The link (and related links) talks about 2 different issues when it laments ignorance among evangelicals.
The doctrines from creeds (essentially the Church Councils from 325 to 787 A.D) and the Bible itself.
quote:
Evangelical writer Eric Metaxas remarked on BreakPoint last week that if Americans took a theology exam, their only hope of passing would be if God graded on a curve. He’s right. In knowing both the content of the Bible and the doctrinal foundations of Christianity, we Americans aren’t just at the bottom of our class. We are, as Ross Douthat argues in his book, Bad Religion, a nation of heretics.
A survey of 3,000 people conducted by LifeWay Research and commissioned by Ligonier Ministries found that although Americans still overwhelmingly identify as Christian, startling percentages of the nation embrace ancient errors condemned by all major Christian traditions. These are not minor points of doctrine, but core ideas that define Christianity itself
....
Their orthodoxyand consistencyended there. More than half went on to indicate that Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God, a heresy known as Arianism, which the Council of Nicaea condemned in 325 A.D.
Of course, most of these accidental blasphemers aren’t preparing to revise the resulting Nicene Creed and preach a creaturely Christ. Rather, bizarre contradictions like this illustrate how many Americans don’t understand or even care what the Trinity means (although they say they believe in it, likely out of habits learned growing up in church).
....
For those who don’t profess Christianity, gaining a basic understanding of the creeds and Scriptures of the religion that built our civilization isn’t a bad idea, either.
Survey Finds Most American Christians Are Actually Heretics
Then a link in the thread lead here.
quote:
One thing is certain: Americans love the Bible. A recent report from The American Bible Society and Barna Group finds that two-thirds of the nation believe the Bible contains everything a person needs to know in order to live a meaningful life. And a vast majority of folks in this country still consider themselves Christians. But just how deep does their Christianity run?
Not very, according to the results of a survey released late last month by LifeWay Research. The survey, commissioned by Ligonier Ministries, asked 3,000 participants a set of 47 questions about foundational Christian beliefs. Many of the answers revealed a mishmash of heresy and confusion about Christianity’s most basic doctrines.
....
It’s not just the departures from these historic doctrines that should concern us, but the contradictory answers. It shows not only that Americans in general and evangelicals in particular have the wrong answers on basic Christian doctrines, but that they don’t really understand the concept of doctrine itself.
Page not found - Breakpoint
2 areas of ignorance.
First.
They don't understand that the Roman Empire with the papacy (and the Byzantine Empire) determined what they were supposed to believe - through the various councils that Protestants and Catholics (as well as eastern Orthodox) hold everyone to.
Second
They also don't understand the various diverse books of the Bible and the source of each. The evangelical fundamentalists see it more of an issue of "ignorance of the (entire) Bible", since one spurious document (forged in the name of John or Paul) can be quote mined to superimpose it's definition or description of something on all of the message of Jesus, Paul, Peter, etc.
One shouldn't ever confuse the Church Councils with the teachings of Jesus, Paul, Peter, James, etc.(aside from the Apostolic Council of Acts 15 which was lead by James the brother of Jesus, but that one is ignored all the time anyway, Nicea is seen as the "first one" (or first consequential or important one) it seems.SIDE NOTE Catholics argue that Peter lead it), but the issue of Biblical illiteracy is a real interesting issue. Bart Ehrman commented on his (overwhelmingly/entirely Christian)students on a DVD I have, and it was interesting.
quote:
Jesus and His First Followers: What Current Archaeology and Biblical Research Are Telling Us
2005 Biblical Archaeology Society, Washington D.C.
[3rd hour long lecture titled:]
Discoveries of New Gospels: Te Case of the Gospel of Thomas
By Bart D. Ehrman
How many of you have read the Da Vinci code? All right, o.k. So, I started my class this last year, I teach this large class at Chapel Hill that has, you know, 350 students in it and it’s on the New Testament. So I started off my class this year doing something that I’m not sure is legal in a state university but I did it anyway. I started out by asking my students, I asked How many in here would agree with the proposition that the Bible is the inspired word of God? Voom! The entire room raises it’s hand. I said All right, so how many of you read The Da Vinci Code? Voom! [entire room]. Is that right? How many of you read the entire Bible cover to cover? Scattered hands. I said All right, now I’m not telling you that God wrote the Bible but that’s what you’re telling me. You’re willing to read a book by Dan Brown. I mean if God wrote a book, wouldn’t you want to see what he had to say? It’s a very strange [situation]
One almost doesn't know where to begin.
Fundamentalist preachers just love seeing surveys (and comments like the one from Ehrman) like this though. It causes them (preachers and evangelists) to have a cause to "teach people the truth about our great" religion "that we have failed to learn properly about" and to speak ever more boldly in the (what they claim to be the)name of Jesus, Paul, Peter, etc. even more rigorously.
I see it as an evidence of people being shoehorned into compliance by a theologically imposed set of creeds and doctrines - held up by the state - for the last 2000 years, which never would have been possible if people could think for themselves. Not that people think too much or too hard (that's obvious). But there would clearly be diverse opinion, and a very diverse "Christianity" unlike what we have now.
Edited by LamarkNewAge, : No reason given.
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