Does the smallest sin deserve eternal damnation?
Of the 47 statements included in The State of Theology study for 2016, undertaken in partnership with LifeWay Research , the responses to one statement stood out. Most of the responses tended to even out over the spectrum. Each statement tended to garner slight majorities. The results show slight majorities either getting a belief right or, in most cases, getting a belief wrong. But not statement 17, "Even the smallest sin deserves eternal damnation ." This one sparked a reaction. Glancing at the graph of the data shows this response not to be a simple majority , but rather a whopping majority. 61% strongly disagree. Another 12% disagree somewhat and 7% are not sure. That leaves only 21% agreeing with this statement. We need to interpret this data. Eight out of ten Americans have an incorrect view of sin. As an implication, we could say that eight out of ten Americans do not know the biblical God. More on that later. The responses on this particular statement get even mor