According to a recent article on the Christian Post:
“More than three years after Pope Francis sparked a firestorm of religious debate by telling a young boy that his deceased atheist father might still end up in Heaven, a new study from the Pew Research Center shows a majority of Catholic and mainline Christians also believe people who don’t believe in God will go to Heaven.
In discussing American views on the afterlife, the study showed that majorities of U.S. adults believe in both Heaven and Hell, but significantly more believe in Heaven. Some 73% of respondents reported belief in Heaven, while 62% of respondents reported belief in Hell.”
In the words of R.C. Sproul, “What is wrong with you people?” I am always amazed with people’s beliefs that claim to be Christian but they don’t know what the bible actually says. The Christian Post quote proves that the church is in trouble. With the influx of progressive Christian churches and the recent research on what people believe, it’s not a stretch to claim that Christians must return to the foundational teachings found in the Bible. I’ve even seen this trend in some evangelical churches so no one is immune to this trend.
America hasn’t been a Christian nation in some time. Many “Christians” are purposely busy and neglect to study the bible. They’d rather take “Sally” to gymnastics and “Joe” to football practice. As a parent I’ve had to be intentional about making time to study the bible and not get lost in extracurricular activities that my son “needs” to go to.
America wants to show they are tolerant of other beliefs. In doing so, they have neglected the truth in the hopes that they are being loving towards unbelievers. As I have shared before, I grew up in atheism and no other worldview was allowed in the home. Many of my family members who are unbelievers embrace some sort of new age worldview. They talk about Jesus and heaven but when we get down to what they mean by these terms it is very different from my Christian beliefs. They see Jesus as a good teacher but not much else. My fear is that our country is turning their back on God to appease the world. You can’t appease the world and stay true to Jesus.
I say these words to encourage my brethren to focus on the important things. I’m not perfect and I need this reminder too.