leichter (04/05/83)
>From the New York Times, 3 Apr 83, page 15.
Americans hold strong beliefs about the spiritual and ethical mission of Jesus,
but they diverge on many specific questions of His nature and significance,
according to a new Gallup poll.
A somewhat inconclusive pattern of results emerged from interviews with 1,509
Americans. While 42 percent said they believed Jesus as God in the form of a
man, 62 percent expressed "no doubts" about the teaching that He would return
to earth.
Three-fourths agreed with the idea that Jesus was alive in heaven, but nearly
three-fifths did not know that He delivered the Sermon on the Mount.
The Gallup organization says the sample of 1,500 is usbject to a margin of
error of two to three percentage points.
Other results... [:] two out of three Americans think Jesus was divine in some
form, and two-thirds held that a person must accept Jesus to gain eternal life.
Nine of 10 said they had been influenced by Jesus as a moral and ethical tea-
cher....
The report notes widespread commitment...[contrasting with]...unorthodox
beliefs. ... [A] third believed ... everlasting life [attainable] without
accepting Jesus, and nearly a fourth thought it possible to be a "true
Christian" without believing Jesus was divine....
The report also underscores the apparent "low level of biblical knowledge"....
[W]hen asked to name the Gospels, 46% were able to name all four, while 43%
could name none.
Nonetheless, 57% ... said they followed Jesus's example "very" or "fairly"
closely.
The poll was done for the Robert Schuller Ministries. Mr. Schuller is a
television evangelist in Garden Grove, Calif.
-- Jerry
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