Posted on 07/28/2012 6:14:46 AM PDT by mkleesma
Two weeks from now, the United Church of Canada will assemble in Ottawa for its 41st General Council, where it will debate church policy and elect a new moderator. The top item on its agenda is a resolution calling for a boycott of products from Israeli settlements. Fortunately, nobody cares what the United Church thinks about Israeli settlements, or anything else for that matter, because the United Church doesn’t matter any more. For many years, the United Church was a pillar of Canadian society. Its leaders were respected public figures. It was – and remains – the biggest Protestant denomination in a country that, outside Quebec, has been largely shaped by centuries of Protestant tradition.
But today, the church is literally dying. The average age of its members is 65. They believe in many things, but they do not necessarily believe in God. Some congregations proudly describe themselves as “post-theistic,” which is a good thing because, as one church elder said, it shows the church is not “stuck in the past.” Besides, who needs God when you’ve got Israel to kick around?
(Excerpt) Read more at theglobeandmail.com ...
Great,*great* line.Just a bunch of atheists who want something to do on the odd Sunday morning.
>>”Post-theistic”? Unbelievable
That’s the first time I ever heard that term, but it does accurately describe many of our liberal denominations.
>>Great,*great* line.Just a bunch of atheists who want something to do on the odd Sunday morning.
If it was just that innocent. The reality is that the leaders have a Marxist social justice agenda and they use a God they don’t really believe in as an icon to rally the faithful to participate in their social justice agenda. If anyone questions anything, the leaders can say, “Are you questioning God??” Leaders in these churches discourage any thoughts of personal salvation and try to drive the congregation to believe in corporate salvation through constant giving and serving. If you suggest that part of the church’s service to the community should include evangelism, you are warned that we don’t want to offend anyone with different beliefs, and “after all, this isn’t about us.”
What grows when Secular humanism being taught in seminaries. “Christian” ministers in devinity schools who are taught that the Bible is totally myth and that the resurrection of Jesus is a lie. I remember when the concept of “situational ethics” was a big idea growing in colleges in the late 60s. It focused on there was no real right or wrong, but what was “right” for a particular situation, even if that was counter to one’s beliefs, principles and religious teachings.
World over the “liberal” Church’s “salt” long ago lost its “savor” (as per Matthew 5:13)... about that same time, the Liberal Church fired Jesus Christ and hired Karl Marx. With predictable results. Churches that preach the uncompromised Word are still thriving.
Average age of 65? I abhor the word “unsustainable,” but that does seem apt in this situation.
When some churches stopped making worship about God and instead a marketing exercise about what is most comfortable for the seeker in theology and doctrine, they started to slide into irrelevance. These churches are most often liberal.
The problem with worshiptainment and marketing is that tastes change, and when they do change as they inevitably will, people without a solid spiritual foundation will simply move on to the next Sunday morning ‘worship du jour’.
However, churches which remain constant and ground themselves in God, who changes not (Malachi 3:6), are thriving.
This is a well-written requiem for the apostate churches.
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