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| The Numbers tell the story |
Two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ revealed that in the last days directly preceding His return, many people would abandon the church: "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)
Since the dawn of the 20th century, millions of people have left the Christian church. Since the early 1950s, 8,000 churches have gone out of business in America while 25 million members have left the faith. Recently, a Pew Research study revealed that 70.6 percent of Americans currently identify as Christians, which is down from 78.6 percent in 2007.
While 70.6 percent is still a majority, America's Christian population is trending in the wrong direction. And when you consider that America's overall population is growing, the church's declining membership means that Christianity is rapidly losing its influence in America.
Furthermore, as the Christian population declines, America's population of atheists and agnostics is growing. According to Pew: People who self-identify as atheists or agnostics (about 7% of all U.S. adults), as well as those who say their religion is “nothing in particular,” now account for a combined 22.8% of U.S. adults – up from 16.1% in 2007. The growth of the “nones” has been powered in part by religious switching. Nearly one-in-five U.S. adults (18%) were raised as Christians or members of some other religion, but now say they have no religious affiliation.
And while Christianity wanes in America, religions such as Islam and Hinduism are growing, albeit at a slower pace than America's atheist and agnostic population. Muslims now account for nearly one percent of America's population, up from .04 percent in 2007 while Hindus now account for .07 percent of the population, up from .04 percent in 2007.
Certainly, Christianity is also disappearing in places such as the Middle East, Southeast Asia and in Northern Africa. But that's being caused by Islamists who are persecuting and murdering Christians by the tens of thousands. In the west, Christianity is in rapid decline because the faith has lost its influence over the culture.
Christianity's decline throughout the west can be traced back to the late 18th century when the European seminaries began to reject the Bible as the authoritative word of God and instead, began embracing universalism. What's universalism? It's the fallacious belief that all religions are equal, valid, and divinely inspired.
While that's ludicrous, that belief lowers Christ to the level of an ancient social activist and it promotes confusion. Why confusion? Because many religions contradict each other concerning the definition of God, sanctification and the path to eternal life. For example, Christianity promotes the Trinity while Islam and Rabbinic Judaism deny the Trinity.
Here's what the Koran says about the Trinity: O followers of the Book! do not exceed the limits in your religion, and do not speak (lies) against Allah, but (speak) the truth; the Messiah, Isa (Jesus) son of Marium (Mary) is only an apostle of Allah and His Word which He communicated to Marium and a spirit from Him; believe therefore in Allah and His apostles, and say not, Three (thalathatun). Desist, it is better for you; Allah is only one God; far be It from His glory that He should have a son, whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth is His, and Allah is sufficient for a Protector. (Sura 4:171)
Hinduism promotes millions of gods while Buddhism claims there is no God. Contrast that with what Christ said: "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the (Heavenly) Father except through me." (John 14:6)
So many competing belief systems promote confusion that in turn promotes doubt. Worse yet, the church failed to answer Darwinism when it appeared in the 19th century. Darwinism, i.e. evolution, is a terrible theory promoted as factual science that claims life wasn't created by God but instead occurred millions of years ago in a primordial mud pond via random chemical processes.
Though evolution can't be proven and has never been observed to occur, it's embraced by millions of people throughout the world, and particularly in the west. The Christian church's failure to counter this lie has contributed significantly to its demise. If people no longer believe in God then they view religion as an outdated belief system created by primitive men.
Certainly, the church's demise is the fulfillment of prophecy. When the church stopped contending for the faith, it wrote its own epitaph. In his second of two letters to fellow apostle Timothy, the apostle Paul urged Timothy to "guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith." (1 Timothy 6:20-21)
Had the church heeded those words, the world would undoubtedly be a much different and better place than it is today.
Certainly, Christianity is also disappearing in places such as the Middle East, Southeast Asia and in Northern Africa. But that's being caused by Islamists who are persecuting and murdering Christians by the tens of thousands. In the west, Christianity is in rapid decline because the faith has lost its influence over the culture.
Christianity's decline throughout the west can be traced back to the late 18th century when the European seminaries began to reject the Bible as the authoritative word of God and instead, began embracing universalism. What's universalism? It's the fallacious belief that all religions are equal, valid, and divinely inspired.
While that's ludicrous, that belief lowers Christ to the level of an ancient social activist and it promotes confusion. Why confusion? Because many religions contradict each other concerning the definition of God, sanctification and the path to eternal life. For example, Christianity promotes the Trinity while Islam and Rabbinic Judaism deny the Trinity.
Here's what the Koran says about the Trinity: O followers of the Book! do not exceed the limits in your religion, and do not speak (lies) against Allah, but (speak) the truth; the Messiah, Isa (Jesus) son of Marium (Mary) is only an apostle of Allah and His Word which He communicated to Marium and a spirit from Him; believe therefore in Allah and His apostles, and say not, Three (thalathatun). Desist, it is better for you; Allah is only one God; far be It from His glory that He should have a son, whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth is His, and Allah is sufficient for a Protector. (Sura 4:171)
Hinduism promotes millions of gods while Buddhism claims there is no God. Contrast that with what Christ said: "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the (Heavenly) Father except through me." (John 14:6)
So many competing belief systems promote confusion that in turn promotes doubt. Worse yet, the church failed to answer Darwinism when it appeared in the 19th century. Darwinism, i.e. evolution, is a terrible theory promoted as factual science that claims life wasn't created by God but instead occurred millions of years ago in a primordial mud pond via random chemical processes.
Though evolution can't be proven and has never been observed to occur, it's embraced by millions of people throughout the world, and particularly in the west. The Christian church's failure to counter this lie has contributed significantly to its demise. If people no longer believe in God then they view religion as an outdated belief system created by primitive men.
Certainly, the church's demise is the fulfillment of prophecy. When the church stopped contending for the faith, it wrote its own epitaph. In his second of two letters to fellow apostle Timothy, the apostle Paul urged Timothy to "guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith." (1 Timothy 6:20-21)
Had the church heeded those words, the world would undoubtedly be a much different and better place than it is today.
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