The future of Christianity may be different than you think
by Trevin Wax, The Gospel Coalition.
What if you could travel back in time a hundred years?
The early 1900s were a time when technology was progressing by leaps and bounds. The age of science and reason had stirred up a sense of optimism across North America. New methods of studying the Scriptures had become popular, with critical analysis now applied to the Bible.
Let’s say you dropped in on a meeting with a pastor and a theologian discussing how the gospel would best spread in the 20th century.
As you listen in, you hear the theologian say something like this:
“Christianity is in trouble. The Bible is full of supernatural events and miracles, and we can’t expect people in our scientific age to believe in these stories without question. The idea of the virgin birth is simply astounding to educated people in our time.”
The pastor responds:
“What are you saying? That we should abandon these truths? Christians have always believed these things.”
“No, no,” comes the reply. “I’m not saying we deny these miracle stories altogether. But surely we could downplay them. Why not avoid aspects of the faith that may embarrass educated Christians in our time?”
“Are you sure this would help our mission?” the pastor asks.
“I believe so,” says the theologian
The sexual revolution and the do-nothing church , by Stephen Baskerville, Crisis Magazine
How the church must confront the sexual revolution, by Stephen Baskerville, Crisis Magazine
The Christian bridge too far, by Rod Dreher, The American Conservative
and
“The Benedict Option” – should Christians withdraw from fighting a losing battle with the culture and within ‘plural’ churches, and focus on mission from within a more confessional base? Or is this giving up too soon, or even seeing a problem which is not there? Analysis and comment.
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