I hope you looked around church today and recognized that based on a recent Pew Forum research 57% of the people in evangelical churches "believe that there are many ways to heaven!" MANY WAYS....how is it that one of the key, core, foundational principles of the evangelical movement - that ONLY through faith ALONE in Christ ALONE can anyone be saved.....I will tell you....NO BETTER - I will let you choose!
A) Its the Post Modern day in which we live - where there is a belief that no one is the sole owner of truth; and you really can't know truth; therefore HOW CAN WE say that we know the ONLY WAY to heaven!
B) Its Christian Kindness bleeding through...we just want to be kind and non offensive; they really do believe that Christ is the only way but why make enemies!
C) Its the JOEL OSTEEN factor - the smiling sermonizer of Houston does not beleieve it is helpful to make people feel bad; he has never clearly defined how to get to heaven; he just wants people to live encouraged, filled with hope and abounding with joy!
D) The OPRAH Factor - Pastor O spews her new age mumbo jumbo from her pulp[it every day at 4pm and it clearly teaches that there are many way - recently she held a web-seminar with Ekhart Tolle who espouses a multipath way into eternity.
E) All of the above PLUS a weak, impotent pukpit the last 20 years where pastors thought that they could fill the pew by watering down the gospel and speaking politically correct messages that focused on almost ALL application and very little interpretation and meaning of a text; thus we have raised up a generation of theologically weak believers --- strong on experience and lackimg in discernment.
ANSWER - E....for a fuller explanation go to www.newsongfellowship.com and check out today's sermon in my TOP TEN SERIES - "Why I teach and trust the Bible?"