Josh Benner

Tag: survey

  • Survey reveals pervasive heretical beliefs among American Christians

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    Working with Lifeway Research, Ligonier Ministries recently released the third installment of their “State of Theology” survey.

    Part of the goal is to find out what American Chrstians “believe about God, salvation, ethics, and the Bible.” Lifeway polled 3,000 Americans in the survey.

    The results were troubling.

    Many people in the poll have unbiblical views on moral issues. For instance, 46% of people ages 18-34 believe that gender is a matter of personal choice. 38% disagreed that abortion is a sin.

    But what is even more concerning than views on moral issues is views which are heretical. For the question, “Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God.” 78% agreed with that statement.

    The problem?

    Jesus isn’t a created being! The heresy that Jesus is a lesser being than God the Father is a heresy that is essentially as old as Christianity.

    Other key doctrines where people disagreed with Biblical teachings included undermining that humans have a sinful nature. 53% of respondents agreed with the statement “Everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature.”

    51% of respondents believed that a person can be saved who follows a religion besides Christianity. 58% believed that “worshipping alone or with one’s family is a valid replacement for regularly attending church.”

    Churches must be committed to teaching sound biblical doctrine. We too often shy away from sound doctrine because we’re afraid it’ll be too advanced for people in a culture that is often not well versed in the Bible.

    But there are catechisms for little kids. Surely adults can learn basic Biblical teachings, such as that Jesus is not a created being.

    But I’ll also say that it’s not all on churches either. A person can be taught correct doctrine but choose to believe that which is unbiblical. I especially think of this in terms of beliefs that water down the penalty of sin or that try to find backdoors for people to get into heaven without having faith in the gospel.

    We must take the word of God seriously.

    Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear what you think, and don’t forget to subscribe! 

    Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.

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  • Woman sends exit survey after break ups. Crazy or genius?

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    A Tweet has gone viral about a young woman who send an exit survey to men she dates at the end of a relationship.

    Questions on the exit survey included:

    -What is wrong with Katie?

    -What is wrong with you?

    -At what point did you know this wouldn’t work out?

    -Would you refer Katie to a friend? If so, please list numbers here.

    While it’s unorthodox (ok, it’s strange), I appreciate wanting to be reflective and to learn from mistakes. It can be easy when a relationships ends to want to blame the other person, but usually when relationships end, it’s a two way street.

    Anytime a person has a relationship end, it’s helpful to ask how you contributed to the end of it. Otherwise it can be easy to get into a cycle of one failed relationship after another where a person keeps dating the same kinds of people and making the same types of mistakes thinking that things will be so much easier when they find this mythical “the one.”

    As I already mentioned, the Tweet referencing the survey has already been liked 21,000 times.

    Although not everyone is a fan. Some comments I saw on articles were negative, saying “Run!” and calling it crazy, others mocking the young lady and saying things like “I think I know why she’s single.” Again, I realize it’s unusual. But there’s also nothing wrong with wanting some closure. And at the end of a relationship, if a little constructive reflection can leave both people suited to be better off in their next relationship, that strikes me as a good thing. Especially if a person chooses to respond and add some insights.

    Before getting married, I know there were times when things would inexplicably end and I didn’t always get the opportunity to find out why. So I can definitely empathize with a person wanting that closure.

    Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear what you think, and don’t forget to subscribe! 

    Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.

    Let’s connect!
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Instagram