"Remember, when we jeer at the Devil and tell ourselves that he does not exist, that is when he is happiest."
An Interview With Fr Gabriele Amorth - The Church's Leading Exorcist
Catholic Ping
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Posted on 04/13/2009 8:53:29 AM PDT by NYer
A new nationwide survey of adults’ spiritual beliefs, conducted by The Barna Group, suggests that Americans who consider themselves to be Christian have a diverse set of beliefs – but many of those beliefs are contradictory or, at least, inconsistent.
The survey explored beliefs about spiritual beings, the influence of faith on their life, views of the Bible, and reactions to faiths other than their own.
Views on Spiritual Beings
The Barna survey asked questions about God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, Satan, and demons.
All 1,871 self-described Christians were asked about their perception of God. In total, three-quarters (78%) said he is the “all-powerful, all-knowing Creator of the universe who rules the world today.” The remaining one-quarter chose other descriptions of God – depictions that are not consistent with biblical teaching (e.g., everyone is god, god refers to the realization of human potential, etc.).
For the other survey items a four-point opinion scale was used to measure people’s reactions to statements about each spiritual entity.
Four out of ten Christians (40%) strongly agreed that Satan “is not a living being but is a symbol of evil.” An additional two out of ten Christians (19%) said they “agree somewhat” with that perspective. A minority of Christians indicated that they believe Satan is real by disagreeing with the statement: one-quarter (26%) disagreed strongly and about one-tenth (9%) disagreed somewhat. The remaining 8% were not sure what they believe about the existence of Satan.
Although a core teaching of the Christian faith is the divinity and perfection of Jesus Christ, tens of millions of Christians do not accept that teaching. More than one-fifth (22%) strongly agreed that Jesus Christ sinned when He lived on earth, with an additional 17% agreeing somewhat. Holding the opposing view were 9% who disagreed somewhat and 46% who disagreed strongly. Six percent did not have an opinion on this matter.
Much like their perceptions of Satan, most Christians do not believe that the Holy Spirit is a living force, either. Overall, 38% strongly agreed and 20% agreed somewhat that the Holy Spirit is “a symbol of God’s power or presence but is not a living entity.” Just one-third of Christians disagreed that the Holy Spirit is not a living force (9% disagreed somewhat, 25% disagreed strongly) while 9% were not sure.
A majority of Christians believe that a person can be under the influence of spiritual forces, such as demons or evil spirits. Two out of three Christians agreed that such influence is real (39% agreed strongly, 25% agreed somewhat), while just three out of ten rejected the influence of supernatural forces (18% disagreed strongly, 10% disagreed somewhat). The remaining 8% were undecided on this matter.
Influence of Faith
Most self-described Christians contend that their religious faith has significantly impacted their life. Almost six out of ten adults (59%) said their faith had “greatly transformed” their life, while 29% said their faith “has been helpful but has not greatly transformed” their life and 9% stated that their religious faith “has not made much of a difference” in who they are and how they live.
Christians were asked if they believed that a person must either side with God or with the devil – that there is no in-between position. A large majority strongly agreed with the notion (61%) while an additional 15% agreed somewhat. Just one out of ten adults disagreed somewhat (10%) and a similar proportion (11%) disagreed strongly. Surprisingly few adults (3%) did not have an opinion on this matter.
A large majority of Christians also proclaimed that the most important purpose in their life is to “love God with all their heart, mind, strength and soul,” a notion drawn directly from the Bible (Mark 12:29-30). In total, three out of four self-described Christians (74%) strongly affirmed that idea, while 15% more agreed somewhat with the statement. Just 4% strongly disagreed and 7% somewhat disagreed with the statement. Three percent said they were not sure.
Thoughts on Other Faiths
Among self-identified Christians, few held a positive opinion of Wicca. Overall, just 5% had a positive opinion while 55% had a negative opinion of Wicca. However, a huge segment (40%) did not know enough about Wicca to have formed an opinion of it, despite it being described to them as “an organized form of witchcraft.”
Survey respondents were asked whether they believed that Mormons are Christians. Mormons themselves claim to be Christian, but most evangelical leaders say that they are not. There was no clear-cut perspective among the self-described Christians: four out of ten felt Mormons were Christian (18% strongly agreed, 21% somewhat agreed), three out of ten disagreed (17% strongly, 12% somewhat), and three out of ten were not sure what to think.
When asked whether it was important to them to have “active, healthy relationships with people who belong to religious faiths that do not accept the central beliefs of your faith,” about two-thirds of the self-professed Christians claimed it was important. Thirty-six percent agreed strongly with the notion, and 29% agreed somewhat, while 11% disagreed strongly and 16% disagreed somewhat. The other 8% did not have an opinion.
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"Remember, when we jeer at the Devil and tell ourselves that he does not exist, that is when he is happiest."
An Interview With Fr Gabriele Amorth - The Church's Leading Exorcist
Catholic Ping
Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list
Satan’s pretty much achieved his goal if you don’t believe he exists. Sad.
He exists and his spawn occupies 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Funny. Since you become a Christian with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, this title makes no sense at all. God and Jesus believe in Satan, and I expect they’re smarter than mere mortals.
>God and Jesus believe in Satan, and I expect they’re smarter than mere mortals.
Yes, but mere mortals can have exceptionally high “Arrogance” and “Self-deceiving” stats.
True, but I’d have to agree that Satan is not a “living being” - if that is what they asked.
I call these polls with a purpose that are worthless. Hey! that rymns.
The numbers are skewed. You can disqualify a quarter of the people polled right away. Members of churches of the “new Age movement” which are not Christian.
“The remaining one-quarter chose other descriptions of God – depictions that are not consistent with biblical teaching (e.g., everyone is god, god refers to the realization of human potential, etc.).”
Yes, it very well fits with “America is not a Christian Nation” — and I’m saying that as a “Christian who lives in the nation”...
There *are* Christians in the nation, but we are *not* a “Christian nation”... that time passed us by a long time ago...
Define “living Being”. Satan is an Angelic being is he not?
You said — True, but I’d have to agree that Satan is not a “living being” - if that is what they asked.
—
Satan is an angel, a created being, which is spoken about in many places, with a couple of descriptions here: Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 28 (and others in the Apostles writings)...
At a future time, he, as that created being that “anointed cherub” (as God described him) will be cast into the lake of fire, spoken about in Revelation.
how does that square if 51% believe in ghosts... then they must believe in the soul... and hence the holy ghost.
and if there are souls and ghosts, then there must be extreme good an evil... therefore they must believe in G-d/Jesus and Satan.
http://www.rickross.com/reference/general/general533.html
We are not a Christan nation...
We are not a free market economy...
We are not a nation of laws...
We are not at war with muslims...
These are not the droids you are looking for...
These self-called Christians must either be absolutely ignorant of the Word,
or, they deny that it has any validity or authority.
I’ve encountered the latter when talking to liberal “Christians”. There is no way to justify liberalism with the Bible, and liberals, invariably, will choose their liberal worldview over God’s authority.
You said — I call these polls with a purpose that are worthless.
—
Well, I wouldn’t say entirely worthless, as they do illustrate the point quite well that the U.S. is not a “Christian nation” — but rather — has a very much *smaller subset* of “Christians in the nation”...
This points out the sorry state of Christianity in America today. People don’t know what they believe, and that is because they are not taught adequately from the pulpit. Too many pulpits are designed to make people feel good about themselves, rather than teaching them the “faith once delivered to the saints.” People like Rick Warren, who make up their theology as they go. Little wonder Barna gets the results he does!
If Satan is not a “living being” what is he?
Ah yes... I hadn’t looked at it quite that way, but how true that is...
All very true... Thanks for pointing that out...
What??? Please explain.
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