Is Christianity In Decline?
I've been saying that we have not been obeying God as we should, and as a result God has been withdrawing His blessing. Does this mean Christianity is in decline?
Not at all!
If you just look at Europe, the answer is yes. Led by European intellectuals striving to make everything secular, Christianity has just about been totally been pushed out of Europe. However, they are not getting what they wanted. Islam is moving into the vacuum left by the absence of Christianity. So the European intellectuals have traded one religion (a religion of tolerance and freedom that allowed them to flourish) for another religion.
But if you look at Africa, South America and Asia you'll see that Christianity is growing at an explosive rate.
At the beginning of the 20th Century there were about 10 million Christians in Africa, representing about 10% of the population. At the end of the 20th Century there were 300 million Christians representing about half the population.
There are now more Christians in China than in any other country, including the United States. And the Chinese church has set an interesting goal. They call it "Back to Jerusalem." Christianity, starting in Jerusalem 2000 years ago has primarily been moving westward. The goal of the Chinese church is to continue the westward movent of Christianity, as they evanglise Asia and the Middle East, completing the circle around the globe.
Christianity is rapidly growing in Korea and India. It is also growing in South America. The southern hemisphere and Asia are experiencing a major level of growth, while the Northern Hemisphere seems to be turning its back on God.
So the answer is, YES! Christianity is exploding around the world, in places where Christians are obeying God.
Not at all!
If you just look at Europe, the answer is yes. Led by European intellectuals striving to make everything secular, Christianity has just about been totally been pushed out of Europe. However, they are not getting what they wanted. Islam is moving into the vacuum left by the absence of Christianity. So the European intellectuals have traded one religion (a religion of tolerance and freedom that allowed them to flourish) for another religion.
But if you look at Africa, South America and Asia you'll see that Christianity is growing at an explosive rate.
At the beginning of the 20th Century there were about 10 million Christians in Africa, representing about 10% of the population. At the end of the 20th Century there were 300 million Christians representing about half the population.
There are now more Christians in China than in any other country, including the United States. And the Chinese church has set an interesting goal. They call it "Back to Jerusalem." Christianity, starting in Jerusalem 2000 years ago has primarily been moving westward. The goal of the Chinese church is to continue the westward movent of Christianity, as they evanglise Asia and the Middle East, completing the circle around the globe.
Christianity is rapidly growing in Korea and India. It is also growing in South America. The southern hemisphere and Asia are experiencing a major level of growth, while the Northern Hemisphere seems to be turning its back on God.
So the answer is, YES! Christianity is exploding around the world, in places where Christians are obeying God.
posted by BrickBalloon
Read This Post In Our: Christianity in America Blog Archive
5 Comments:
Is life all about "obeying" God,
or is it all about living life as God would want you to?
Does God want independent thinking
or dependent thinking?
Is not life a lesson and not just a punishment?
I wonder if some of the muslims killed in the crusades would take issue with Christianity being called a religion of "tolerance and freedom", I also wonder what they might say about the implication that Islam is not.
"obeying god" is a rather strange phrase to come from a Christian and sounds more Islamic to me. Surely redepmtion is gained from accepting Jesus as your savior. The problem whith "obeying" anything is that it implies you must accept doctrine without questioning it. God gave us a brain and intended for us to use it. I don't worry about obeying God, my more immediate worry concerns those who claim they know what God is telling us to do.
The Book of 1st John provides ten characteristics of a Christian.
"We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands." 1 John 2:3
The same concept comes up again in 1 John 3:8,9 -- "He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God."
The desire to obey God, and actions to obey God, are one of the signs of a true Christian. But not in the way a Muslim desires to obey God... because theirs is a self-serving desire in that obedience is required for salvation.
A Christian is not compelled to obedience. Salvation is a free gift from God, there is nothing we can do to earn our salvation. No amount of good works. No attempt at perfection in obeying God. It all counts for nothing.
A Christian obedience to God comes from love. I'm not a good person. (Are you a good person. Take the test.) I was heading for hell because I had earned it through my actions. But someone stepped in and paid the penalty I owed. Jesus Christ died in my place. What an incredible gift! How can I not be grateful to God for what He has done? How can not, out of my love for God, not desire to live my life the way He wants me to.
Yes, God gave us a brain and the ability to reason, think and understand. He also gave us a conscience so we'll all know His laws and have them "written" in us. You have no excuse. (Romans 1:18-32)
And He has given us His word in the Bible, which describes the character of God. His "laws" describe who He is. They describe His character. They are not hard to understand. You have no excuse.
By "doctrine" you may be referring to "laws" churches impose on people. This is something entirely different, and is not of God. If a church says that you must do such and such, and you must obey the church, feel free to run from that church.
I love reading forums like this. You people are HILARIOUS! Especially you BrickBalloon. LOL
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