Posted on 05/05/2020 6:11:46 PM PDT by Morgana
The left is salivating about using the pandemic crisis to force massive changes to American society. Average Americans, of course, just want to go back to work or to the mall or to … church. And those desires -- in particular the last one -- could present a formidable stumbling block in the sprint to the new progressive future. Despite years of eager predictions to the contrary, “the opiate of the masses” is not dead. In fact, it’s feeling better.
Since the pandemic began, secular progressives in the media have been spewing venom at Evangelical Christians, blaming their purportedly anti-science mindset for every setback in combating the virus and aghast at anyone worshipping something other than the environment or the state. (The communist Chinese government gets a pass, but fellow Americans trying to exercise religious liberty are smeared without mercy.)
All for naught, it seems. New Pew research published on April 30 found that “Some Americans say their religious faith has strengthened as a result of the outbreak, even as the vast majority of U.S. churchgoers report that their congregations have closed regular worship services to the public.”
“One-quarter of U.S. adults overall (24%) say their faith has become stronger because of the coronavirus pandemic, while just 2% say their faith has become weaker,” Pew reported. “Americans in historically black Protestant churches and those who describe themselves as very religious are particularly likely to say their faith has strengthened.” A majority, 47% said their faith hadn’t changed. (There is also the 26% of atheists and agnostics for whom the question is irrelevant -- for now.)
Although most states have some sort of religious exemptions to social distancing rules, Pew also found that 91% of respondents’ houses of worship had closed during the pandemic.
So you close the churches, shame, threaten and punish dissenters, and drive others underground -- it’s a classic recipe for creating flourishing religious (particularly Christian) feeling. But its’ a helluva lousy way to usher in the Brave New World.
A stone building is nice for a church, but I don’t necessarily need one at this point in my life.
My church is to be found within my soul, and usually, in the front of my mind. If I had children to educate on what religion means, I would seek the physical church, or certain group experiences.
The Church isn’t a building. The Church is believers. It’ll be great to get back together, but until our Marxist overlords deem us worthy to gather together, we’ll use modern technology to worship.
The church thrives under persecution. Our current church is Laodicean, apostate and fallen. There are very few still teaching the truth. Most have been compromised. I see this as a possible boon to real Christians everywhere. Get into the word and study it. Be berean. Now is the time to seek God. Eternity is a long time to be wrong.
“...The church thrives under persecution. Our current church is Laodicean, apostate and fallen. There are very few still teaching the truth. Most have been compromised. I see this as a possible boon to real Christians everywhere. Get into the word and study it. Be berean. Now is the time to seek God. Eternity is a long time to be wrong....”
Amen to that!!!
The communists just think they’re squelching Christianity by using all this virus crap to try and stifle us. But what’s really happening is they’re tossing raw gasoline on a fire that they will never be able to put out.
The worst thing that ever happened to the body of Christ was when Constantine made Christianity an official relition.
Christianity, like our muscles, thrives on persecution and attack.
It’s HARD to be a devout Christian in a society where it’s the expected, the norm, accepted; no struggle, no power.
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28
The building is not a CHURCH, the congregation who are interwoven into each others lives is the church.
I think the headline is true, and that we will see many people coming back to the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Faith.
What does it mean to feel “more religious”?
I expected Americans to get together in prayer asking God to forgive their sins and take away this punishment of the virus.
Maybe I am just an incorrigible romantic.
uh, you appear to be referring to the denomination that just declared, through its pope, that it believes in universalism.
But it rebuilt Europe over the course of a thousand years.
And in turn the left can never put it out.
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