Wednesday January 6, 2010
Survey: Evangelical Pastors Cite Abortion, Moral Relativism as Top Issues
WASHINGTON, D.C., January 6, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A poll taken before the end of 2009 found that America’s evangelical pastors and church leaders cite abortion and moral relativism as the two most pressing moral issues faced by America today.
An Evangelical Leaders Survey released Monday from the National Association of Evangelicals asked Evangelical pastors last October “What is the greatest moral issue in America today?”
Respondents said abortion was their number one concern.
“The moral scandal of abortion tops my list,” said Jeff Farmer of the Open Bible Churches in Des Moines. “Not because murder is worse than other moral evils, but because of the massive numbers of this killing field and intentionality of so many to put self-gratification, greed and political advantage above life itself.”
Following as a close second, pastors cited the crisis of moral relativism and frequently quoted Judges 17:6 (KJV): “every man did that which was right in his own eyes” referring to the crisis of morality that once beset the society of ancient Israel.
NAE board member Ron Carpenter stated the problem in the United States is “a non-belief in Absolute Truth which permeates every other arena of our society.”
Leith Anderson, President of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) stated that, “While there were some responses that specified secularization, homosexuality, pornography and other concerns, they were not at the top of the list.” Instead the mistreatment of others took third place next to abortion and moral relativism, resulting almost in “a three-way tie.”
Sammy Mah, President of World Relief, asserted that “the greatest moral issue in America today is our blindness and silence to injustices here and around the world. Social ills like poverty, malnutrition, homelessness, human trafficking, and so many more are rooted in injustices that must be fought.”
Evangelical Leaders Survey is a monthly poll of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Evangelicals and includes the CEOs of denominations and other representatives of the broad array of Evangelical churches, missions, universities, publishers, etc. in the United States.