Broad Enough for Mormons?

In a previous post about Barna’s stats on the portion of the adult population that are born again (45% according to Barna), I mentioned that the number of people who are actually “born again” are really only 9%. That is if you analyze the categories. The first category is extremely broad and includes 36% of the adult population. The basic criteria is simply “made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today and who also indicated they believe that when they die they will go to Heaven because they had confessed their sins and had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.”

The other category that included 7 core biblical beliefs are what I would see as being necessary for a clear definition of saving faith. This was the category that comprised a mere 9% of the adult population.

In a June 2001 article by George Barna, 34% of Mormon adults fall under the category of “born again” according to Barna's broad criteria.

“In total, 34% of the adults who attend a Mormon church say they have made a personal commitment to Christ that is important in their life today and also say that when they die they know they will go to Heaven solely because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.”

This is extremely deceptive and shows just how lacking evangelicalism is in clearly defining the gospel. The lack of clarity is causing confusion and creating lack of discernment. Biblical illiteracy has become so problematic that many simply do not understand what they believe, let alone be able to adequately explain it to others. When someone approaches them from another faith using the same terminology they are familiar with, they readily accept that they are on the same page.

While evangelicals are rapidly losing ground in biblical literacy and discernment, groups such as Mormons have made considerable strides in apologetics and have become extremely deceptive in their tactics.

When we reduce our faith to a lowest common denominator in a supposed attempt to avoid being offensive, thinking that this is the best way to reach people, we do nothing more that leave fertile soil for heresy to take root in the church.