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The Decline of Evangelical America

Discussion in 'Other Christian Denominations' started by General Mung Beans, Dec 15, 2012.

  1. General Mung Beans

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    http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/16/opinion/sunday/the-decline-of-evangelical-america.html?_r=0&pagewanted=all

    This was both an interesting and a sobering article to read. While I quibble with some of the numbers mentioned in the article (such as that only 7% of Americans would identify themselves as Evangelicals), the saddening fact is that Christian belief are declining in this country. I hope we take the article to heart and pray and work for another Reformation and Great Awakening.
     
  2. Priscilla Ann

    Priscilla Ann Member

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    As an evangelical, I believe that one of the major problems is that too many of us are looking to politics to fix our country. The things that are wrong in our country cannot be fixed by simply voting for a certain political party. People's hearts need to be changed -- one person at a time. That should be the job of each one of us.

    I have listened to Christian programs on radio and/or television where the speakers suggest that if you are a Christian, you must vote for a certain political party. As an evangelical, I certainly don't want to be associated with the likes of Rush Limbaugh or Glen Beck -- I see nothing in such individuals that remotely resembles what Christ taught. When non-Christians see us supporting such obnoxious, arrogant public figures, they are even more likely to be turned off by Christianity. Our credibility is damaged; and as a result, our influence diminishes even more because people don't take us seriously. Evangelicals need to change the perception that they are nothing more than self-righteous people with a political agenda.
     
  3. Revmitchell

    Revmitchell Well-Known Member
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    Who are these people?
     
  4. Jack Matthews

    Jack Matthews New Member

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    Well said and right on!

    Many of the "mega" church ministries the article mentions are growing in number, that is true. But they are not growing by adding to the Kingdom through evangelism. They are growing because they have the resources to buy property and build an edifice in the suburbs to "attract" evangelical Christians and a few mainliners. Smaller churches, which were reaching people and winning them to Christ, are disappearing because they can't compete as their members drift away because of a cafeteria line of inwardly focused ministries.

    But I think you are right on with the perception of political agenda. A lot of evangelicals sacrificed credibility and influence by soft-pedaling Mormonism to try to get Mitt Romney elected and they are going to pay for that in influence and in support. I believe that God is in the process of removing the lampstand in place for many evangelical Christian church leaders over that issue. There will be a price to pay for that.
     
  5. The Biblicist

    The Biblicist Well-Known Member
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    Jesus did not adopt his gospel to the culture or to its politics. He lost followers (Jn. 6:66-67) and infuriated the works for salvationists of his day (Mt. 12) and ultimately his death was demanded by the professed people of God at the hands of an infidel politician.

    God requires us to be faithful to His Word and that is counted by Him as success (Josh 1:6-8). We are to preach the word (2 Tim. 4:2-5) and let God deal with the consequences.

    What many are forgetting is that the bible says things will "wax worse and worse" not better and better.
     
  6. Revmitchell

    Revmitchell Well-Known Member
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    Liberals are going to be in for a big surprise.
     
  7. Jack Matthews

    Jack Matthews New Member

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    Hardly.

    You can throw the term "liberal" around with derision all you want to. The scripture clearly says not to put your trust in princes, and that a sovereign God puts people in charge of government.

    Maybe those liberals you love to badmouth have a pretty good prayer life after all. :laugh:
     
  8. OldRegular

    OldRegular Well-Known Member

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    Can I assume you are speaking for yourself?

    I am a member of a Southern Baptist Church so I believe that makes me an evangelical. As a Christian I believe in the plenary verbal inspiration of Scripture. That means it is inerrant, infallible, and authoritative in all it teaches. I suppose to some that makes me a "radical" right wing "nut"!

    I am Conservative in my political philosophy and was for many years before God saved me. As a Conservative I vote Republican because I believe, and events show, that the democrat party is a consortium of leftists who want to establish a socialist state to replace the Republic.

    In addition to that I could not support the democrat party because they are a party of death. Their platform advocates continued and unfettered slaughter of unborn children. At their recent convention they spent come time celebrating, celebrating the slaughter of the unborn. As a Christian, evangelical or not, I cannot support this party of death.

    As for Limbaugh and Beck; I don't listen to them, period. I seriously doubt that either of them is really knowledgeable about true Conservatism. I would put them in the same class as the greedy democrat capitalists who occupy Wall Street!
     
  9. Walter

    Walter Well-Known Member
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    I wanted to respond on this thread before I leave for a few days. I left the Baptist church of my youth because it had capitulated to the present culture. Although claiming to be evangelical, it gradually adopted a liberal agenda. I started attending an Ev. Free church that had previously been PCUSA and had left the denomination for the same reasons. It was at the Baptist church I was raised in that I first encountered the uncanny ability of Biblical Christianities cultured despisers to always win arguments. They always had a scholar, a study, a something handy to prove that their new version of Jesus was true. So Blue State Jesus, gay Jesus, married Jesus, myth Jesus, merely human Jesus, gnostic Jesus, any ol' Jesus that can breathe and speak deception to the world. He/she/it is so convincing - news magazines, Dan Brown novels, the History Channel and the internet all prove he/she/it - and our puny assertions of Biblical truth just seemed to be no match.
     
  10. saturneptune

    saturneptune New Member

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    The Bible also says to obey the laws of the nation you live in and respect and pray for our leaders.
     
  11. saturneptune

    saturneptune New Member

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    This kind of speaks to the other thread as to why you have traveled the opposite direction as me. I am not sure what sent you from Presbyterian to Baptist and then back to Catholic, but I can observe this. We all have one Bible, and one Spirit. In 2000 years we have managed to really corrupt it with our own ideas, which is why we have hundreds of denominations. I cannot speak for the Catholics except their theology. I can speak for the daily life of Presbyterians and Baptists. Sometimes we have to overlook flawed ideas of this and that rule if the theology is sound. For example, I believe the Baptist ideals concerning Baptism, autonomy, no creeds, etc are very sound and correct. On a day to day basis, what drives many from the Baptist church is the ideas that Jesus never taught like no dancing, no lottery tickets, no this or no that. What makes people puke about the Baptist church is those those that constantly stick their long noses into others business, condemn them while they themselves are gossiping and stuffing their 400 pound carcasses with more food. These are the types that the Baptist church needs to rid themselves of, and I wish I knew how to do it.

    Another example in the Presbyterian church, while fairly sound doctrine, one finds an attitude of arrogance towards others. Elders elected to govern a church are usually elected based on social standing, not spiritual maturity. They almost mirror a Pharisee.

    If all of us could focus on Jesus, the Scrpiture and Holy Spirit, and get rid of the nonsense like the above examples, we would have a much more successful time of getting along and telling others about Jesus.
     
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