Priests, Preachers, Teachers, Elders, and Evangelists, Oh My! Part 2

 

I did a search for the following questions.


How many clergy believe/teach Jesus is the Son of God?

How many clergy believe/teach the Bible is the literal/inerrant word of God?

How many clergy believe/teach that Jesus led a sinless life?

How many clergy believe/teach that Jesus needed to die for our sins for us to be saved?

How many clergy believe/teach that Jesus will return bodily to rule over an earthly kingdom?


I was surprised at the responses I received, for a couple of reasons. First, when I selected these questions, I believed they would reveal some solid support for core Christian beliefs. Secondly, I was overwhelmed at the diversity and volume of information out there. As such, I have supplied only the websites I queried and some brief comments following each question. I did this for the sake of brevity. But I encourage you to investigate on your own. It's necessary to provide you with clarity on your beliefs.



How many clergy believe/teach Jesus is the Son of God?

According to the Stack Exchange - Christianity (https://christianity.stackexchange.com/) The majority of pastors and priests across Christian traditions teach that Jesus is the Son of God, based on biblical texts and historic Christian orthodoxy. According to the Eric Hyde blog (https://ehyde.wordpress.com/2022/09/27/73-of-american-evangelicals-believe-jesus-is-a-created-being-whats-the-big-deal/), “There are non-trinitarian groups (such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and some Biblical Unitarians) that hold differing views, often emphasizing Jesus as a created being or a divine agent rather than coequal with God the Father. These groups are minorities within global Christianity and represent a small fraction of pastors and priests.”


How many clergy believe/teach the Bible is the literal/ inerrant word of God?

The Theology Think Tank says, (https://theologythinktank.com/is-the-bible-the-literal-word-of-god/) “Evangelical and Fundamentalist Christians are more likely to uphold biblical literalism, often teaching that the Bible is the inerrant, literal word of God. This view is common among many Protestant pastors, particularly in denominations like Southern Baptists and certain Pentecostal groups.

The Lonely Pilgrim responds with (https://lonelypilgrim.com/2018/02/18/the-claim-that-catholics-cannot-interpret-scripture-for-themselves/) “Catholic and Orthodox Churches generally do not teach biblical literalism. Instead, they emphasize historical-critical interpretation, recognizing that Scripture contains literal, symbolic, and figurative language. The Catholic Church teaches that the Bible is the "word of God" in a theological sense—inspired by God—but not necessarily in a strictly literal, word-for-word sense.”

The Church generally encourages reading Scripture in context, guided by the Magisterium (teaching authority), and warns against using the Bible as a source of scientific or historical fact.

And again like this, (https://lonelypilgrim.com/2018/02/18/the-claim-that-catholics-cannot-interpret-scripture-for-themselves/) “Mainline Protestant denominations (e.g., Episcopalians, Methodists, Lutherans) often hold a moderate view: they affirm the Bible as divinely inspired and authoritative, but recognize that human authors wrote it, and interpret passages through historical, cultural, and literary context. Other pastors and priests teach the Bible as the literal word of God—especially in conservative evangelical circles—the majority across Catholic, Orthodox, and mainline Protestant traditions do not. The belief in literal inerrancy is not a universal teaching among clergy.”


How many clergy believe/teach that Jesus led a sinless life?

(https://lutherancore.website/2022/05/11/did-jesus-die-for-our-sins/)

Generally, the Church of Christ theology teaches (https://southsidechurchofchrist.com/sermons/yet-without-sin-the-sinless-life-of-christ.html)“While a small number of fringe or non-traditional groups may question aspects of this doctrine, the vast majority of ordained clergy across Christian denominations teach and believe in the sinless life of Jesus as a non-negotiable truth of the Christian faith.”

From Got Questions,(https://www.gotquestions.blog/did-God-sacrifice-Himself.html) “The majority of clergy indicate that this belief is foundational in mainstream Christianity, particularly within Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and traditional Protestantism. The consensus among traditional Christian authorities is that the belief in Jesus dying for our sins is central to Christian faith—though some clergy in progressive circles actively challenge or reframe this teaching.”



How many clergy believe/teach that Jesus will return bodily to rule over an earthly kingdom?

(https://gospelway.com/man/jesus-king-priest.php)

(https://www.neverthirsty.org/bible-qa/qa-archives/question/where-is-the-scriptural-support-that-says-jesus-will-reign-on-earth/) “Generally speaking, the context indicates that this belief—known as premillennialism—is widely held among certain Christian traditions, particularly evangelical, fundamentalist, and dispensationalist groups (Baptists, Adventists, Pentecostals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and some Churches of Christ.) These beliefs are based on interpretations of passages like Revelation 20, Zechariah 14, and Isaiah 9:6–7.”

Before we move on, I'd like to point to a couple of astounding revelations I uncovered in my research. Eric Hyde's Blog cited an article from Christianity Today that stated, “73% of American Evangelicals believe Jesus is a created being—a view considered heretical by historic Christian orthodoxy!”

According to another study, “only 20% of Americans say the Bible is the 'literal word of God," suggesting that only a minority hold this strict view, even among Christian Evangelicals and fundamentalists.” Think about that for a bit.

Next we'll dive into what the bible says about being clergy. The books of Timothy contain the most definitive scriptural instruction for establishing a Christian church and selecting clergy in the bible. Until then,

Walk in the Guidance of the Lord.

G

Priests, Preachers, Teachers, Elders, and Evangelists, Oh My!

 When it comes to spiritual matters, most Americans are followers, not leaders. So who are the individuals that are teaching and preaching to us? Are they more knowledgeable than we are? Are they divinely appointed (Called)? Do they believe in the same things I do? Let's see what the Bible says and compare that to what Priests, Preachers, Teachers, Elders, and Evangelists say about their own beliefs.

For the sake of brevity, for the rest of this thread, I'll use the term “clergy” to define Priests, Preachers, Teachers, Elders, and Evangelists. How many clergy are in America? According to the Harvard Institute for Religion Research (https://hirr.hartfordinternational.edu/), there are “reportedly 600,000 clergy serving in various denominations in the United States. But that figure included retired clergy; chaplains in hospitals, prisons, and the military; denominational executives; and ordained faculty at divinity schools and seminaries. The 600,000 figure did not include independent churches, not tied to a denomination.” Additionally, “There’s no way to know how many there are,” said Jackson Carroll, Williams Professor Emeritus of Religion and Society at Duke Divinity School. In addition, Carroll said that the figures provided by the denominations may not be that accurate. Nevertheless, at present, it is the best figure to use. Next, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, part of the Southern Baptist Convention states the same number at roughly 600,000. While the Department of Labor Statistics claims that only 53,180 Americans are employed as clergy. (There are currently 47,000 Baptist churches in the United States and its territories.) Finally, according to Zippa, a job site (https://www.zippia.com/) There are over 29,944 non-denominational pastors currently employed in the United States.

Here are a few more facts about our clergy. I include them because I believe it's important to understand these folks are a reflection of our society, culture and the times.

• The median age of an American clergy is 57 years old, for the various denominations and 51 years old for non-denominational clergy.

• Most clergy first felt a calling to ministry in their teen or early adult years, more than half (55%) had another career before going into ministry. Roughly one-quarter (26%) remains bivocational, currently holding some other kind of (paid or unpaid) role in addition to working in ministry, usually for non-financial motivations like personal fulfillment or having other outlets for their gifts.

• Most clergy value the education they received at the seminary. More than three-fourths (76%) of clergy have graduated from some form of religious education.

• 12.9% of all clergy are women, while 87.1% are men.

• The most common ethnicity is White (68.3%), followed by Black or African American (11.7%), Hispanic or Latino (9.0%), and Asian (6.6%).

• 16% of all clergy are LGBT.

I know this is dry, but it's necessary because these individuals are the folks Jesus charges or calls to lead us to heaven. Next time, let's look at what they teach and believe. Until then...

Walk in the guidance of the Lord.

G