Posted on 04/12/2019 8:57:34 AM PDT by Persevero
Religious faith in America is going the way of the Yellow Pages and travel maps, we keep hearing. It’s just a matter of time until Christianity’s total and happy extinction, chortle our cultural elites. Is this true? Is churchgoing and religious adherence really in “widespread decline” so much so that conservative believers should suffer “growing anxiety”?
(Excerpt) Read more at thefederalist.com ...
I suspect this is true. I see so very many churches in my neighborhood, many of them opulent. I always wonder, who's paying to keep the lights on here?
With the understanding Christianity can grow, while at the same time we see churches fail and fall, we can begin to examine this oxymoron. Just by going to church does not necessarily make you a Christian. We are GOD’S TEMPLE. He can be found in each of us if He is sought. These are the new Christians. They accept Christ and prepare a place for Him.
JM $.02
How Americans of Conscience Can Co-Exist with the LGBT Community: A Possible Path Forward
So true! Amen to that!
“There will always be exactly as many Christians as God wants there to be.”
Aha! Found my fellow Calvinist! ;)
“...crushed in debt...” well my denom is debt free so perhaps we will take over! Worse things could happen.
How many of these ostensibly growing churches embrace - actively or passively - homoeroticism (there is no such thing as homosexuality) as a defensible lifestyle for a professing Christian?
As a musician, I am acquainted with quite a few younger (currently 24-34 YOA) professing Christians, many of whom were home-schooled and who are generally much more conservative than their peers. I know of not one such who has a particular problem with homoeroticism. (Homoerotic persons are commonplace in the music field, so this is not hypothetical.)
As one who has served in ministry, I am not so sanguine about the state of the organized church - whether it is labelled Evangelical or not.
I think it is back to the catacombs for the real church.
I won’t challenge your experiences. I just thought the article was insightful and helpful.
More Americans Attend Church Now Than At the Founding What is really counter-intuitive is what Stark and his colleagues at the Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion found when looking at U.S. church attendance numbers going back to the days of our nation’s founding. They found that the percentage of church-attending Americans relative to overall population is more than four times greater today than it was in 1776. The number of attendees has continued to rise each and every decade over our nation’s history right up until the present day.
My Catholic Church is crowded. We are always putting out extra chairs.
I think you are wrong about the Catholic Church.
There are some places where one can get optimistic, realistic, encouraging news, that isn’t fake. The Federalist is one.
And of course, in little Ole Free Republic.
I saw no comments about his “fertility” statements.
Anyone?
I noticed that our First Communion Classes are larger than ever. Over 150 children.
I am a firm believer that firm believers should have lots of kids. As the Lord enables. “Be fruitful and multiply and HAVE DOMINION.”
All of the denominations I mentioned, ELCA [should have been ECUSA], PCUSA, UCC, ELCA, RCC, UMC, are wavering or fighting about some of the issues I listed: "women pastors, gay marriage, Chrislam, and/or rejection of scriptural authority", but not every one of them is wavering on every one of those issues. I hold the denominational leadership at fault for not preaching and exhorting according to the scriptures. All the churches have those both in leadership and in the pews who are faithful; but if the top leadership wavers, the rest soon get caught in the landslide. As you know, I pray for all the churches to return to the Word.
Is there a particular area where top leaders of the RCC have not been wavering, or waffling when assaulted by activists, about the issues I mentioned? (I realize it is not every parish everywhere.) You don't have to answer me. Or you can freepmail me.
It is not an attack against the traditional teachings, but a reproach for those areas where "progressives" have been hammering their demands and leaders are weak.
And it is NOW TIME to bring the good news of the Gospel of Jesus to all!
....Or rather back to getting the Gospel out.
I do believe that there will be a number of up coming conferences in the Northeastern states being held by the Rev. Franklin Graham in May.
Hhhhmmm. Seems this is missing southern Indiana, where traveling sports on the weekends seems to be emptying the churches. I just had a conversation with our local newspaper editor about it.
Why would conservatives who are Christians want centralized denominationalism (centralized government over churches), when they realize that centralized government, principally is not a good picture to begin with? And centralized government ruling over local congregations is not found anywhere in the New Testament as a mandate.
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