You hit the nail on the head. This isn’t the 1600s where it’s Catholics vs. Protestants. It’s now religous vs. atheism. And our side is losing. Everyone needs to set aside the petty bickering about doctrine and start figuring out how to reverse our losses. They are getting bigger.
“Everyone needs to set aside the petty bickering about doctrine and start figuring out how to reverse our losses. They are getting bigger.”
“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
I’ve argued with Calvinists often enough that this might sound odd, but it is NOT up to us to convert people. Our job is to faithfully proclaim the Gospel: “repent and believe”. But we cannot make men repent. Not by offering them coffeehouses instead of churches. Not by hiring the reincarnation of Michael Jackson to be the ‘worship leader’.
We can repent and pray, but I’m not sure what to pray for any more - revival, or judgment. Increasingly, I’m inclined to think the latter...
It’s only my opinion but I think it wise to never confuse a belief in God with religion. Your dichotomy might be better phrased as belief in God vs. atheism. Religion is a filter or a lens (depending on your view) to God. One need not use either a filter or a lens if one wants a direct experience. Just as many Protestants see no need for a priest to stand between them and God, some see no need for a religion either.