Culled from http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20090114/ts_csm/atheology;_ylt=AnObekVGmjJigUofpgscAkxg.3QA

Most US Christians define own theology
     
Digg Facebook Newsvine del.icio.us Reddit StumbleUpon Technorati Yahoo! Bookmarks Print By Jane Lampman Jane Lampman – Wed Jan 14, 3:00 am ETAmerican individualism has made its imprint on Christianity.

A sizable majority of the country's faithful no longer hew closely to orthodox teachings, and look more to themselves than to churches or denominations to define their religious convictions, according to two recent surveys. More than half of all Christians also believe that some non-Christians can get into heaven.

"Growing numbers of people now serve as their own theologian-in-residence," said George Barna, president of Barna Group, on releasing findings of one of the polls on Jan. 12.

In the Barna survey, 71 percent of American adults say they are more likely to develop their own set of religious beliefs than to accept a defined set of teachings from a particular church. Even among born-again Christians, 61 percent pick and choose from the beliefs of different denominations. For people under the age of 25, the number rises to 82 percent.

Many "cafeteria Christians" go beyond the teachings of Christian denominations to embrace parts of other world religions.

Half of Americans also believe that Christianity is now just one of many faith options people can choose from (44 percent disagree with that perception). Residents of the Northeast and West were more likely than those in the South and Midwest to say Christianity has lost its status as the favored American religion.

Christians expressed a variety of unorthodox beliefs in the poll. Nearly half of those interviewed do not believe in the existence of Satan, one-third believe Jesus sinned while on earth, and two-fifths say they don't have a responsibility to share their faith with others.

The most striking divergence from orthodoxy, however, was first revealed in the 2007 US Religious Landscape Survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. That comprehensive survey of 35,000 Americans found a majority of Christians saying that people of other religions can find salvation and eternal life.

The results stirred controversy among some Christian leaders for whom Jesus as the only path to salvation is a paramount teaching. Some questioned whether those surveyed about "other religions" might have been thinking of Christian denominations or traditions – such as Protestants referring to Roman Catholicism – rather than non-Christian faiths.

Pew undertook a follow-up survey, which it released in late December. That poll found 65 percent of American Christians (including 47 percent of Evangelicals) do indeed think that many different religions can lead to eternal life. Among these Christians, 80 percent cited one non-Christian faith as a route to salvation; 61 percent named two or more.

The survey also asked about views on how one obtains eternal life. Among all adults with a religious affiliation, 30 percent say correct beliefs are what counts, 29 percent say salvation depends on one's actions during life, while 10 percent say both are essential. Those who emphasize the impact of actions are more inclined to believe that practitioners of non-Christian faiths can achieve eternal life. Most of those who emphasize beliefs say non-Christian paths do not lead to heaven.

The poll confirms a broad rejection of religious exclusivity. Among all religious adults interviewed, 65 percent say many religions lead to eternal life and only 29 percent say theirs is the one true faith. Sixty-nine percent of all non-Jews say Judaism can lead to eternal life and 52 percent of non-Muslims say that of Islam.

Forty-two percent of religious Americans also say atheists are able to find eternal life.

While some people hail these findings as heartening for American pluralism, others see them as a wake-up call. R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary writes on his blog about biblical Christianity's role in countering such inclusive views and helping people find the true Christian way. Others point to the power of egalitarian American culture.

"It's just part of a 200-year working out of ideas about personal autonomy and equality that are sort of built into the American experience," says Alan Wolfe, director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College. "The notion that someone is going to burn in hell because they have their own beliefs is just not resonant within our larger political ideals."

Interesting read this is, largely explains why the US can cope with its religious diversity.

A very Interesting read. This just goes to show how the American society is gradually embracing reality. American will be dechristainaized like Europe in about 50 years.There was nothing the Christain right did not do to make sure that Obama was rejected by the American people, they went to all extremes to paint him as anti Christain(Moslem) and anti God(anti-christ) but the American public voted for him overwhelmingly to show that the religious right have lost their control over the people. This goes to show that the people no longer used to believe as they used to.A white man with Obama's view as regards to religion will not have won elections in the USA in the 70s. This was a guy that made fun of some passages of the old testament in public, he even laughed at Abrahams scarifice of his son Issac and almost dismissed it as something moranic in a Church.The moral zietgiest has drmatically shifted. A white man with the name Hussien as his middle name would not have won the presidentail elections in the USA in the 70s. The bottem line is that Christainity has alway been like that since from inception, most Christians have always defined their own theology in one way or the other, that is why there has never been a universally accepted Christain doctrine. The same is happening right now in Nigeria, Christains are just so confused that they just cant agree with each other on any single thing. All we have now are just a set of very different religions/beliefs just hiding under the name and narritve of Jesus and the bible.

Create Your Own God, Current Trend In Religion?

 Indeed it is. But this should come as no suprise to anyone who's ever read the bible.
One problem I do have with the article is in its definition of a christian.
A person is a christian only if they fit the biblical description and definition of one. A person is NOT a christian just becos they say so.

Once you adjust and modify this in the study, the true percentages of "biblical christians" creating their own god will be equal to zero.

JeSoul:

Indeed it is. But this should come as no suprise to anyone who's ever read the bible.
One problem I do have with the article is in its definition of a christian.
A person is a christian only if they fit the biblical description and definition of one. A person is NOT a christian just becos they say so.

Once you adjust and modify this in the study, the true percentages of "biblical christians" creating their own god will be equal to zero.

Unfortunately, you are not saying much JeSoul as there is no agreed consensus on what some critical part of the bible's teachings and injunctions means if there was, there wouldn't be so much confusion and denominations.

I would even argue with you that Jesus was creating his own God in a way, I mean what right had he to disagree with what the religious leaders of his time interpreted to be the meaning of the Torah?

duduspace:

Unfortunately, you are not saying much JeSoul as there is no agreed consensus on what some critical part of the bible's teachings and injunctions means if there was, there wouldn't be so much confusion and denominations.

  yes[u] true [/u] christians sometimes disagree on lesser matters such as speaking in tongues, women pastors etc . . .

BUT

  for bedrock and foundation elements of the faith such as
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life" and
"I am the way, the truth, the life, no one comes to the Father except by me."
  there is no disagreement here as to what these mean. This is the basic belief for all christians. So when you have someone claiming to believe in Jesus yet they don't believe in what Jesus himself taught . . . this is an oxymoron and this is not a christian. Simple.

I would even argue with you that Jesus was creating his own God in a way, I mean what right had he to disagree with what the religious leaders of his time interpreted to be the meaning of the Torah?

    Look the way I see it is this: Nobody is being forced or coerced to believe in the bible as it is written. So if you want to call yourself a christian, you must walk by the teachings of the bible.
  Now if you want to form your own beliefs, then cease and desist from using the term "christian" cos then you're muddying the waters and misleading others.

  So what right did Jesus have to "question" the religious leaders? the bible teaches He is God in the flesh - that's where His right came from. Now if you don't believe Jesus is God, then why be bothered with the bible in the first place? why be bothered with Jesus at all?

I have often said . . . being a "christian" is not a term . . . it is a way of life.

The poll confirms a broad rejection of religious exclusivity. Among all religious adults interviewed, 65 percent say many religions lead to eternal life and only 29 percent say theirs is the one true faith. Sixty-nine percent of all non-Jews say Judaism can lead to eternal life and 52 percent of non-Muslims say that of Islam.

christianity is lifestyle of exclusivity unfortunately. these people are confused beyond measure. The bible says NO MAN COMETH TO THE FATHER BUT BY ME.

@JeSoul

What are you doing inside an Isreali F-15 Fighter Jet? Pls direct your bombs to Ismail Haniyas house.

bindex:

@JeSoul
What are you doing inside an Isreali F-15 Fighter Jet? Pls direct your bombs to Ismail Haniyas house.

lol . . . I go try to find am just for you .

JeSoul:

yes[u] true [/u] christians sometimes disagree on lesser matters such as speaking in tongues, women pastors etc . . .

BUT

for bedrock and foundation elements of the faith such as
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life" and
"I am the way, the truth, the life, no one comes to the Father except by me."
there is no disagreement here as to what these mean. This is the basic belief for all christians. So when you have someone claiming to believe in Jesus yet they don't believe in what Jesus himself taught . . . this is an oxymoron and this is not a christian. Simple.
Look the way I see it is this: Nobody is being forced or coerced to believe in the bible as it is written. So if you want to call yourself a christian, you must walk by the teachings of the bible.
Now if you want to form your own beliefs, then cease and desist from using the term "christian" cos then you're muddying the waters and misleading others.

So what right did Jesus have to "question" the religious leaders? the bible teaches He is God in the flesh - that's where His right came from. Now if you don't believe Jesus is God, then why be bothered with the bible in the first place? why be bothered with Jesus at all?

Well, maybe they are increasingly losing confidence in the bible and its various contradictions and about turns but still afraid of living in the uncertainty of not knowing what the future holds.

Please note that the bible teaches nothing, rather it is people who make up whatever they want from the bible which is nothing more than an historic account of the emergence of the jewish people (an account whose validity is increasingly being questioned) and the musings of those you could term their philosophers and thinkers. The bible does not teach that Jesus is God in flesh, Jesus and his disciples did that.

davidylan:

I have often said . . . being a "christian" is not a term . . . it is a way of life.

christianity is lifestyle of exclusivity unfortunately. these people are confused beyond measure. The bible says NO MAN COMETH TO THE FATHER BUT BY ME.

I agree with you totally on this david, christianity is a way of life which stems from unverified beliefs hence the reason why each one is creating his own God.

I agree with you that these people are confused but I must also say that christianity as a whole is some kind of mad house and you are possibly even more confused than they are, that quotation from the bible could mean so many things things even when taking in its literal English translation how much more when hebrew experts start analyzing all the possible meanings it could have in its original hebrew form.

duduspace:

I agree with you totally on this david, christianity is a way of life which stems from unverified beliefs hence the reason why each one is creating his own God.

I agree with you that these people are confused but I must also say that christianity as a whole is some kind of mad house and you are possibly even more confused than they are, that quotation from the bible could mean so many things things even when taking in its literal English translation how much more when hebrew experts start analyzing all the possible meanings it could have in its original hebrew form.

Some Bible quote shows how ridiculous this position can really be. In the creation story it talks about the heavens declaring the glory of God and mentions the firmament. The Hebrew word that is translated as firmament is a derivative of a root that means "to beat into shape". The authors of Psalms and Genesis thought that the sky is a solid dome 

duduspace:

I agree with you totally on this david, christianity is a way of life which stems from unverified beliefs hence the reason why each one is creating his own God.

I agree with you that these people are confused but I must also say that christianity as a whole is some kind of mad house and you are possibly even more confused than they are, that quotation from the bible could mean so many things things even when taking in its literal English translation how much more when hebrew experts start analyzing all the possible meanings it could have in its original hebrew form.

I have no problem with your deductions, i just wonder why if christianity is full of "unverified beliefs", "confusion" and "varying expert analysis" you bother so so much with it.

davidylan:

I have no problem with your deductions, i just wonder why if christianity is full of "unverified beliefs", "confusion" and "varying expert analysis" you bother so so much with it.

I wonder why if Allah is not the creator of the world, and the koran is filled with "unverified beliefs", "confusion" and "varying expert analysis" you and other christains bother so so much with it. Christains spend Billions anually castigating and berating Islam through books, lectures etc I wonder why they are worried with Islam if it is true that Moslems worship a Non God(Allah).

davidylan:

I have no problem with your deductions, i just wonder why if christianity is full of "unverified beliefs", "confusion" and "varying expert analysis" you bother so so much with it.

   na the same question wey I just ask am.

Oga Dudu,
 

duduspace:

Well, maybe they are increasingly losing confidence in the bible and its various contradictions and about turns but still afraid of living in the uncertainty of not knowing what the future holds.

  your statement here no fit stand at all.
They have decreasing faith in the bible YET hold on to it cos they're afraid of the future? An oxymoron at its best. Where did you buy this logic from? Oshodi market?  

Please note that the bible teaches nothing, rather it is people who make up whatever they want from the bible which is nothing more than an historic account of the emergence of the jewish people (an account whose validity is increasingly being questioned) and the musings of those you could term their philosophers and thinkers. The bible does not teach that Jesus is God in flesh, Jesus and his disciples did that.

 Wow, see opinion masquerading as fact.
Well this is what you believe and your entitled to whatever rocks your boat brotha. But I ask again since christianity is such a delusion, why don't you just leave us to persist in our hallucinations? we're quite happy to be narrow-minded about the Lordship and Godship of our master Jesus Christ. Infact all of us servants, doctors, scientists, bricklayers, housemaids, senators that dare to believe in Jesus are entranced in a fantasy that we beg not to be awoken from.

 Time will soon point out with unmistakable precision and accuracy which lot of us was truly deluded  .

JeSoul:

Time will soon point out with unmistakable precision and accuracy which lot of us was truly deluded .

Time will soon Show that Allah is the Surpreme being. What then will happen to you when you find yourself in Allah's Hell.

ah ah oga Bindex, abi na Rolex    don't jump the gun now  . Lets just be patient & wait for time to expose the truly deluded ones. Don't worry e won't be long eh .

bindex:

I wonder why if Allah is not the creator of the world, and the koran is filled with "unverified beliefs", "confusion" and "varying expert analysis" you and other christains bother so so much with it. Christains spend Billions anually castigating and berating Islam through books, lectures etc I wonder why they are worried with Islam if it is true that Moslems worship a Non God(Allah).

this is totally untrue. the only reason islam came into the fore was after the Sept 11 attacks when many (athiests included) wanted to find out what was behind this ideology of death. I lived with muslims all my life . . . it never occured to me to even look at the cover of a quran until 9-11.

to claim that "christians" spend billions anually to castigate islam is laughable. Most christians i've come across are too busy trying to spread the gospel to bother what other religion is flying over their heads.

davidylan:

I have no problem with your deductions, i just wonder why if christianity is full of "unverified beliefs", "confusion" and "varying expert analysis" you bother so so much with it.

I will answer your question even though this forum is not about me but since you choose to make it personal I will indulge you in this instance provided you never ask me this question again.
I bother so much about it because I come from a society where it is the mainstream belief and I see a lot of its effects on individuals and the society at large.
Do you get it now or are you too thick headed to get it?
That was an innocent question by the way, so there is no need wearing out your dentures becos of it.

I have been trying to explain this for quite some time,

God is in all of our hearts anyways!! We do not need a pastor, a preacher or anyone else to tell us or define how to please God. It is not up to man to determine, for man is not God!! Alot of what is written in the Bible is written figuratively but taken literally anyways, so misinterpretations abound. Then, alot of it is contradictory and many meanings have been changed over the ages. God speaks to each and everyone independently, and only a fool takes everything that is taught to them as absolute truth.

Simply put, religion is business. It is designed for control of land and resources.

So, no it is not suprising that many people have developed their own individual relationships with God. I believe that this is how it should be anyways. What works for one may not work for another, so you have to always trust your concious (voice of God).

duduspace:

I will answer your question even though this forum is not about me but since you choose to make it personal I will indulge you in this instance provided you never ask me this question again.
I bother so much about it because I come from a society where it is the mainstream belief and I see a lot of its effects on individuals and the society at large.
Do you get it now or are you too thick headed to get it?
That was an innocent question by the way, so there is no need wearing out your dentures becos of it.

Pretty vague and dishonest answer IMO. I live in a western society too and i can tell you its far easier to be an unbeliever than a genuine born-again christian.

JeSoul:

They have decreasing faith in the bible YET hold on to it cos they're afraid of the future? An oxymoron at its best. Where did you buy this logic from? Oshodi market?  

Its pretty easy to understand the logic actually. Its not that they lose "confidence" in the bible, its that they want the chance to live a life of wanton sin with no moral or christian obligations YET are afraid that should they die . . . hell and heaven may turn out to be real afterall.

davidylan:

this is totally untrue. the only reason islam came into the fore was after the Sept 11 attacks when many (athiests included) wanted to find out what was behind this ideology of death. I lived with muslims all my life . . . it never occured to me to even look at the cover of a quran until 9-11.

to claim that "christians" spend billions anually to castigate islam is laughable. Most christians i've come across are too busy trying to spread the gospel to bother what other religion is flying over their heads.

You always lie with a striaght face don't you? I was once a Moslem and I know very well what I am talking about. Your fallacy that the only reason Islam came to the fore was after 911 is ridiculous. Moslems have been using Islam as a reason to kill people well before 911. Christains have been waging war against the moslems since during the time of the cursade. Go to the Islamic thread and you will see that Christains are more than bothered with Islam Flying over their heads. I will still reiterate that Christains spend billions castigating and berating Islam through books, seminars etc some pastors spend their entire sunday service time preaching about Islam in their churches. Why are christains bothred about Islam if Moslems worship a non God?

lol . . . could the logic have been so easy I didn't get it? I get that they're thinking "well this might turn out to be true". . .   but still makes little sense to me.

I still find it very hard to understand why anyone if outright they distrust the bible and are increasingly skeptical about its authenticity and don't believe it was meant to be taken literally, why still bother to follow or believe any of it    

 Now a half-baked 'christian' who lives how they want with a deliberate self-inflicted ignorance of Jesus' commandments, that I understand. They know the truth but love sin. But the love-hate-maybe-it'll-be-true people are missing some bolts upstairs  

JeSoul:

Oga Dudu,
    your statement here no fit stand at all.
They have decreasing faith in the bible YET hold on to it cos they're afraid of the future? An oxymoron at its best. Where did you buy this logic from? Oshodi market?  

Na yu dey look am with Toronto eye, what is so difficult to understand in the statement? are people always logical?
Why do some women (and men too to satisfy the women's lib folks) still cling to cheating boyfriends and lovers even when they are aware of their unfaithfulness?
that is my point exactly, Christianity in itself is largely illogical.

JeSoul:

 Wow, see opinion masquerading as fact.
Well this is what you believe and your entitled to whatever rocks your boat brotha. But I ask again since christianity is such a delusion, why don't you just leave us to persist in our hallucinations? we're quite happy to be narrow-minded about the Lordship and Godship of our master Jesus Christ. Infact all of us servants, doctors, scientists, bricklayers, housemaids, senators that dare to believe in Jesus are entranced in a fantasy that we beg not to be awoken from.
Time will soon point out with unmistakable precision and accuracy which lot of us was truly deluded  .

Would you leave a mad man in the streets to persist in his hallucinations? (I almost forgot, they do that a lot in Nigeria or even lynch and kill them when they talk rubbish in their deluded state).

davidylan:

Pretty vague and dishonest answer IMO. I live in a western society too and i can tell you its far easier to be an unbeliever than a genuine born-again christian.

It is your prerogative what your opinion is about the answer, yu can't claim to be inside my head to know what I'm thinking. Besides, I wasn't referring to where I live now I was referring to where I come from but even Ireland where I live now is still officially a catholic state.

You always see only what you want to see David.

JeSoul:

Now a half-baked 'christian' who lives how they want with a deliberate self-inflicted ignorance of Jesus' commandments, that I understand. They know the truth but love sin. But the love-hate-maybe-it'll-be-true people are missing some bolts upstairs

Now we see opinion masquerading as fact, I'm sure your definition of half-baked christian is one who doesn't have the same beliefs you do right?
If I might be bold to ask, could you list what Jesus' commandments are exactly?

duduspace:

Na yu dey look am with Toronto eye, what is so difficult to understand in the statement? are people always logical?
Why do some women (and men too to satisfy the women's lib folks) still cling to cheating boyfriends and lovers even when they are aware of their unfaithfulness?
that is my point exactly, Christianity in itself is largely illogical.

 Abeg na Boston eye I get, don't get it twisted homeboy  .
Anyways, David explained your point a bit clearer. Me still thinks its an oxymoron, and anyone who distrusts the bible YET still holds on just in case it might be true is a mo____.
Why not free yourself from the gospel shackles? holding on just-in-case it might turn out to be true? your foot is in the doorway & your heart is already outside and you still think you have a shot at winning the musical chairs?
Luke 9:62
Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.".

Would you leave a mad man in the streets to persist in his hallucinations? (I almost forgot, they do that a lot in Nigeria or even lynch and kill them when they talk rubbish in their deluded state).

But oga we are not "men in the streets", dressed in rags and dada and foam coming out the sides of our mouths. We are not pitiful and lost and hopeless. We are fine, happy, functioning citizens of our different countries  _{and please don't bring up the scoundrels and wolves in sheeps clothing choir robes masquerading as men of god in nigeria as your counter attack}

JeSoul:


Luke 9:62
Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.".

And what does this mean??

I think it should be more than self-explanatory to those who are not up to mischief

Nevertheless it means no one who 'believes' in or 'commits' to Christ and then 'doubts', reflecting on the world behind him, is worthy of serving God.

JeSoul:

But oga we are not "men in the streets", dressed in rags and dada and foam coming out the sides of our mouths. We are not pitiful and lost and hopeless. We are fine, happy, functioning citizens of our different countries  _{and please don't bring up the scoundrels and wolves in sheeps clothing choir robes masquerading as men of god in nigeria as your counter attack}

True enough, but you do know that not every deluded person is out in the streets foaming in the mouth don't you? besides some of you folks are actually like that with the huge speakers in every church in Nigeria and people feeding others with lies in the buses e.t.c.

Nice you mention the scoundrels and wolves in sheeps clothing, remember they also claim (rightly or wrongly) that they also beleive in the bible.
Hold on to your beliefs my dear but recognize them for what they are, beliefs that can stand no test of certainty whatsoever.
At the end of the day, you are either creating your own God or accepting another man's creation.

JeSoul:

lol . . . could the logic have been so easy I didn't get it? I get that they're thinking "well this might turn out to be true". . . but still makes little sense to me.

I still find it very hard to understand why anyone if outright they distrust the bible and are increasingly skeptical about its authenticity and don't believe it was meant to be taken literally, why still bother to follow or believe any of it

Now a half-baked 'christian' who lives how they want with a deliberate self-inflicted ignorance of Jesus' commandments, that I understand. They know the truth but love sin. But the love-hate-maybe-it'll-be-true people are missing some bolts upstairs

See it this way . . . no one believes Sango worshippers are doing anything more than wasting their time and resources. how many athiests do you see painting their buses with "sango may not exist afterall"?

Why are they so bothered about christianity? Why does the bible trouble their spirit so?

duduspace:

You always see only what you want to see David.

its not a crime to emulate you eh.

duduspace:

It is your prerogative what your opinion is about the answer, yu can't claim to be inside my head to know what I'm thinking. Besides, I wasn't referring to where I live now I was referring to where I come from but even Ireland where I live now is still officially a catholic state.

You always see only what you want to see David.

How do you expect him to see what you wrote with his demons of selective comprehension? You clearly wrote"from where I come from" but he saw it as where you live to make his nonsensical assumptions look sensible.