The Demise of the Church

Joel Miller WND 02/02/02

There is a very good article on the demise of the Church of England in this week's London Spectator, must-reading for American Christians because the languor into which our British brothers have fallen may someday grip broad evangelicals stateside – many would argue it already has, at least as far as the mainline denominations go. To appreciate the problem, one need only look at how amazingly irrelevant the church is in society today. It is more tolerated and endured than taken seriously or enjoyed. And sometimes the toleration is just patronage, a defense against the embarrassment that people feel that such a backward institution still exists in the modern world. "The media are embarrassed by religion, and prefer to treat it as light relief," writes Theo Hobson for the Spectator, adding, "bishops are treated with wry indulgence, even amusement, as if they are on loan from Monty Python."

These churchmen "are assumed to be a bunch of bearded, worthy dullards incapable of real thought, and their institution is assumed to be necessarily moribund. If it is admired at all, it is for its sheer logic-defying staying power, like the chain-smoking French woman who's made it to 120."

Hobson has good cause to say what he does. The Church of England only survives because it is supported by the state. It long ago withered from any real cultural relevance. Instead of holding itself out as the answer to the world's woes – the way the church traditionally has – like many America Christians, the Brits have become squeamish about such claims.

"It has become unthinkable for a Church leader, or any public figure who is a Christian, to speak as if the gospel of Jesus Christ is superior to other creeds; to talk about Christianity as an exceptionally, uniquely good thing," says Hobson. "In public, at least, such talk is taboo."

Never mind that Christ said he was the only way to the Father, that the Christian faith is, thus, the only true faith. Such exclusive and tired, old claims are easy to forget when you are striving to be inclusive and hip.

It is the great sin of accommodation gone to its logical conclusion, seen clearly in the everybody-loves-Islam, post 9-11 days.

"I am not saying that the Church should have used Sept. 11 to denigrate Islam," says Hobson. "But this Church takes sensitivity too far: It would rather never mention the name of Jesus Christ in public than risk being accused of racism, or whatever."

We might apologize for President Bush, a professed believer, gushing forth with such praise for Muslims; after all, he's got a coalition to hold together – politics being, as it often is, the refined art of boot licking. But Christian ministers?

The first people responsible for proclaiming Christ are fast becoming the last people to actually do so. And if they do, Jesus is proclaimed along with everybody else.

It's pop psychology in vestments: My religion's OK, your religion's OK.

Thus, as Hobson observes, "Whether it means it or not, the Church of England's main function is to obscure the gospel; to ensure that it cannot be an influence upon our society. It very effectively sits on it, keeps it out of play. In this Church, Napoleon's witticism is true: State religion is indeed the 'inoculation of the state against the virus of religion.'"

But this is hardly the mere curse of statist influence. It is the forever problem of churches pandering to the world, sucking up for approval, as if the tipped secular hat were somehow a sign of legitimacy.

It's not. It's actually the reverse, a sign we're not doing our job.

We as Christians are not called to pine after the approval of the world, but rather to rattle its cage with the uncompromised Word of God, to disciple and baptize the nations. This means we are actively involved in the wider culture, announcing the claims of God – the truths of Scripture – trusting the Holy Spirit to quicken hearts and reform lives, which will lead, in turn, to a reformed culture as the faith outworks into society.

Sadly, the church hardly does this anymore. Either we are too pietistic, happily ensconced behind our stained glass and not wanting to get involved in that dirty world outside, too scared and fearful of what the world might think, or just too busy waiting to get raptured out of this mess instead of helping to clean it up.

As a result our churches, statist or not, are anemic, wasting away on a diet of Scripture Lite – just enough Bible to feel good, but not enough to feel obligated to actually do anything.

The church, says Hobson, "is seen as so pitiably weak that it would be unfair to scrutinize it properly, like kicking a man when he's down. Because of this attitude, it stays down." But this won't do, as Hobson knows:

"I do not want to exercise the same indulgence towards my Church. I am ashamed of it and angry at it. I want to kick it into getting up."

The same needs to be done for our increasingly self-sidelined evangelical churches in America, and I hereby pledge my boot to the endeavor.

Coddling Islam...

Baptist Bible Trumpet Editorial
http://www.baptistbibletrumpet.com

President Bush, in his State of the Union address a few weeks ago, continued to push the false notion that lslam is a peaceful, tolerant religion. He said, "Let the skeptics look to Islam's own rich history with its centuries of learning and tolerance and progress." Earlier Bush said, "The Islam that we know is a faith devoted to the worship of one god, as revealed in the Holy Koran. It teaches the value and importance of charity, mercy and peace." While visiting a Mosque, Bush said, "Islam is peace."

We must conclude that either Bush is totally ignorant about the Islamic religion, or he is purposely trying to deceive the American people in an effort to avoid offending the Muslim religion.

The Muslim religion has been a bloody, murderous religion since its inception. Mohammed built the Islamic faith on violence, deceit, and terror. In spite of Bush's claims the Koran is anything but "holy." In fact, it is among the most unholy books ever written. It openly and repeatedly calls for and encourages terrorism and plunder. Christians and Jews are specifically targeted for discrimination in the Koran.

Only communism rivals Islam in total number of people persecuted and killed. Yet President Bush is not the only professing Christian who has such a mistaken and misguided impression of the Islamic religion. In churches across the country, pastors and Christian leaders continue to repeat opinions similar to those of the President.

It is incredible that a religion that, for some fifteen centuries, has been the chief persecutor of the Christian faith should now suddenly receive such acclaim! America seems absolutely beside herself with not offending Islam! It appears that, from a public relations perspective, the attack against the United States on September 11 was the best thing Muslims could have done to promote Islam within the U.S.

Most Likely to be Offended

Steven E. Mays, Pastor,
Faith Baptist Church, Laurens, SC.

In every high school annual there is always the "most likely to..." section. There is always the famous "Most likely to succeed" and then all the rest. One "most likely" category that could be included in the day in which we live is this: "The most likely to be offended." Surely we all recognize that we are living in a day where there is an all-out life and death effort to avoid offending nearly every group - with the exception of conservative Christians. In the last decade we have all become familiar with the term "Politically Correct." What it means, in a nutshell, to be "politically correct" is simply this: according to guidelines set up by liberals, one must use certain terminology and avoid other terminology so as not to offend the millions of very touchy people. One must also avoid certain positions, at least publicly, because these topics are very touchy and will offend large groups of people if they are dealt with.

The bottom line is that we have become so touchy and easily offended that we now have come to a place in our culture where we know what is politically correct to say and what is not. Industrially, this may be the information age, but socially and spiritually this is the "touchy" or "easily-offended age."

I have never known a preacher who has not lost some person, family, or even several families because someone was offended. The offence may have been over a misunderstanding, or over some truth that they just could not take. Last week I was driving down the road listening to a radio preacher carefully telling his audience that "We are going to have to tell people that they are sinners and that there is a hell, even though it might be very hard for that to be accepted." As I heard him delicately craft his words to convey this simple truth, I thought to myself, "We are in a dismal hour when church members have a difficult time not being offended over being called a sinner, and being told there is a hell." Let's face it, if what was preached behind most pulpits today was medicine it wouldn't cure anybody and if it was poison it wouldn't kill anybody. So why are we so easily offended? I believe I have the answer.

For years and years I have heard men of God say that our country is a reflection of the church, and that our political leaders are a reflection of our pulpit leaders. I have always agreed wholeheartedly with that conclusion. Bearing that in mind, it has been my personal experience that preachers are probably the most touchy and the most easily offended single group. I cannot count the times I have heard preachers charge a congregation to receive the Word of God no matter how tough it might be. Yet, preachers seem to be more sensitive and more quick to be offended than any other group. In fact, from my personal experience, I would have to vote the preachers to be "the most likely to be offended." Most preachers cannot take preaching. What is the result of this? If the laws of sowing and reaping are in place, perhaps the church's and our country's sensitivity is the harvest from a bunch of babies behind pulpits who cannot take the truth if it is not served on a silver platter with sugar all over it. People in general are sensitive because they are filled with pride. Pride will not let a person admit that he is wrong. It will not let him admit that he still has some areas in which he needs help. Hey, preacher, for the sake of the church and our country, toughen up and receive the truth. Quit getting so easily offended.

To be removed from this mailing list you can unsubscribe through the homepage
or send your request to Unsub-tccn@wilderness-cry.net

If this newsletter was forwarded to you and you would like a free subscription simply send an e-mail to subscribe-tccn@wilderness-cry.net