Shepherds Led Astray

Janet Parshall will let you know what a shocking number of pastors believe, in her commentary for this week.

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Episode Transcript

S1 (00:02):
The role of the shepherd in the church is to
guide and direct the sheep through the authority, the power,
and the transforming nature of God's Word. That, of course,
presumes that the Shepherd believes in what the word teaches.

S2 (00:11):
Here to unpack present day issues from a biblical perspective
is Janet Parshall.

S1 (00:17):
Research from the Cultural Research Center of Arizona Christian University
reveals that a stunning number of American pastors lack basic
biblical views. According to their report, just 37% of Christian
pastors have a biblical worldview, with the predominant worldview among pastors, 62%
being syncretism, a hybrid mixture of disparate worldview elements blended
into a customized philosophy of life. The survey looked at

(00:40):
17 basic beliefs, including salvation through Christ, moral and biblical truth,
human purpose, and the value of human life. They interviewed
pastors in the nation's seven major denominations. Non-denominational and independent
Protestant churches were more likely to embrace biblical truths, but
pastors and evangelical churches held surprisingly low numbers of biblical beliefs,
for example, three out of ten don't believe that their

(01:02):
salvation is based on having confessed their sins and accepted
Jesus Christ as their Savior. According to the report, more
than one third believe there is no absolute moral truth.
Deny human life is sacred and say having faith matters
more than which faith you have. Specifically, the report found
that one third or more of senior pastors believe sexual
relationships between unmarried people who believe they love each other

(01:24):
is morally acceptable. Determining moral truth is up to each individual.
There are no moral absolutes that apply to everyone all
the time. The Holy Spirit isn't a living entity, but
a symbol of God's power, presence, or purity. Reincarnation is
a real possibility. A person who is generally good or
does enough good things for others can earn a place
in heaven. Socialism is preferable to capitalism. Allowing property ownership

(01:46):
facilitates economic injustice. The Bible is ambiguous in its teaching
about abortion, enabling you to make a strong argument either
for or against abortion based on biblical principles. Additionally, one
third or more of senior pastors reject the following beliefs.
Human life is sacred. Wealth is entrusted to individuals to
be managed for God's purposes. Success is consistent obedience to God.

(02:07):
People are born into sin and can only be saved
from its consequences by Jesus Christ. They personally will experience
eternal salvation only because they have personally confessed their sins
and accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior. Doctor George Barna,
director of research at the center, said of the results,
because pastors teach what they believe, many churches are becoming
centers of syncretism and secular thought, perhaps without even realizing it.

(02:30):
Thousands of pastors have become leaders of a movement away
from God toward narcissism. The church is in trouble in
America unless we turn back to a higher view of
God and of His Word. And until we absorb, adhere,
and apply it to our lives, the church will be
nothing but a whited sepulchre. Those are my thoughts. I'm
Janet Parshall.

S2 (02:50):
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In the market with Janet Parshall.