Welcome to Breakpoint, a daily look, in an ever-changing culture through the lens of unchanging truth. For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street. Or earlier this week, while explaining his effort to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, President Trump said this, quote, I want to try to get to heaven if possible. I'm hearing that I'm not doing well. I really hit the bottom of the totem pole,

but if I can get to heaven, this will be one of the reasons, end quote.

Now, many people were quick to jump on the president for that bad theology, but it's a view

that's actually very common, including among Christians. According to the 2020 American

World View inventory from Arizona Christian University, about half of Americans believe that if a

person's generally good or does enough good things during their life, they'll earn a place in heaven.

Even worse, about as many evangelicals believe that as do mainline Protestants.

According to another 2021 study from Pew Research, nearly 40% of Americans say that believing in God is not even necessary

to get to heaven, and a majority of American Christians say that many religions lead to heaven,

including non-Christian religions. These are all findings fully consistent with other beliefs

that many American Christians hold about humanity and sin. According to the annual state of theology study

conducted by Ligonier Ministries and Lifeway Research, 65% of evangelicals agree that everyone is,

and I quote, born innocent in the eyes of God, a position that denies the doctrine of original sin,

which is the reason that people need salvation

in the first place. Fifty-six percent of evangelicals agreed with the statement that God accepts

the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. That, of course, is a

position that denies Jesus' own claim to be the exclusive savior of the world. Fort% of evangelicals agreed that Jesus was a great teacher but not God.

That number was up 13% from two years earlier and undermines the variability of Jesus to be

the Savior that we need.

66% of evangelicals agreed that everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature,

and 69% disagreed, contrary to the Book of Romans, that even the smallest sin deserves eternal damnation.

Recently, I heard a story from that Habsburg monarchy, a family that ruled over a relatively small area in Europe from the 13th to early 20th centuries.

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