
  • "The words Papa speaks are a form of the ancient heresy of subordinationism, which puts Jesus in a lower rank within the Trinity. Scripture teaches that all three persons of the Trinity are equal in essence."
  • "The Shack also teaches a form of patripassionism, another ancient heresy that teaches that God the Father suffered on the cross. "
  • "The Shack wants to make God accessible to a hurting world, but its author also has a very low view of Scripture; in fact he mocks anyone who holds that there is such a thing as correct doctrine."
  • "If one is to teach error, it is important to do away with Scripture, either by adding to it (Mormonism), mistranslating it (Jehovah's Witnesses) or simply mocking it (The Shack and some others in the "emergent church”). "

I have heard many people in recent months get very excited about The Shack, sharing its "impact" on their understanding of God and how it is transforming their lives. If human books have more impact on our understanding of God than Scripture, we cannot help but to be led astray, little by little.

2 Timothy 4:3-5 "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry."

Quote - John Piper

"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." John Piper

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