"There's definitely an increase in terms of young people today being at least open to the possibility of results of universalism and pluralism," says InterVarsity evangelist York Moore. "Among Christians, I think we've seen an increase as well."

A recent study by the Barna Group seems to confirm this. Universalism–defined by the Barna Group as the belief that all human beings will be saved after death–was supported by 43 percent of subject's questioned.

Pluralistic views of Christians toward other religions also appear to be opening wider.

"Year after year, I do think that we are struggling to keep pace with the amount of people who are coming into our chapters from churched backgrounds who are coming with these assumptions that all people are saved. Another thing that this [Barna] study cites is that 51% do not believe that they have a responsibility to tell people about their faith in Christ," explains Moore. "So that lack of responsibility coupled with an openness for universalism and pluralism among Christians is a real problem in InterVarsity."

One of the major results of an expansion of such views has been confusion over orthodox end times views. "The major theological casualties are naturally the great eschatological categories of heaven and hell– the new world, the return of Jesus, the Judgment Day, these kinds of things. Because of that, the ultimate end game, if you will, of the universe is often ignored. There's no sense of urgency for the salvation of souls."

Moore says the danger of straying from these 2,000-year-old truths is significant. "People are gravitating toward that which is easy, that which is more appealing to our American lifestyle, and the consequences of that could potentially be disastrous."

Already the number of college students who leave the church during college and return later in life has declined significantly. Sixty percent of students who left came back to the church later in life in years past, but now only 20 percent return.

Non-churched and churched students alike seem to be predisposed to ideas of pluralism and universalism. The Barna Group reports that young Americans ages 18 to 39 are far less likely to be excited to share their faith than in years past, and more than ever many believe that Christians and Muslims worship the same God.

So much confusion fused by Christian leaders with similarly skewed theology does not go unnoticed or unaddressed by InterVarsity. Despite the various voices influencing college students, InterVarsity has been winning this war.

InterVarsity is still seeing a higher number of conversions right now than ever before in their 70-year history.

Standing firmly on orthodox theological views about Christ's return, judgment, and evangelism, InterVarsity has been able to guide a justice-driven generation toward Biblical foundations by encouraging students that people are saved TO something rather than just FROM something when they accept Christ. Moore says it has helped to switch the focus to the excitement of a relationship with the living God and away from a fire-and-brimstone type view.

At the same time, InterVarsity has been able to maintain their firm stance and teaching about orthodox, Biblical eschatology. The ministry continues to see students come to Christ to the point that many InterVarsity staff are praying for all-out revival across the States. Pray that the Lord would continue to protect InterVarsity staff as they teach truth in an increasingly confusing world. Pray that students would continue to grasp the fullness of God's truth.

Barna recently explored whether Americans embrace inclusive or exclusive views of faith, as well as how they operate within the context of religious pluralism, or the multi-faith nature of U.S. society.

Universalism is the belief that all human beings will be saved after death.

However, American Evangelist Sammy Tippit says there's a problem with universalism theology. "If you believe that everyone ultimately is going to go to heaven, then why did Jesus have to come to the earth? Why did Jesus have to die? Who is Jesus Christ? Why did He have to go to the cross? There was no need for the cross if universalism is true."

Tippit suggests that many "seeker-sensitive" churches in the U.S. today tend to stay away from talking about sin, the holiness of God, or anything else that's offensive. "When the focus gets there and you lose that central core focus on who Christ is, then you start teetering in what you believe."

This kind of preaching will ultimately be bad for the church. "It might be popular and you might have some temporary growth, but ultimately there will be a very fast decline in the church because there's no motivation to reach out to other people. Why share that message if everyone is going to heaven."

Barna reports that 43% of those responding agreed, while 54% disagreed with this statement: "It doesn't matter what religious faith you follow because they all teach the same lessons."

However, seven out of 10 Americans agreed with the idea "in life, you either side with God, or you side with the devil; there is no in-between position." Half of American believe "if a person is generally good or does enough good things for others, they will earn a place in heaven."

If the evangelical church gets sucked into this mindset, it's doomed says Tippit. "The church will be powerless to effect the culture and transform the culture if we don't have a strong message that Christ is our only hope, that there are eternal consequences to our sin in what we do and how we live, and Christ can change that and put us in a different direction."

Sammy Tippit Ministries has a number of resources to help you in your Christian walk. Click here to find more.