The State Of Theology

http://thestateoftheology.com/

Wow.   

What do Americans actually believe? The State of Theology data set is rich with information useful for discerning the beliefs of Americans about God, salvation, ethics, and the Bible in a way that goes beyond simple labels and religious affiliations. Read some of our key findings below and explore the data for yourself.

I like the way they concluded the study:

Faithful Christians can look at these survey results and lament the state of theology in America. Or, we can look at these results and engage our Great Commission work with a renewed urgency and purpose. Ligonier Ministries is taking the latter approach. It is easy to get distracted by cultural trends and apply our resources toward chasing novel methodology. This survey reminds us of the necessity of teaching foundational truths: God’s holiness, Christ’s person and work, humanity’s true need to be saved from the wrath of God, and the Bible’s authority—even in the twenty-first century.

Fascinating topic. I'd actually like to know what everyone's top/main theological/doctrinal beliefs are in this thread.

But only if people promise to state what they believe. NO debate allowed in this thread, not even commentary or simple comments on other members' beliefs.

Do you all think we can do that?

Yes I can! I promise

I'm going to give my thoughts on a few statements from the introduction page. Good thought-provoking statements. Thanks for sharing, Kerrick.

"God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism and Islam."
I'm kind of on the fence on this one, in a sense. A good part of that is knowing that God has revealed himself to indigenous peoples across the earth, and some people serve him without knowing him well. So I wouldn't say that God accepts the worship of only Christians. However, I don't believe he accepts the worship of all religions. So it's a nuanced no.

"Only those who trust in Jesus Christ alone as their Savior receive God’s free gift of eternal salvation."
Again, I have a hard time saying yes here. Don Richardson and C.S. Lewis bring it up in different ways. What is clear is that Jesus is the only way to the Father; what is less clear is how many ways there are to Jesus, son of the One God.

"Even the smallest sin deserves eternal damnation."
Yes. The act of sin shows rebellion in man's heart against God, upsetting the entire harmony of the world as it was intended to be - perfect.

"A person obtains peace with God by first taking the initiative to seek God and then God responds with grace."
Nebulous in a sense, but I'd disagree. God first reaches out to us; he is the planner and fulfiller of salvation. We do less than we think in the whole process of salvation.

"The Bible alone is the written word of God."
Written word, I'd say yes. Word as such… we know that Jesus is the perfect Word, Logos. God has revealed himself in many ways to us, and I don't believe the Bible is the only way he makes himself known.

"By the good deeds that I do, I partly contribute to earning my place in heaven."
No. You do good deeds because you are a new person, you are the righteousness of Christ, already perfect; things of God flow out from he who is saved.

I'll have to check out that site, Kerrick, when life slows down a tad.

Numbering Driven's points, I agree completely with 1, 2, 5 and 6. The 4th question is simply "I don't know". I don't think I could agree or disagree - I don't see how that could be known.

Point 3 is where I disagree. In a nutshell, yes I believe sin is banished from heaven, I believe people will be cast into hell, but I don't believe people will burn forever. (I guess that makes me a universalist)

Rather than take the apologetic approach of pointing out there's ZERO verses saying people will burn forever, or highlighting verses that state everyone will "eventually" be saved, I'll just state that the primary teaching of the early church had to do with God being sovereign and he has the will and the power to draw all to him. For centuries, Christians believed a universalist view. Eternal conscious burning forever only became popularized when Rome grew in power...

My heart and faith tell me this. I don't condemn or stand to correct anyone who views different. Please don't do that to me.

Kerrick wrote:http://thestateoftheology.com/

Wow.   

What do Americans actually believe? The State of Theology data set is rich with information useful for discerning the beliefs of Americans about God, salvation, ethics, and the Bible in a way that goes beyond simple labels and religious affiliations. Read some of our key findings below and explore the data for yourself.

It is a  wow and yet, not really wow. Just reflecting on the many discussions I've had on this board over the last few years supports all of those stats.

I like the way they concluded the study:

Faithful Christians can look at these survey results and lament the state of theology in America. Or, we can look at these results and engage our Great Commission work with a renewed urgency and purpose. Ligonier Ministries is taking the latter approach. It is easy to get distracted by cultural trends and apply our resources toward chasing novel methodology. This survey reminds us of the necessity of teaching foundational truths: God’s holiness, Christ’s person and work, humanity’s true need to be saved from the wrath of God, and the Bible’s authority—even in the twenty-first century.

And that's it. What is true needs to continue in it's truth. The true gospel is the true gospel and those who know will live it. Despite that the gospel is maligned by many great distortions, the darkness, still, hasn't overcome the light. This survey is a good reminder of our need to continue in faithfulness. Thanks for sharing!

New Creation wrote:Fascinating topic. I'd actually like to know what everyone's top/main theological/doctrinal beliefs are in this thread.

But only if people promise to state what they believe. NO debate allowed in this thread, not even commentary or simple comments on other members' beliefs.

Do you all think we can do that?

Oh, (allah's paridise) no!

What gives you the right to try to push your beliefs on me that I can only state my beliefs without arguing or commenting? You and the rest here are ganging up on me and I'm ready to quit the board.

Mods, lock the thread already!!

I don't have the time right now to comment more on this, but I did want to mention one thing.

"Even the smallest sin deserves eternal damnation."

I believe that is a loaded question. It's not the quantity or quality of sin that causes a person to be sent to hell. It's the rejection of Jesus Christ by that person that does it.

d@v!d wrote:

New Creation wrote:Fascinating topic. I'd actually like to know what everyone's top/main theological/doctrinal beliefs are in this thread.

But only if people promise to state what they believe. NO debate allowed in this thread, not even commentary or simple comments on other members' beliefs.

Do you all think we can do that?

Oh, (allah's paridise) no!

What gives you the right to try to push your beliefs on me that I can only state my beliefs without arguing or commenting? You and the rest here are ganging up on me and I'm ready to quit the board.

Mods, lock the thread already!!

My sarcasm meter is running low on battery today, can't tell if serious.

It's not just you. I can't tell if he's serious either, but I'm all chemo'ed up.

New Creation wrote:

d@v!d wrote:

New Creation wrote:Fascinating topic. I'd actually like to know what everyone's top/main theological/doctrinal beliefs are in this thread.

But only if people promise to state what they believe. NO debate allowed in this thread, not even commentary or simple comments on other members' beliefs.

Do you all think we can do that?

Oh, (allah's paridise) no!

What gives you the right to try to push your beliefs on me that I can only state my beliefs without arguing or commenting? You and the rest here are ganging up on me and I'm ready to quit the board.

Mods, lock the thread already!!

My sarcasm meter is running low on battery today, can't tell if serious.

I believe that his tongue is so firmly planted in his cheek, that it is almost ripping through.

Having your tongue rip through your cheek is metal.

deathisgain wrote:

New Creation wrote:

d@v!d wrote:

New Creation wrote:Fascinating topic. I'd actually like to know what everyone's top/main theological/doctrinal beliefs are in this thread.

But only if people promise to state what they believe. NO debate allowed in this thread, not even commentary or simple comments on other members' beliefs.

Do you all think we can do that?

Oh, (allah's paridise) no!

What gives you the right to try to push your beliefs on me that I can only state my beliefs without arguing or commenting? You and the rest here are ganging up on me and I'm ready to quit the board.

Mods, lock the thread already!!

My sarcasm meter is running low on battery today, can't tell if serious.

I believe that his tongue is so firmly planted in his cheek, that it is almost ripping through.

Hahaha most definitely.  It made me lol when I read it.

New Creation wrote:My sarcasm meter is running low on battery today, can't tell if serious.

I'm metal.

ThomasEversole wrote:Numbering Driven's points, I agree completely with 1, 2, 5 and 6. The 4th question is simply "I don't know". I don't think I could agree or disagree - I don't see how that could be known.

I should've mentioned this as well. In the end, it boils down to us not knowing that much about what God does. All I know for sure is that I was saved, I am saved, and I will be saved

This is a post-Christian America so I am not the least bit surprised about those stats.

A guess the crux of the matter will always be what source of authority informs their views of God and theology. In a post modern society, feelings and emotions seem to be the driving force behind what shapes and molds a lot of modern Christian world views.

New Creation wrote:Fascinating topic. I'd actually like to know what everyone's top/main theological/doctrinal beliefs are in this thread.

But only if people promise to state what they believe. NO debate allowed in this thread, not even commentary or simple comments on other members' beliefs.

Do you all think we can do that?

I have no problem doing that, I just can't even begin to figure out what might qualify as a "top/main" belief.  What are you interested in knowing about?  Views on God?  Bible?  Salvation?  More than that?  With that said, I'll share my views on what Driven wrote, not to debate, but to present my beliefs on those topics.

Driven wrote:I'm going to give my thoughts on a few statements from the introduction page. Good thought-provoking statements. Thanks for sharing, Kerrick.

"God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism and Islam."
I'm kind of on the fence on this one, in a sense. A good part of that is knowing that God has revealed himself to indigenous peoples across the earth, and some people serve him without knowing him well. So I wouldn't say that God accepts the worship of only Christians. However, I don't believe he accepts the worship of all religions. So it's a nuanced no.

I believe true worship is not a formula or a liturgy, it is living a life of love and service to others.  Whenever these things happen, regardless of what creed (or lack thereof) a person claims, God is glorified.

"Only those who trust in Jesus Christ alone as their Savior receive God’s free gift of eternal salvation."
Again, I have a hard time saying yes here. Don Richardson and C.S. Lewis bring it up in different ways. What is clear is that Jesus is the only way to the Father; what is less clear is how many ways there are to Jesus, son of the One God.

This is a tough one for me.  Does "trust in Jesus" mean we've said the "sinner's prayer" and "accepted Christ into our heart"?  Does it mean living according to the things Jesus taught?  I just don't know.  Does the idea that "no one comes to the Father except through me" mean that we have to actually verbally "come to Jesus" or is that referring to the fact that Jesus' death opened the way for us to get to the Father.  I know I'm not writing as clearly as I am thinking and I'm not thinking as clearly as I'd like.  I guess my question comes down to is the person who says he/she is not a Christian, but lives according to the teachings of Christ really less of a Christian than someone who says they are and lives according to the teachings of Christ.

"Even the smallest sin deserves eternal damnation."
Yes. The act of sin shows rebellion in man's heart against God, upsetting the entire harmony of the world as it was intended to be - perfect.

This is unclear to me.  I believe it is our rejection of God that has a natural consequence of eternal damnation/separation from God.  What I am unclear about is whether this is saying that we must be constantly on guard because if we die with "unconfessed sin" in our life, we should go to hell.  I now flatly reject that idea.  The cross was more than sufficient to cover all our sins.  Not that we should seek to sin because grace has us covered, but that we don't have to be a slave to fear of condemnation in Christ.

"A person obtains peace with God by first taking the initiative to seek God and then God responds with grace."
Nebulous in a sense, but I'd disagree. God first reaches out to us; he is the planner and fulfiller of salvation. We do less than we think in the whole process of salvation.

Oh, an easy one.  No, God started the process and God draws us in.  We respond to that invitation; that is our sole act in the salvation process.

"The Bible alone is the written word of God."
Written word, I'd say yes. Word as such… we know that Jesus is the perfect Word, Logos. God has revealed himself in many ways to us, and I don't believe the Bible is the only way he makes himself known.

Here's where I get myself in trouble.  I believe the Bible is inspired by God, but not dictated by God.  I believe the authors of the Bible were every bit as flawed as I am and were writing based on their earnest seeking of God and God's will.  I believe it was not God's intent to have a instruction manual for all things that we could pull off the shelf and find a rule by looking at a particular place.  I believe the validity of the Bible as "God's word" is based in the fact represents a whole bunch of people over a long span of time in different circumstances asking questions about God and coming to a remarkably similar understanding.  The whole thing from beginning to end represents God as loving humanity and desiring relationship with us, often in spite of our desire to have nothing to do with God.  I believe that the Bible represents precedent and that is authoritative.  I believe that much of the Bible is descriptive of the practices of God's people at the time the texts were written, but are not necessarily prescriptive of God's universal plan for all people.  I do believe God speaks to us through other ways, but God's voice is consistent; the Holy Spirit will never go against the core teachings of the Bible.

"By the good deeds that I do, I partly contribute to earning my place in heaven."
No. You do good deeds because you are a new person, you are the righteousness of Christ, already perfect; things of God flow out from he who is saved.

Yep.  Nothing to add here.

d@v!d wrote:

New Creation wrote:Fascinating topic. I'd actually like to know what everyone's top/main theological/doctrinal beliefs are in this thread.

But only if people promise to state what they believe. NO debate allowed in this thread, not even commentary or simple comments on other members' beliefs.

Do you all think we can do that?

Oh, (allah's paridise) no!

What gives you the right to try to push your beliefs on me that I can only state my beliefs without arguing or commenting? You and the rest here are ganging up on me and I'm ready to quit the board.

Mods, lock the thread already!!

Don't forget to leave your final epic rant as a whole new thread.  It isn't really leaving if you don't do the online equivalent of stomping your feet and slamming the door on your way out.