An article today in Time magazine online took me my surprise, but maybe it shouldn't have. According to a new poll (when will I or someone I know be part of any poll) of 35,000 Americans of various religious beliefs, the majority believe that their faith isn't necessarilly the only way to eternal life. Initially, I dismissed the finding as most Americans say they are religious, but one of the most surprising number was that 57% of evangelical christians believe that many religions can lead to eternal life.

Now, I don't profess to be an expert on faith or religion, and may have a more progressive mindset when it comes to current ideas in regards to worship and faith in politics (we should stay out of it), but I do believe there is one way to eternal life. If someone were to ask me if I am a Christian, I would say yes. In regards to religious views or beliefs, an elder at my church growing H.A. Fincher up said it best: "I'm Biblical."

I don't want to isolate Scripture to prove a point or serve any message of mine, but I think this one's pretty clear.
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

John 14:6 New Living Translation

The article and the segment I saw on NBC Nightly News states that we are "tolerant" of other faiths or religions. I have come to loathe the words tolerant/tolerance/intolerance or at least their modern meaning, but its one thing to be tolerant or accepting of someone and their decision to believe something else and to state that you believe other faiths may lead to eternal life.

I typically avoid this kind of post for several reasons, largely because I don't think I convey my thoughts very well on "paper" and I think my colleague at Kicking at the Darkness communicates more effectively than I, but what do you think? Should I be surprised at this new study? Were you?


Completely unrelated, I have made some small changes around the blog. Enjoy.

Labels: Faith, News