Universalism -- the end of Christian influence (OneNewsNow.com)

Universalism -- the end of Christian influence

Tim Wildmon - Guest Columnist - 7/3/2008 7:00:00 AM

"America remains a nation of believers, but a new survey finds most Americans don't feel their religion is the only way to eternal life -- even if their faith tradition teaches otherwise."
– Associated Press, Eric Gorski

Tim Wildmon The above is the first line in a recent article by Associated Press religion writer Eric Gorski. America is changing -- some would argue has changed -- in terms of religious composition. When you combine Catholicism with Protestantism, Christianity has always dominated the American religious landscape.

But Americans today are seeing themselves as more "spiritual" than "religious" and therefore are dropping the concept that one must subscribe to a particular set of beliefs in order to be in right standing with God. Whoever God is. A recent Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life suggests this. Now atheism remains very unpopular as Americans do believe in God to the tune of 92 percent. It's just that they don't know exactly what they believe about God, so they are willing to go with the idea that, "Hey, everybody's in."

This belief that "all roads lead to God" is called universalism. Oprah Winfrey epitomizes universalism. She has no enemies, because she makes no judgments. I am not sure what Sen. John McCain believes as far as his faith goes, as I have never heard him speak about it, but it is clear from listening to Sen. Barack Obama that he is also a universalist. This would explain, at least in part, why Winfrey is so enamored with Obama. They are kindred spirits, no pun intended.

There is a popular myth circulating that Obama is a Muslim. That is not true. It is true that when he was a young boy in Indonesia he attended both Muslim and Catholic schools and that he gets his unusual name from his father, who was of Nigerian descent.

Obama told author Cathleen Falsani: "I believe there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people."

Again, I am not disparaging Obama personally; he is obviously a very intelligent man. I am just stating a fact that this view of religion, again known as universalism, is in complete contradiction to Christianity. Read the New Testament. It is all about Jesus Christ being the only begotten Son of God and the only way to eternal life. There is nothing in there about other religious paths being an option. Being a Christian has never been subjective. There are certain essential doctrines that one must subscribe to in order to be considered a Christian.

If you reject the Bible, that is your right -- I'm just saying let's not twist and distort what the New Testament explicitly teaches about the exclusivity of Jesus.

Getting theologically consistent answers from "universalism" is like nailing Jell-O to the wall. In Christianity there is a phrase called "systematic theology." That is to say, there are intellectual building blocks upon which the faith is put together so that people can understand it. Another term used is "apologetics," which means a logical flow of ideas.

You don't have to go to seminary to have a basic understanding of Christian apologetics. There are books for the common person which help in this regard. Josh McDowell's books such as More Than a Carpenter and Evidence That Demands a Verdict are excellent resources.

But the Pew Forum survey found that "57 percent of evangelical church attendees said they believe many religions can lead to eternal life, in conflict with traditional evangelical teaching. In all, 70 percent of Americans with a religious affiliation shared that view, and 68 percent said there is more than one true way to interpret the teachings of their own religion."

"The survey shows religion in America is, indeed, 3,000 miles wide and only three inches deep," said D. Michael Lindsay, a Rice University sociologist of religion.

"There's a growing pluralistic impulse toward tolerance -- and that is having theological consequences," he said.

What is appealing about universalism to modern-day Americans is that it is intentionally ambiguous and doesn't require any measurable commitment by the individual. One doesn't have to agree with any creed, you don't have to go to church, you don't have to abide by any particular code of conduct, and there is no objective standard for defining right or wrong or good and evil. It is all up to the individual and how he or she feels. Forget all that old-fashioned stuff about repenting of your sin and giving your life to the Lord.

If this trend of universalism impacting the church continues, there will be no Christian influence of any consequence in America in 25 years.

Tim Wildmon (contact@afa.net) is president of the American Family Association in Tupelo, MS.

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Comments on this article:

"The only thing that will remove the Christian influence in the late great United States is the rapture, and even then the influence of people that respect the Word of God will not be complete. The exciting thing is that the difference between those who possess Christ and those who profess Christ is becoming evident."
"There is ample evidence in Scripture to show this is going to happen in the Last Days. So - what's the big surprise? The Holy Bible is very clear as to how one is to be able to 'get to heaven' too. I can tell you, "It's not the universal jello road which will fit anybody's concept of 'A WAY' to heavenly bliss."
"Concerning the Pew Poll, who defined 'evangelical'? That has much to do with the resulting percentage. Anyone can claim to be an evangelical and anyone can claim to be a Christian. Unfortunately, for those who claim to be something that they are not, a claim without the required beliefs skews the results and makes them void. I would suggest that was the manner in which this poll was conducted, if you say you are one, then you are. If a true poll was conducted with the required beliefs considered the results would be glaringly different. I know of NO evangelical that believes there is more than one way to God. There is only one, Jesus Christ!"
"You can tell who has read their Bible. There is only one way; through Jesus Christ. Christians must pray for all the others. Christians must support each other and have faith in our God through Jesus Christ."
"Are we missing something here. My Bible says there will be one world religion. Stop acting like the Jews did. It is prophesied anti-christ will come. I can hardly wait until universalism ”Wins”; because I know what is on the next page!"
"It is true that ther are many paths by which men try to reach God but thre is only One Way Jesus! Sad that so many call them Christain have missed the point, abd will miss the boat."
"Scripture clearly states "No one comes to the FATHER but by ME." JESUS CHRIST made this statement. Believing it or not is your choice. That's called "free will." Free will is given to all of us by GOD. Ophah can say or believe anything she wants to. It is a shame, since she has so much influence on millions of people,( that GOD has allowed her to have) that she would choose to mislead them into believing her lies. "Universalism" is a lie. Some people want so much to have everything their way, that they read into GOD'S WORD, what they want to believe. The bad news is, you are going to have to explain to GOD, at judgment, why you lead all those people astray and caused them to spend eternity in hell? I pray that GOD will change Oprah's heart and she will tell millions the truth of GOD'S WORD."
"There will always be a remnant. Even if we choose to die first, there will still remain a remnant."
">> "This belief that "all roads lead to God" is called universalism" I believe Jesus Himself said, "In my Father's house, there are many rooms." Room enough for all, IMHO, because God loves ALL. That means EVERYONE, folks, not just your just-like-me type of Christians. This is pretty much why I gave up organized religion in favour of pure faith. God seems to talk a little more clearly when you dont have a big ol' buncha people telling you what He said."
"Remember, the road to destruction is wide and many will follow it. Heven's gate is narrow and straightway and few will find it. 92% of the Pew pole indicated that those poled claimed to be Christian. To be Christian is to be "in Christ" and walk in the light. Jesus is that light. Unfortunely, there are few who are actually faithful to follow Christ. Of the 92% stated I would propose that maybe 15 or 20% may be faithful Christian. The rest are "want-a-be" Christians that are not committed to righteous living for Christ. Harse words, but sadly true. True Christians have never been a majority, just faithful to endure."
"The anti-christ is Satan & he will assume power because everyone will think he is the real Jesus...Jesus comes a lil later!"
"Jesus said that he was "THE way, THE truth and THE life." Your choice is to decide whether he was lying or telling the truth. The word "the" is very specific. It means one and only. So, your choice is he was lying or telling the truth. There is no other path but those two."
"I believe there will always be a remnant of true believers until the rapture."
"The key to understanding Christianity and what God says about the road that leads to Him is knowing the Bible intimately. I encourage all believers to do inductive study of their Bibles so that they know the truth and will not be swayed because their feet are on the Rock. Try a Precept study. It's an amazing tool for Bible study."
"Not on my door step, ever. There is only one way and that way is Jesus."
"I stand for the Truth (The Lord Jesus Christ) and all that the Word of God has to say about life and godliness. As for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord!"
"This is surprise at all. Everything is falling in line for the one world religion that the world will follow when the Antichrist comes on the scene. I doubt that there will be any Christians in world in 25 years because the church will probably be raptured by then."
"I agree, being a true christian as we know it, will soon be a thing of the past. In these last days people will not endure sound doctrine!"
"God is all loving, BUT not all forgiving as the universalism would suggest. God watches oh so closely to the happenings on earth. As the bible states the days have been cut short as there would be too few. We are seeing the events unfold before our very eyes. If you can't stand up for God he will not stand up for you. So, in a sense it is still an eye for an eye in a literal sense."
"For years, I've wondered if the "new tolerance," which is really universalism, will be the one-world religion of the end times."
"When salt loses its "saltiness", it isn't really worth much anymore. (Matthew 5:13) I think that this is exactly what is happening in the church today. Trading biblical truths for popularity doesn't do anyone any favors."
"If universalism wins, the earth will cease to exist. Guess this is what all those anti-christian groups want."
"I have to give Mr. Wildmon some credit here for this article. I especially like that he doesn't try to demonize anyone for shock value, but he instead sticks to his topic-Universalism and Christianity. Christians don't do themselves or anyone else favors when they write articles demonizing Atheists or gays or whichever group. I wish the rest of the articles on this site could hit this standard."