From Antichrist to Brother in Christ: How Protestant Pastors View the Pope


January 2016

“LifeWay asked 1,000 Protestant pastors in America about their views in a phone survey from September 8–21, 2015, shortly before the pontiff’s visit to the United States.”

 

Here are some of the results of their survey:

 

More than half of evangelical pastors say Pope Francis is their brother in Christ.

 

More than one-third say they value the pope’s view on theology, and 3 in 10 say he has improved their view of the Catholic Church.

 

Nearly 4 in 10 say the pope, known for his humility and concern for the poor, has had a positive impact on their opinions of the Catholic Church. Almost two-thirds view Pope Francis as a genuine Christian and “brother in Christ.”

 

When asked: “Can a Catholic be a born-again Christian?” Ninety percent of Protestant pastors surveyed responded “Yes,” five percent “No,” and five percent “Not Sure.”

 

“Those are among the findings of a new study of 1,000 Protestant senior pastors, released this week from Nashville-based LifeWay Research.”

 

“Overall, the survey found that many Protestant pastors have taken a liking to Pope Francis.”[1]

 

With survey results like these, many of the Pastors surveyed should not be called Protestants, but rather non-, or even more appropriately, pre-Roman Catholics.

 

Historically, Protestants have viewed the Pope as Antichrist.

 

And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him? (Revelation 13:2b-4)[2]


[1]Lisa Cannon Green, Facts and Trends, September 25, 2015, viewed January 28, 2016, http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2015/september/antichrist-brother-christ-protestant-pastors-pope-francis.html.

[2]Thanks to Sean Gerety for bringing this to my attention. “From Antichrist to Brother in Christ: How Protestant Pastors View the Pope,” October 1, 2015, viewed January 28, 2016, https://godshammer.wordpress.com/page/2/.