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{"id":10026,"date":"2012-10-12T13:01:38","date_gmt":"2012-10-12T17:01:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?p=10026"},"modified":"2012-10-12T13:01:38","modified_gmt":"2012-10-12T17:01:38","slug":"what-most-christians-think","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/10\/what-most-christians-think.html","title":{"rendered":"What “Most Christians” Think"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

My last post<\/a> included a slide that mentions \u201cmost Christians.\u201d And so I thought I should offer a follow-up post, acknowledging that it is almost impossible to figure out what with precision what \u201cmost Christians\u201d think, believe, and practice, without actually asking most Christians \u2013 and even then, we would still be unable to answer the question about what most Christians have thought historically. Throughout most of history, including today, the vast majority of people have not written or recorded their viewpoint. We can read what theologians say, but how typical are their views among \u201cmost Christians\u201d \u2013 since most Christians have not studied theology? We can take surveys, but do \u201cmost Christians\u201d respond to surveys?<\/p>\n

I honestly think that most Christians down the ages did not share the insistence on rejecting data from the natural world and observation that typifies the modern phenomenon of young-earth creationism. Even the original \u201cFundamentalists\u201d did not regard opposition to evolution and other scientific conclusions as one of their fundamentals. To the extent that there has been a growth of anti-scientific forms of creationism around the world, it is a direct result of the exporting of those teachings from English-speaking countries.<\/p>\n

It can be hard to tell what \u201cmost people\u201d think, and not just \u201cmost Christians.\u201d I think the important thing to take to heart is that most people who have shared or currently share the label with which you self-identify, whatever label that might be, may well have viewed many matters in a different way than you do.<\/p>\n

Here are two posters from Facebook which seem relevant to this topic:<\/p>\n

$\"\"$ <\/a><\/p>\n

Any thoughts on these? Any way we can tell whether most Christians were those who promoted or engaged in crusades and inquisitions, those who vocally or silently opposed them, or those who fell victim to them? Maybe only one thing is sure: whatever \u201cmost Christians\u201d think and have thought, throughout history, as today, \u201cmost Christians\u201d have actually been quite diverse in their views on \u201cmost\u201d subjects\u2026<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"