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| The chart says it all |
Indeed, we're living in prophetic times. In what way? The Christian church has been losing members by the tens of thousands over the last several years, particularly in the western world where secularism is replacing Christianity as the dominant belief system. And the collapse of the end time church was foretold by Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago.
Here's what Christ said concerning the last days on earth directly preceding His return: "At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people." (Matthew 24:10-11)
Many young people see Christianity as the outdated belief system of their parents and grandparents. To them, any belief in a holy, sovereign God who created the physical universe in six literal days is considered primitive superstition.
Orianna O'Neill, 21, a student at Beloit College in Wisconsin offered the typical opinion of millennials who've been taught that religion is for old-fashioned, simple-minded folks, but not for young hipsters: The idea of (conservatives) not believing in global warming is contributing to the notion that religious people are not intelligent.
According to a recent Pew Research poll conducted of people who profess to believe in God, 89 percent of Americans still profess some belief which is down slightly from 92 percent in 2007. However, those who claim to believe in God "with absolute certainty" dropped to 63 percent from 71 percent in 2007.
Why are so many young people turning to atheism? Because they've been indoctrinated into godless humanism from the time they entered kindergarten. For decades, many people have been taught in public and even private schools that life is nothing but the product of random evolutionary forces that began in a primordial mud pond millions of years ago.
If that's true--and it isn't--then God doesn't exist. And if God doesn't exist, then the 10 Commandments, the Bible and God's transcendent moral laws are nothing but human constructs that are meaningless. And that means that there's no moral accountability to a heavenly authority and no judgment at death for one's behavior during their lifetime in this world.
The effects of godless humanism upon society are staggering. Crime, violence and moral depravity have exploded across much of the world over the past 60 years. The traditional family unit, the moral foundation of a strong civilization is crumbling. Marriage, except for the newly created version of same-sex marriage, is becoming extinct. More babies are born out of wedlock in western society than at any other time in history.
In the late 1930s, only about two percent of babies were born out of wedlock in the United States. And today? Jordan Weissman of slate.com wrote this: Americans, having children outside of marriage is very much “the new normal,” as the New York Times once put it. In a study tracking the first wave of millennials to become parents, a team from Johns Hopkins University recently found that 64 percent of mothers gave birth at least once out of wedlock. Almost one-half had all of their children without ever exchanging vows.
The blame for the moral decay that's ruining western civilization can be traced to the Christian church that stopped contending for the faith back in the 19th century. But why? Because many theologians began to doubt the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible. Instead, they foolishly believed that all world religions offered truth and the Bible was just one of many truths. And they began to teach that.
Christianity degenerated from "the Way and the Truth and the Life" (John 14:6) to just another religion, no different than Buddhism, Hinduism or Sikhism. And as Christianity's moral influence began to fade, moral relativism took over. Such things as abortion, homosexuality and same-sex marriage that were considered abominations for centuries were now considered virtuous. And those who opposed them were now considered bigots and racists to be shunned and scorned.
Concerning the world's prophetic descent into darkness and depravity in the last days, the apostle Paul wrote this: "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people." (2 Timothy 3:1-5)
That's a direct result of the church's declining influence upon the world. When people no longer believe in God, they fall into depravity. That results in escalating crime, violence, high out-of-wedlock birthrates, poverty, suicide rates, drug and alcohol additions etc.
Nearly 3,000 years ago, King Solomon wrote something simple and yet profound: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. But fools despise wisdom and discipline." (Proverbs 1:7) Certainly, fools reject moral authority because they hate rules and accountability.
But the church also has its share of fools. And those fools planted the seeds of the moral destruction of western civilization in the 19th century that have come to fruition in our modern times.
If that's true--and it isn't--then God doesn't exist. And if God doesn't exist, then the 10 Commandments, the Bible and God's transcendent moral laws are nothing but human constructs that are meaningless. And that means that there's no moral accountability to a heavenly authority and no judgment at death for one's behavior during their lifetime in this world.
The effects of godless humanism upon society are staggering. Crime, violence and moral depravity have exploded across much of the world over the past 60 years. The traditional family unit, the moral foundation of a strong civilization is crumbling. Marriage, except for the newly created version of same-sex marriage, is becoming extinct. More babies are born out of wedlock in western society than at any other time in history.
In the late 1930s, only about two percent of babies were born out of wedlock in the United States. And today? Jordan Weissman of slate.com wrote this: Americans, having children outside of marriage is very much “the new normal,” as the New York Times once put it. In a study tracking the first wave of millennials to become parents, a team from Johns Hopkins University recently found that 64 percent of mothers gave birth at least once out of wedlock. Almost one-half had all of their children without ever exchanging vows.
The blame for the moral decay that's ruining western civilization can be traced to the Christian church that stopped contending for the faith back in the 19th century. But why? Because many theologians began to doubt the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible. Instead, they foolishly believed that all world religions offered truth and the Bible was just one of many truths. And they began to teach that.
Christianity degenerated from "the Way and the Truth and the Life" (John 14:6) to just another religion, no different than Buddhism, Hinduism or Sikhism. And as Christianity's moral influence began to fade, moral relativism took over. Such things as abortion, homosexuality and same-sex marriage that were considered abominations for centuries were now considered virtuous. And those who opposed them were now considered bigots and racists to be shunned and scorned.
Concerning the world's prophetic descent into darkness and depravity in the last days, the apostle Paul wrote this: "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people." (2 Timothy 3:1-5)
That's a direct result of the church's declining influence upon the world. When people no longer believe in God, they fall into depravity. That results in escalating crime, violence, high out-of-wedlock birthrates, poverty, suicide rates, drug and alcohol additions etc.
Nearly 3,000 years ago, King Solomon wrote something simple and yet profound: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. But fools despise wisdom and discipline." (Proverbs 1:7) Certainly, fools reject moral authority because they hate rules and accountability.
But the church also has its share of fools. And those fools planted the seeds of the moral destruction of western civilization in the 19th century that have come to fruition in our modern times.
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