SOUTHERN HEIGHTS CHRISTIAN CHURCH
  • Home
  • Discover
    • Our Vision
    • Beliefs
    • Our Staff and Leadership
  • Expect
  • Grow
  • Watch
  • Give
  • Blog
  • Contact

Blog

How to spot a Moral Therapeutic Deist

10/17/2016

Comments

 
In our service this past Sunday we introduced the idea of Moral Therapeutic Deism. The term was coined by sociologists Christian Smith and Melinda Denton to describe what most Americans believe in 2005. You can read more about their findings in their book Soul Searching or with Al Mohler's analysis. Moral Therapeutic Deism is basically legalism or moralism. Here are the five core beliefs: 
  1. "A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth."
  2. "God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.”
  3. "The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.”
  4. "God does not need to be particularly involved in one's life except when God is needed to resolve a problem." 
  5. "Good people go to heaven when they die.”

​The fundamental problem with Moral Therapeutic Deism is essentially this: mankind is good enough to find its way to God, we don't need God's saving grace. They think that being moral or good law-keepers is the key to salvation.

The problem with this is that it is subtle, and often goes by the name "Christian," even though, underneath it is anything but.
​
So what do moral therapeutic deists look like? How do you spot them?

Here are three possible examples of Moral Therapeutic Deists:

Churchgoers: Sometimes they are really moral people. People mistake things that Christians do: reading the Bible, going to church, praying, etc. for good things to earn their way to heaven. They think that if they are really religious people, that God will accept them. They need to hear the gospel of grace, that these things will never be enough for them to get to God, but that God provides them a free way.

"Good People": Sometimes these moralists don't think church is necessary. They think that if they vote Republican, don't lie, don't cheat, send their kids to get baptized, then they will be good. They mistake being a good Christian with being a good human being. They think that being a good member of society is enough for God. They are those people you say, "Well they're good at heart." They need to know that they can't be good enough husbands or wives,  good enough workers, good enough fathers or mothers to get to heaven.

Ashamed: These are the people who have tried to be a good Christian or tried to be a good husband and they have just not measured up. These are the people who are afraid to enter a church because they feel so ashamed. They carry around the weight of guilt. They are the prodigal sipping pig food out of the trough. These are the people who need to hear, "God has provided his son to save you." They need to hear the words of Jesus that all who are burdened by sin can feel at peace because his yoke is light.

Do you know anyone like this? Will you share the good news of the gospel with them?
Comments

    Southern Heights Christian Church

    Come here for thoughts on how to follow Jesus in our every day life!

    Archives

    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    September 2017
    May 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016

    Categories

    All
    Advent
    Anglican
    Bible
    Biography
    Blog
    Book Of Common Prayer
    Candle
    Christ
    Christmas
    Church
    Compassionate
    Conversation
    Cross
    Depression
    DL Moody
    Eschatology
    Evangelism
    God
    Gospel
    Grace
    Growth
    Holiness
    Humility
    Hurt
    Legalism
    Light
    Love
    Moralism
    Moral Therapeutic Deism
    Pain
    Patience
    Paul
    Persecuted
    Prayer
    Prodigal
    Reading
    Reformation
    Resurrection
    Saints
    Salvation
    Scripture
    Shame
    Sin
    Study
    Suffering
    Thanksgiving
    The Father
    Theology
    Truth
    War

    RSS Feed

Need to talk? We would love to hear from you! Click here to contact us


​Telephone

​(765) 649-0849

Address​

5401 Madison Ave
​Anderson, IN 46013

Services

​Sunday School  :: 9 AM
Sunday Service :: 10:30 AM
Give Now
  • Home
  • Discover
    • Our Vision
    • Beliefs
    • Our Staff and Leadership
  • Expect
  • Grow
  • Watch
  • Give
  • Blog
  • Contact