58% Of U.s. Christians

[BG45]

[url="http://www.christianpost.com/Society/Polls_reports/2009/04/most-u-s-christians-don-t-believe-satan-holy-spirit-exist-13/index.html"]The majority of American Christians do not believe that Satan is a real being or that the Holy Spirit is a living entity, the latest Barna survey found.[/url]

[quote]Nearly six out of ten Christians either strongly agreed or somewhat agreed with the statement that Satan "is not a living being but is a symbol of evil," the survey found.

Forty percent strongly agreed with the statement while 19 percent of American Christians somewhat agreed.

In contrast, about 35 percent of American Christians believe Satan is real. Twenty-six percent strongly disagreed with the statement that Satan is merely symbolic and about one-tenth (9 percent) somewhat disagreed.

The remaining eight percent of American Christians responded they were unsure what to believe about the existence of Satan.

Interestingly, the majority of Christians believe a person can be under the influence of spiritual forces, such as demons or evil spirits, even though many of these same people believe Satan is merely a symbol of evil. Two out of three Christians agreed that such forces are real (39 percent agreed strongly, 25 percent agreed somewhat).

Likewise, most Christians in the United States do not believe that the Holy Spirit is a living force. Fifty-eight percent strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement that the Holy Spirit is "a symbol of God's power or presence but is not a living entity."

Only one-third of Christians disagreed with the statement that the Holy Spirit is not just symbolic (9 percent disagreed somewhat, 25 percent disagreed strongly). Nine percent expressed they were unsure.

...

Other survey findings include a significant number of self-described Christians believing that Jesus sinned when he lived on earth, contrary to the core teaching of Christianity that teaches the divinity and perfection of Jesus.

More than one-fifth (22 percent) strongly agreed that Jesus Christ sinned when He lived on earth, with an additional 17 percent agreeing somewhat.[/quote]

More sadly in the article...

Edited April 14, 2009 by BG45

[SaintOlaf]

With 58% of americans denying the Trinity, is it any surprise that Obama will say that we are not a Christian nation?

[Vincent Vega]

58% of American "Christians" deny the Holy Spirit because 85% of Americans are freaking morons.

Edited April 14, 2009 by USAirwaysIHS

[Aloysius]

Those who do not believe in the Blessed Trinity are not Christians in belief. not at all. they are heretics if they are truly sacramentally baptized, or pagans if they are not (and with ppl not believing in the Trinity, it'd be likely they wouldn't want to be baptized with the proper formula).

100% of Christians in America believe in all three persons of the Blessed Trinity.
some heretics who no longer merit the name "Christian" and some pagans do not.

[CatherineM]

Good thing for that 58% that the Holy Spirit still believes in them.

[BG45]

I kinda thought believing in the Trinity was part of being a Christian, and believing in Christ having not sinned...believing in Satan as well. But have to go with Catherine and say it's good that the Spirit still believes in that 58%, maybe they'll realize that the Holy Spirit does exist.

[Resurrexi]

It would be more apt to call the Holy Spirit a Person than a force.

[MissyP89]

Ironically, today's intention for the Divine Mercy novena was for all those who don't know or don't believe in God...

[Paladin D]

News like this is discouraging. I know the Church has been in worse times in its history, but nonetheless, it kind of makes one feel overwhelmed at how much work there is to be done.

[Guest]

I caught a glimpse of the Holy Spirit.
It's 4 sure real.
And the devil ?
Please, look around you

[StColette]

[quote name='CatherineM' post='1834799' date='Apr 14 2009, 12:30 AM']Good thing for that 58% that the Holy Spirit still believes in them.[/quote]

lol

One of my fave billboards here reads "I don't doubt your existence - Love, God"

[Resurrexi]

[quote name='Paladin D' post='1834962' date='Apr 14 2009, 01:50 AM']I know the Church has been in worse times in its history[/quote]

The last forty years have been pretty bad...

[Selah]

[quote name='USAirwaysIHS' post='1834786' date='Apr 14 2009, 01:26 AM']58% of American "Christians" deny the Holy Spirit because 85% of Americans are freaking morons.[/quote]

YES.

[eagle_eye222001]

I fact so many do not believe the devil exists....is believable. I mean, the general non-Catholic belief on salvation is that they are already saved so the devil's role is kinda pointless. Many Catholics by their lifestyle, do not act like the devil is real......

I have trouble with thinking so many do believe in the Holy Spirit.

Although it's not like Americans are known for being smart.


I went to a Men's Conference hosted by my archdiocese and one of the main speakers made it a big point to loudly proclaim that the Catholic faith states that the devil is real, and one of the greatest tragedies of the last 30 years is that we as a Catholic culture have been pretending like the devil does not exists and one of the greatest dangers you can give the enemy is to pretend they are not there.

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[Nihil Obstat]

[quote name='eagle_eye222001' post='1835484' date='Apr 14 2009, 04:56 PM']I went to a Men's Conference hosted by my archdiocese and one of the main speakers made it a big point to loudly proclaim that the Catholic faith states that the devil is real, and one of the greatest tragedies of the last 30 years is that we as a Catholic culture have been pretending like the devil does not exists and one of the greatest dangers you can give the enemy is to pretend they are not there.

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Now playing: [url="http://www.foxytunes.com/artist/veggietales+(veggie+tunes)/track/oh+no!+what+we+gonna+do%3f"]VeggieTales (Veggie Tunes) - Oh No! What We Gonna Do?[/url]
via [url="http://www.foxytunes.com/signatunes/"]FoxyTunes[/url][/quote]
He sounds like Fr. Amorth. Or CS Lewis, but only one of the two is alive.

I think that 58% of US Christians need to re-read the Apostles Creed.