The Commentary

The Evangelical Alliance (EA) has recently published the results of a survey carried out among 17,000 Christians attending various festivals held in the UK. It is titled 21st-century evangelicals: a snapshot of evangelical Christians in the UK.

The research was not carried out at the more conservative evangelical conferences. But they did include Spring Harvest, New Wine and the Keswick Convention. If EN is regarded as on the conservative wing, this gives us an idea of the centre ground of today’s evangelicalism. The results are mixed, both encouraging and very worrying.

Much is made in the report of widespread consensus found on some issues. For example, 91% strongly agreed that Jesus is the only way to God; 96% attend church at least once a week; 82% read their Bibles a few times a week; 96% pray; 81% are involved in some kind of voluntary work for the good of their local communities. These things are good

Trusting God’s word?

But some real worries surface. Only 54% of those consulted believe that the Bible, in its original manuscript, is without error. Only 59% believe that homosexual actions are always wrong. 51% think that women should be eligible for all roles within the church. And only 37% still believe that hell is a place where those condemned will suffer eternally. This last topic was the issue on which, the report said, ‘there is the greatest uncertainty’.

The research also brought to light a great many differences between evangelicals of differing age groups. Some of these appear to have simple explanations. For example, whereas 75% of evangelicals over 65 years old read the Bible every day, only 38% in the age groups under 45 do so. Perhaps retired people have more time? 77% of youngsters under 25 witness to others once a month, but only 51% do so over the age of 65. Perhaps youngsters meet more people at school or college, etc. However, more seriously, those under the age of 25 are less likely to think that the Bible has supreme authority in guiding their beliefs, views and behaviour. The same group are less likely to give money to church and charities and less likely to see faith as a key factor in decision making. Is it just down to immaturity or is something drifting?

Universalism beckons

The biblical gospel is about God’s grace to sinners in the context of moral law rooted in the holy character of God. But our postmodern world is all about emotions. It agrees with Ernest Hemingway, who said: ‘I know only that what is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad after’. Doctrines like the reality of hell or that there is no hope beyond death for those who reject Christ are not calculated to make you feel good. They feel very awkward in our amoral, therapy culture. So, without confidence in Scripture, evangelicals will drift. They will ‘tell a new story about heaven and hell’ (this, it seems, is the subtitle of a new book by Rob Bell due out in March). It may well be that evangelicalism is simply coasting towards a fuzzy/warm universalism in which Christians are everybody’s pal. It feels so much better. Perhaps that’s a harsh way to read the results of the survey. But perhaps it’s true.

EA says that the purpose of the survey is to elucidate where we are currently at and enable us to think about where we need to go. Let’s hope that the conclusion is that we need to go back to the Scriptures and believe what is said there, even the difficult bits.

21st-century us?

Trusting God’s word?

Universalism beckons

John Benton

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