{"id":4306,"date":"2022-09-15T11:10:03","date_gmt":"2022-09-15T15:10:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/?p=4306"},"modified":"2022-09-15T11:10:03","modified_gmt":"2022-09-15T15:10:03","slug":"one-third-of-senior-pastors-believe-good-works-will-get-you-to-heaven-according-to-new-survey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2022\/09\/one-third-of-senior-pastors-believe-good-works-will-get-you-to-heaven-according-to-new-survey.html","title":{"rendered":"One Third of Senior Pastors Believe Good Works Will Get You to Heaven, According to New Survey"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The picture of US faith leaders becomes bleaker and bleaker as a new survey<\/a> reveals that one third of senior pastors agree that \u201cA person who is generally good, or does enough good things for others, can earn a place in Heaven.\u201d The survey, released by the Cultural Research Center (CRC) was from a nationwide study of 1,000 pastors over several denominations and was conducted from February 2022 to March 2022. Aside from the belief that good works can get someone to Heaven, a third or more of senior pastors also believe that determining moral truth is up to each individual, sexual relations between unmarried individuals can be acceptable based on love, and that reincarnation is a real possibility. These beliefs run contrary to Luke 18:19, when Jesus says, \u201cWhy callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God,\u201d and Ephesians 2:8-9, which says, \u201cFor by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. George Barna, Director of Research at CRC speculated that part of the reason so many pastors have unbiblical views due to falling out of consistent Biblical study, noting that, \u201cThere was a correlation between possessing biblical beliefs and a consistent regimen of Bible reading, prayer, worship, and confession.\u201d Barna added, \u201cIn some of the denominational groupings, a majority of pastors do not engage in those foundational spiritual practices on a regular basis. Yet, among the pastors who have the most consistently biblical beliefs, there is also a daily routine that incorporates all of those disciplines.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was not research done on why pastors would fall away from these habits, but Barna did conjecture some reasons, stating, \u201cOther research among pastors I have undertaken suggests that pastor\u2019s jobs are overwhelming. The typical pastor is expected by church members to handle an enormous number and range of tasks. In such situations it must be easy to neglect the fundamentals in order to address tasks that seem more pressing and urgent. Unfortunately, after a prolonged period of such neglect, the foundations become weak and the person changes\u2014in this case, not for the better.\u201d<\/p>\n

The stat is even worse when surveying self-identified Christians. A 2020 survey<\/a> found that 52% of people who describe themselves as Christian \u201cbelieve that a person can qualify for Heaven by being or doing good.\u201d Evangelist Franklin Graham tweeted<\/a> about the release of the 2022 study, saying, \u00a0\u201cI don\u2019t know which 1,000 pastors this group surveyed, but the results are concerning. 39% of \u2018evangelical\u2019 pastors they asked said there is no absolute moral truth & that \u2018each individual must determine their own truth.\u2019 What a lie.\u201d He continued to criticize the unbiblical views held by the pastors, calling it \u201cfalse teaching\u201d and, \u201cleading people & churches astray.\u201d He concluded his post, saying, \u201cThe Bible is God\u2019s Word, from cover to cover. It is the absolute truth\u2014it is what counts, not our opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The picture of US faith leaders becomes bleaker and bleaker as a new survey reveals that one third of senior pastors agree that \u201cA person who is generally good, or does enough good things for others, can earn a place in Heaven.\u201d The survey, released by the Cultural Research Center (CRC) was from a nationwide…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":664,"featured_media":4309,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nOne Third of Senior Pastors Believe Good Works Will Get You to Heaven, According to New Survey<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In a recent survey, one third of senior pastors agree that a person who is generally good or often does good things can earn a place in Heaven.\" \/>\n<meta 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