Posted on 08/02/2004 6:36:06 AM PDT by missyme
September 11th focused a lot of attention on the growth of Islam. What most pundits and scholars have missed is the incredible growth of Christianity, and where it's growing.
Today more Presbyterians worship in the African nation of Ghana than in Scotland. And more Anglicans worship in Nigeria than in Britain. We like to think of ourselves as the Christian West.
But there is growing evidence that the center of Christendom has moved.
Africans are running to accept Jesus Christ. It is a scene playing out all across the developing world. It may sound like an exaggeration, but it's not: Christianity is sweeping across the southern hemisphere and Asia like a tidal wave.
"The scale of Christian growth is almost unimaginable," said Dr. Philip Jenkins, distinguished professor of History and Religious Studies at Penn State University.
Jenkins shocked and probably panicked some of America's political and media elite with his acclaimed book, The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity. Jenkins argues the greatest movement of the past century was not communism or capitalism. Do the math and the winner is spirit-filled Christianity, or what he terms in his study as "Pentecostalism."
"The modern Pentecostal movement begins at the start of the 20th century," Jenkins said. "So say this begins with a few hundred, a few thousand people… today you're dealing with several hundred million people, and the best projections are by 2040’s or 2050’s, you could be dealing with a billion Pentecostals worldwide.
By that stage there will be more Pentecostals than Hindus. There are already more Pentecostals than Buddhists."
Jenkins says in just 20 years, two-thirds of all Christians will live in Africa, Latin America or Asia.
"Back in 1900, there were about 10 million Christians in Africa, representing about 10 percent of the population. Today there are 360 million, representing just under half the population. That is one of the most important changes in religious history, and I think most of us didn't notice it," he said.
A lot of people still haven't noticed it. When scandal or controversy hits an American church, the U.S. news media tends to treat it like a worldwide crisis for that denomination. But it is not a crisis for those churches in the developing world. Most of them are not gripped by debates over homosexuality or abortion — that is a problem for European and American liberals — they believe the Bible.
"The Bible is alive in Africa and Asia and Latin America," Jenkins said. "Overwhelmingly, the kind of Christianity is one which is very Bible-centered, which takes the Bible very seriously, takes authority very seriously, both the Old and the New Testament, in a way which I don't think western Christianity has done probably since the Enlightenment."
But the growth of Christianity threatens Islam, and Christians are being slaughtered in places like Nigeria and Indonesia. Jenkins thinks the conflict will intensify in nations where the two faiths compete. And he debunks the notion that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. Christianity is growing faster.
"If you look at the 25 most populous countries in the world in the mid-21st century, 20 of those are going to be divided to a greater or lesser extent between Christianity and Islam," Jenkins said.
Then there is China. There are about 80 million Christians in China, according to former Time Magazine Correspondent David Aikman, who predicts China will be a Christianized nation in 20 to 30 years. He does not predict a Christian majority, but a China that is 25 to 30 percent Christian. Enough, he says, to change society and government.
"If you have a Christianized China, the leadership of China would reflect a Christian worldview to some degree," Aikman said. "A China that's Christianized would not be a threat to the United States."
And Aikman says the Chinese church leaders have a burden to take the gospel the rest of the way across the globe, to the Muslims.
"It's part of a sense that they call ‘back to Jerusalem,’" Aikman said. "They believe that just as the gospel originally came out of Jerusalem and went to the West and to North America and Europe and came to China, now the Chinese need to bring it back to Jerusalem, not in the sense of evangelizing the Jewish, but in the sense of completing the circle so that the gospel message is available to everybody in the world."
Imagine Chinese reaching the Muslims, Koreans evangelizing Indians, Africans taking the gospel back to a largely godless Europe.
African Matthew Ashimolowo is the pastor of the fastest growing church in England. "God is sending people who used to receive missionaries to now be missionaries around the world," Ashimolowo said.
Kenyan Bishop Gilbert Dya has one of the largest churches in London. "I am in this country, believing that God sent me here in Great Britain to make a voice on His behalf to let them know that they need to repent and come back to God," he said.
The developing world is not only a growing base for world missions, Jenkins says it is becoming the center of Christendom…again.
"Jesus said His church would last until the end of time. He never used the word, ‘Europe.’ Christianity is returning, I think, to its roots. It is a religion that originated in the Middle East and in Africa. Perhaps it went away for a while, but now it's back," Jenkins said.
That was my guess too. In fact, it is my firm belief that is was the gradual retreat of religion since 1800s --- both Christian and Jewish --- that allowed socialism (invented by the French at that time) to creep in.
I am both optimistic and pessimistic: optimistic that we will prevail in the end, and pessimistic that that will not happen until we incur catastrophic costs. We are already doing so: who will return the thousands of our fellow Americans that dies on Sep 11? Terrorism had been going on in Europe since 1970s --- did we pay attention? In 2000, an extremist was arrested In Turkey on the suspicion (proven) that he wanted to fly an airplane into the mausoleum of Attaturk --- a symbol for the Turks far exceeding in importance our WTS to us. Algerians were arrested in France (after storming the airplane) on the way to fly an airplane into the Eiffel tower? Did we pay attention? Knowing this, I find no excuse for all of us --- myself included, of course --- for losing 3,000 thousand people that September. And half of the country is still not clear; they want to "explain" themselves to the terrorists and then sing songs together around the campfire, united in brotherly love. We will lose more, I am afraid.
Yours sounded pretty good to me.
And thank you, sir, for serving our country. It's people like you who won the Cold War.
"I fought for this country as a young man and I'll fight for this country as an old man inflated by Botox."
The Cold War was WWIII, we won. The War on Terror is WWIV, we will win again.
Yes it has. As a christian myself and seeing even in US churches greed is real problem. In foreign nations many churches do not even have buildings to meet in, there are tens of thousands that meet in tents, outdoors or stadiums and forego building a building, they just love Jesus.
I am so grateful to be a part of this last great revival, and it is just beginning and the devil can't stop it. The problem is if America doesn't get on board, loads will die without salvation because of our political correctness and trying to stifle talk that leads to salvation.
I respectfully disagree: whatever happened to personal responsibility? We all are responsible for the heroes we chose.
Thanks for the info .Let's pray for Christianity In all the world
There is only one reason they are considered cults and Pentecostals are not. Cults do not believe that JESUS is God's way to heaven. They do not proclaim him as the son of God and the way to salvation. Jehovah's witnesses and Mormons say he is teacher or prophet, but do not necessarily see him as way to salvation. That denies his deity as God and the scripture Jesus said "I am way and truth and life and no man enters to father but by me."
Pentecostals on other hand absolutely declare Jesus is Lord and only son of God and only way to heaven. We also believe in Baptism of Holy Spirit (second christian experience for those who want it) which includes the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit explained in I Cor Chapters 12, 13 and 14. Hope that is simple enough explanation.
There are many missionaries in Ireland and England, however it is tough sell with the long held religious war in Ireland and the formalism of the Church of England. There are a lot of good people there who live good lives. Actually revivals are harder in that type of situation. People who are good normally don't think that there is anything wrong with them, whereas people who worship idols and have lots of sexual promiscuity and other obvious sins abounding are more open to a gospel that saves them from their sins.
Amen!
Ping!
Ops4 God BLess America!
I am Jewish, and if all world were Christian, I would have to be absent from it.
Out of curiosity why would you want to be absent from it?
Jews and Gentiles,are Christians.....
What prayer would you have for Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus?
Homosexuals? Atheists, Jews Gentiles,Christians? Cultists?
Basically what is your prayer for the world that has Broken GOD's Holy Law "The Ten Commandments?
This is only in your opinion, which I respect --- but it is only an opinion.
He does see Roman Catholics as Christian. He is an Episcopalian, but he wrote a book showing how molestation was not more prevalent among RC clergy than any other denomination.
Cult = everyone who doesn't believe in Jesus? Is Buddhism a 'cult'? If you answer yes I would suggest that you have a very strange definition of the word.
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