Evangelist Franklin Graham expressed concern over a recent survey that found that over one-third of senior pastors believe good works can earn a person their salvation.
As Christian Headlines previously reported, the survey was conducted by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University earlier this year as part of its annual American Worldview Inventory. About 1,000 senior pastors across various denominations took part in the study.
Graham, the CEO and president of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, reacted to some of the survey’s findings in a series of tweets on Monday, according to Faithwire.
“I don’t know which 1,000 pastors this group surveyed, but the results are concerning,” he wrote. “39 percent of ‘evangelical’ pastors they asked said there is no absolute moral truth & that ‘each individual must determine their own truth.’ What a lie.”
I don’t know which 1,000 pastors this group surveyed, but the results are concerning. 39% of “evangelical” pastors they asked said there is no absolute moral truth & that “each individual must determine their own truth.” What a lie. https://t.co/wXv99Teggz
“The survey also said that 30 percent of evangelical pastors do not believe that their salvation is based on having confessed their sins & accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior. This kind of false teaching is what is leading people & churches astray,” Graham argued.
“The Bible is God’s Word, from cover to cover,” he concluded. “It is the absolute truth — it is what counts, not our opinion.”
The Bible is God’s Word, from cover to cover. It is the absolute truth—it is what counts, not our opinion.
The study, conducted between February and March 2022, also found that at least one-third of the senior pastors surveyed believe that the Holy Spirit is “a symbol of God’s power” rather than a “living entity.” They also said they believe “sexual relations between two unmarried people who believe they love each other is morally acceptable.”
Further, the pastors said that socialism is preferable to capitalism, the Bible is “ambiguous” when it comes to abortion, and reincarnation is “a real possibility.”
The survey follows earlier data released by the Cultural Research Center, which found that just 37 percent of Christian pastors in the U.S. have a biblical worldview.