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Are You Believing a Heresy? You Might According to a New Study

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How well do Christians really understand biblical doctrine about their faith?

Ligonier Ministries released its third study on the State of Theology in the United States, conducted by LifeWay Research, revealing some unbiblical beliefs in the church.

They asked 3,000 Americans what they believe about "God, salvation, ethics, and the Bible" and discovered several alarming heresies that some Christians say they believe.

"One of the most striking findings is that Americans continue to fail to grasp that God is holy," Ligonier said in a statement.

A whopping 69 percent of Americans disagree with the idea that "Even the smallest sin deserves eternal damnation," a doctrine clearly outlined in the Bible.

It turns out that evangelical Christians also have a hard time believing what the Bible says about man's sinful nature. This is demonstrated by the fact that 52 percent of evangelicals agree that everyone sins a little, "but most people are good by nature."

"If we start with the false notion that people are good by nature, we will end with a false gospel," Ligonier said.

The study also found a majority of evangelicals (51 percent) believe that God can be worshiped by people who do not believe in Jesus at all.

But how do Christians view Jesus himself? That's where Ligonier discovered "one of the most disappointing" results.

"Evangelicals say they believe in the Trinity, but more than three-fourths (78 percent) also agree that Jesus was in some way created by God the Father," the study says.

A majority of Christians believe the statement, "Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God," a belief utterly denounced in the Bible.

"Overall, US adults appear to have a superficial attachment to well-known Christian beliefs," the ministry stated. However, when it comes to foundational doctrine, both Christians and non-Christians don't always hold to what scripture says.

For example, a majority of US adults (59 percent) say the Holy Spirit is a force, not an actual person. Meanwhile, 58 percent believe that worshipping alone and with family is a valuable replacement for regularly attending church.

The latest study is a continuation of two previous studies, one in 2014 and another in 2016, that dealt with similar topics. All of them found several heresies.

While the results are concerning, Ligonier encourages readers to take heart.

"The temptation may very well be to use the survey results for a lot of finger wagging and even self-righteous posturing. We might be equally tempted to despair and simply write off those who hold these false beliefs," the ministry said.

"But the survey should not lead us to despair. Rather, the results should serve as yet another reminder of our task of making disciples and teaching sound doctrine. We are surrounded by people in turmoil, distress, and confusion. They have questions, and they have wrongly believed false answers. The results of this survey spur us on to seek out and proclaim the right, biblically sound answers to the questions that matter most," it concluded.

 

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About The Author

Emily
Jones

Emily Jones is a multi-media journalist for CBN News in Jerusalem. Before she moved to the Middle East in 2019, she spent years regularly traveling to the region to study the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, meet with government officials, and raise awareness about Christian persecution. During her college years, Emily served as president of Regent University's Christians United for Israel chapter and spoke alongside world leaders at numerous conferences and events. She is an active member of the Philos Project, an organization that seeks to promote positive Christian engagement with the Middle