(March 11, 2009) The Christian Science Monitor website had the following article: “The coming evangelical collapse” written by Michael Spencer, a well known Christian blogger and former pastor of the Southern Baptist denomination. He writes “We are on the verge – within 10 years – of a major collapse of evangelical Christianity. This breakdown will follow the deterioration of the mainline Protestant world and it will fundamentally alter the religious and cultural environment in the West.” He lists seven reasons as to why this collapse will take place. I will highlight a few:
“1. Evangelicals have identified their movement with the culture war and with political conservatism. This will prove to be a very costly mistake. Evangelicals will increasingly be seen as a threat to cultural progress. Public leaders will consider us bad for America, bad for education, bad for children, and bad for society.”
“4. Despite some very successful developments in the past 25 years, Christian education has not produced a product that can withstand the rising tide of secularism.”
“6. Even in areas where Evangelicals imagine themselves strong (like the Bible Belt), we will find a great inability to pass on to our children a vital evangelical confidence in the Bible and the importance of the faith.”
Part of Mr. Spencer’s conclusion states the following: “The loss of their political clout may impel many Evangelicals to reconsider the wisdom of trying to create a “godly society.” That doesn’t mean they’ll focus solely on saving souls, but the increasing concern will be how to keep secularism out of church, not stop it altogether. The integrity of the church as a countercultural movement with a message of “empire subversion” will increasingly replace a message of cultural and political entitlement.”
Lastly, he adds a disclaimer: “I’m not a prophet. My view of evangelicalism is not authoritative or infallible. I am certainly wrong in some of these predictions. But is there anyone who is observing evangelicalism in these times who does not sense that the future of our movement holds many dangers and much potential?”
His overiding premise is based on the fact that “[Evangelical Christians] will soon be living in a very secular and religiously antagonistic 21st century.” I concur with his assessment. In September of 2004 I wrote an article on my crudely created first website at iesouschristos.com (In early 2006 I changed the look of this website to its current appearance www.iesouschristos.com; I no longer contribute to this website as I believe the Culture War is over) You can read the original article at:
archive.org or on the current website at iesouschristos.com
The following is that article in its entirety as written on September 4, 2004:
Will America persecute Christians in the future?
Recent events in America’s history have led me to wonder if it’s possible that Christians will be persecuted in the United States of America in the future.
Persecution of Christians started at the very beginning of Christianity with the stoning of the follower of Jesus Christ, Stephen. Shortly thereafter the Roman Empire tortured and killed many Christians because of their beliefs. Persecution of Christians has continued to our present day by Fascist, Communist, and Islamic countries. More Christians were killed in the 20th century than all the other centuries combined (carm.org). Jesus prophesied that persecution of His followers would take place when He said: “You will be hated by all men for My name’s sake” (Mark 13:13).
American Christians have been spared persecution during the first few hundred years of the United States existence. That is because America was founded, not upon the principle of “freedom from religion, but rather upon “freedom forreligion”! Since the middle of the 20th century however our society has moved towards becoming a secular state. Various judicial rulings have undermined the Judeo-Christian system of beliefs that America was founded on. The phrase “separation of Church and State” has become the mantra of those people who would like to see America become a completely secularized state. It is clear that the American judicial system has become increasingly antagonistic toward those who hold to the Christian faith.
There are a few examples that I will point out of recent rulings against Christianity and those who hold similar viewpoints of faith. It started with the banning of prayer in our school system in 1962 by the Supreme Court of the United States. I believe this was the beginning of an attack on our country’s youth. Instead of giving young people a reassurance that their lives were not a random act of evolution, it led them to a belief that they were ultimately accountable to no one. In the late 1960′s America experienced a “sexual revolution” which had as it foundational principle: “If it feels good, do it!” This led young Americans to engage in sexual “freedom” which resulted in sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy. The next logical step in this progression led to another Supreme Court ruling in 1973 which allowed women to have a “legal” abortion. So if your sexual freedom led to a pregnancy then all you had to do to solve the problem was to abort your unborn baby. Then in the 1980′s this sexual revolution allowed the homosexual community to openly announce that they intended to promote their lifestyle in the American culture. They did suffer a setback with the discovery of the HIV virus known as AIDS. Rather than reassess the choices they were making with their lives they demanded that America find a cure for this disease so that they could continue to flaunt their homosexuality. Indeed, a cure should be found for this and all the other diseases that humans suffer but they turned that suffering into a political movement. The entertainment industry helped to promote their agenda through television shows and movies that had homosexual characters in them. The media also tried to change American’s view on homosexuality by presenting it as an “alternative lifestyle”. This acceptance of homosexuality was implemented in our school system’s curricula through books and courses designed to influence future generations of Americans to accept it as part of our society. Those people who have supported and implemented the secularization of America have been very successful in their efforts. Since 1973 the equivalent of 1/7 (43,000,000) of our current population has been exterminated through abortion. Also sexual “freedom” is permeating every area of our society so that teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases are an accepted part of our culture. However, for the secularists to have total reign over our culture there is one obstacle they have to overcome.
That obstacle is Christians who continue to believe in a God who will hold His creations, human beings, accountable one day. That the Church has played a role in the decline of our culture has some validity. We Christians have also engaged in sinful behavior. As such we need to repent of our sins and of our participation in this process. Jesus said Christians are to be the “light of the world” yet we have failed in many aspects of this calling. I believe that we are moving in this direction but obviously still have a ways to go. One way that we are trying to change is through the political process upon which our democracy is based. Up until recent years Christians have not been engaged in the stopping of the deterioration of our culture. I believe that participation in the democratic process by Christians is a legitimate means of trying to stem the tide of cultural demise. But that does not alleviate us from our responsibility to change people’s hearts through words, behaviors, and prayer. I’ve heard people say you can’t legislate morality. This is a fallacy because most legislation is based on morality. Otherwise, why is it wrong to murder and steal? The animal kingdom kills one another for food or territory yet we do not assign a standard of morality to their behavior. Humans, on the other hand, do understand right and wrong because God has written His laws upon our hearts (Romans 2:11-15). So the electoral process is one responsible way for Christians to overcome the threat to our American culture. However, recent events have led me to the conclusion that Christians in America will one day be persecuted as Jesus Christ said we would.
Early in 2004 a movie based on the crucifixion of Jesus Christ made a tremendous impact on our culture. This movie, called “The Passion of the Christ” was seen by millions of people around the world. However, it received a tremendous amount of opposition from secularists and the media. There were predictions of anti-Semitism running rampant in the streets of America (none of which ever materialized). Christianity was referred to as an intolerant religion and a religion of torture and death. Yet in spite of this hysteria many people were positively impacted by the message of this movie. But the concern is that large segments of our society revealed a deep hatred of Christians and their beliefs.
Another, and even more revealing, event took place later in the year. The Presidential election campaign of 2004 illustrated clearly the cultural divide that has been growing in America between secularist liberals and Christian conservatives. I have never seen an election process that was even close to exhibiting the vitriolic language and animosity towards those who supported the Christian values held by our President than this one did. The apostle Paul wrote that humans do not ultimately wrestle against flesh and blood but against spiritual entities who are opposed to the ways of God (Ephesians 6:10-17). There is not one doubt in my mind that the battle for our culture is being fought in the spiritual realm. The behavior by those opposed to traditional Christian values was evidence enough that this is in fact the case. After the President was re-elected, it was determined that a large part of his support came from those people who did hold traditional beliefs. The opposition immediately started denigrating people of faith through the media and the Internet. The hostility intensified to an even greater level towards Christians than before the election. The fact that several states passed amendments to their constitutions which prohibited same-sex marriage gave more impetus to this hatred. The results of this election, which appear to be a repudiation of liberal values, do seem to give a reprieve to our cultural decline but I believe it will only be a momentary one.
The problem is that liberals have found that since they are unable to control the executive and legislative branches at all levels of our government they will push their secularist agenda through the judicial branch. As noted above, the judiciary of America has ruled very often in their favor and very often against values of faith. That the secularists will continue down this path of using judicial activists to further their cause is a fact of history. I believe that ultimately there will be laws legislated by these activist judges in our country that will result in an attempt to silence Christians from preaching their beliefs.
As mentioned earlier, persecution of Christians is occurring in countries that have closed societies. But recently there has been an alarming development in Western-style or democratic-type countries. The country of Sweden has passed “hate-crimes” legislation which prohibit speech that is considered hateful towards others. In a well known case a pastor in Sweden was sentenced to one month in prison for preaching against homosexuality during a sermon in 2003. Canada has also passed similar “hate-crimes” legislation recently. In 2004 a effort was made to expand current federal “hate-crimes” laws in America to include crimes based on gender, sexual-orientation, and disability. This legislation would have made it easier for local law enforcement agencies and courts to prosecute those accused of “hate crimes”. This amendment was approved by the Senate as a part of a Defense authorization bill. But because House Republicans opposed this provisional amendment it was removed from this bill. The issue of adding sexual-orientation to the Federal “hate crimes” law will be raised again in 2005 according to the bill’s sponsors. If and when this law is passed it may lead eventually to the same scenario that has already occurred in Sweden. Ministers who speak against homosexuality because of their belief in the Bible and what is has to say on this issue may one day be arrested in America for espousing their views. Some would say that this could never happen in America where the First Amendment of the Constitution guarantees free speech. There was an incident during the 2004 Presidential campaign which may cause some to reconsider the impossibility of America clamping down on free speech. It was glossed over by the media rather quickly.
There was a film that was going to be shown by a television broadcasting company that was going to be detrimental to the Democratic candidate, John Kerry. Eventually an uproar in the media and other liberal circles prevailed and this company edited out parts of the film that were the cause of such consternation. But there was one specific incident that occurred during this controversy that I want to point out. It pertains to statement made by a Kerry campaign aide: “Listen, they better look out there at Sinclair Broadcasting. I’m not a lawyer, but they’ve stirred up a lot of hatred. We’ve got thousands of people now very mad, jackballed up – calling these [Sinclair] stations, protesting, threatening boycotts of their sponsors. I think they’re going to regret doing this. They better hope we don’t win.” The chilling implication of this statement was that if the liberals were elected to office they would use their power to stifle the speech of a national media outlet. That they were willing to admit that they would commit such an egregious violation of what many consider to be the greatest of our rights listed in the Constitution is almost beyond belief. But as I’ve noted in this article, secularists and liberals have not been reticent to change the culture we have had in America for 200 years by using whatever means necessary to achieve their goals.
Though the sweep by conservatives in the recent national and state elections may stem the progression of the liberal agenda in America, I believe that eventually liberal activist judges will find ways to continue their implementation of this agenda such as that exhibited by the Massachusetts Supreme Court. When they do come to power I believe that eventually Christians in America will be persecuted by our government. I believe that this persecution will occur within a decade of this time. I do not believe for one moment that my position is overly dramatic. As I pointed out earlier the courts have ruled consistently against religion in the public arena. That persecution could happen here as hatred in America continues to build against those who hold to the values as espoused by the Bible is not only possible but probable. Why should Christians not believe Jesus Christ when He said: “You will be hated by all men for My name’s sake”?!
[end of 2004 article]
I still believe that Christians will be persecuted in America as they continue to be around the world. The U.S. Constitution has replaced the Bible as the authoritative voice in America. Though the media has declined recently in numbers they have not lost their power to influence Americans. They played a large part in the election of the very liberal Barack Obama for president. Bible-believing Christianity is not politically correct. To say that abortion and homosexual marriage is wrong is an affront to the secularists’ sensibilities. I don’t see how Biblical Christianity can exist as a significant part of American society with the assault that secularist judges, politicians, and media outlets are continuing to exert against it.
Jesus made an intriguing statement during His ministry which I’m not sure exactly was He was referring to when He said it: “Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8) One possible meaning could refer to His second coming which takes place at the end of the seven year Tribulation Period (a terrible time of devastation that the whole world will go through). It is possible that since a large part of the world’s population will be destroyed during that time, the majority of those who remain will be followers of the Antichrist and will have killed the many of the followers of God. In discussing the signs of the End-Times with His disciples on the Mount of Olives Jesus said, “8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. 9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” (Matthew 24:8-12) Whether or not this is what Jesus meant when He questioned whether He would find faith on earth at His return I cannot say. I do believe that America will further decline in Christian truth and will be open to all kinds of deception that will lead to its downfall.
(March 6, 2009) Recently I read the following headlines on the same day:
