The End Of Christian America

They say that once the national media picks up on a trend it is already passed. I've blogged about the decline of evangelicalism here and at my other blog and now Newsweek has discovered the trend with a major cover story, The End of Christian America.

Christian Right Defeated

James Dobson retired this week. As the head of Focus on the Family he was the last nationally recognized leader of the evangelical political right. I know some are promoting Rick Warren as his successor, but he doesn't (yet) share the same status. This is the first time since Falwell in the 70s that the movement has been without a figurehead. Dobson left the stage admitting the of defeat of their national agenda:

We tried to defend the unborn child, the dignity of the family, but it was a holding action... We are awash in evil and the battle is still to be waged. We are right now in the most discouraging period of that long conflict. Humanly speaking, we can say we have lost all those battles.

Quitting Church

All the numbers point to it. The clergy (quietly) admits it. Evangelical Christianity is on the verge of a serious decline. It is perhaps only a generation away from the near collapse mainstream churches saw in the 60s and 70s. There is a growing number of books on the subject - I have already reviewed The Fall of the Evangelical Nation - and I have just finished Quitting Church: Why The Faithful Are Leaving And What To Do About It by Julia Duin, the Religion Editor for the Washington Times.

Duin has been a religion journalist for some time, a position that has allowed her access to many people in leadership, and to many people who have left their positions of leadership. The reasons for the decline seem as numerous as the people leaving, but certain themes emerge. The church has very little to do, or to say, to the lives people live through the rest of the week. It concentrates it efforts on winning the lost and consequently leaves the mature Christians to go hungry. What is taught is watered down in order to be inoffensive and the lack of serious teaching is reflected in the unchristian lives so many expressed Christians live. The Church is coming apart at the top with many ministers and leaders burnt out or discouraged. Tired of trying to live perfect lives for others, tired of not being fed, tired of having to find a niche within the existing structure or risk being ignored.

I am not surprised by any of this, having gone to church for almost thirty years. Duin herself came in to the Church through the Charismatic Jesus movement of the 70s and wonders what happened to it. Where is the Spirit now? Has it been completely shut out, locked down in order to allow programs to run smoothly? Her book is long on descriptions, but offers little in the way of solutions. Of course, that may not be her fault. Authors don't necessarily provide their book's subtitle.

Duin makes a lot of good points. One of the book's sharper points is when she makes the connection between sexual struggles, being single, and the Church's need to help unmarried Christian connect. Anyone unfamiliar with the Evangelical community might think that's blindingly obvious, but to too many inside the community its not. They actually are blind to the obvious. The book might have been stronger still if she had spent some time addressing the many conflicting opinions and solutions people have adopted. Some fault the Evangelical movement for not adapting to the world of the 21st century, particularly in its views towards women, but many of the people spoken to have turned instead to churches, such of the Orthodox, who aren't known for accommodating modern trends. Sometimes Reform theology is seen as the problem, but when one minister faults Charismatics for being Arminianist Duin lets the statement stand without comment.

I suspect that the audience for this book are the many Christians who feel isolated. Who wonder if they're the only ones suffering through these discouraging times. Of course, many people feel this way at some time in their walk and then reconnect. My own feelings about the possible end of the Evangelical movement, as we know it today, is mixed. I agree with many in this book that in its efforts to become 'seeker friendly' it has watered down too much of its identity, and that the result is exactly the opposite of what it intended. It has become less relevant, not more. My strongest concern at this time is that its self-destruction will leave behind a burned out generation. One that is so convinced that it already knows everything, that it can't listen to what it wants to hear. Whereas in my review of Wicker's book I said that the Evangelicals will simply adapt to a new reality, I am now wondering if they will have "ears to hear." It may well take the rise of a new generation before we see a broader revival within the North American Church. Let's hope not.

Biblical Dualism

For the longest time I have been meaning to post some Bible studies and thoughts I've had, yet I never seem to. So here is the first. It began as a Bible study I taught last year.

Dualism is an age old concept when it comes to religion. Good versus evil. Light versus dark. God versus the devil. The idea is pretty much set in the popular imagination and in pop culture. God sits on his throne, ruling from Heaven, and Satan sits on his, ruling from Hell. Biblically and theologically this is complete nonsense. God and the devil aren't counterparts or equals. God alone is all-powerful, the creator of Heaven and Hell. And of the devil. God is unique. He doesn't have an opposite. The devil, however, does. His opposite is the Church. That's the true dualism of the Bible, the devil versus the Church. But even here it gets complicated.

Outlining the contrast between the devil and the Church could not be easier.

The devil is a destroyer, John 10:10a:

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy...

And he is without truth, John 8:44:

Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

The Church, on the other hand, is called to restore that which Satan has destroyed, it has a ministry of reconciliation, 2 Corinthians 5:17-19:

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

We are instruments to be used to complete Jesus' goal, Luke 19:10:

For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

We are to be bringers of life, John 10:10b:

I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

And holy, Ephesians 5:27:

That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

But it goes beyond simple contrasts. Before Calvary Jesus described Satan as the prince of this world, John 14:30:

Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.

Following Calvary the Church is both king and priest, Revelations 1:6:

And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

In theory this conflict should be a very simple one, because a breach has been made for us into the devil's kingdom. Until the invention of the cannon cities would protect themselves against their enemies by building strong walls around their perimeter. But each wall had at least one hole, or breach, in it: the gate. The city needed its gate in order to connect to the world around it, but if the gate fell to the enemy, the city so followed. The Bible says that the gates of Hell cannot stand against the Church, Matthew 16:18:

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

So the Church exists to undo the devil's works. We have been given authority over his kingdom, to destroy it. And that is why the devil attacks us. He isn't simply doing whatever it is he does. He fears us and takes our threat to him far more seriously than we often do ourselves. He knows he was defeated at Calvary and he knows that he was no power over the Church. But he also knows that the Church is made up of men and women, sinners saved by grace. He knows that there are only two ways for us to exercise our God-given authority, through prayer and fasting, Mark 9:28-29:

And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

And by submitting ourselves to God, James 4:7:

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

And here is where we fail. To defeat him we don't need arcane rituals and incantations, we simply need to submit ourselves to God and resist the devil. In practice, however, we prefer to neither submit to God nor resist the devil. The devil is invidious. If he can't win, we'll destroy as many as possible. Biblical dualism, in a nutshell, is: the devil works to destroy and the Church to restore. We have all the power of Heaven at our disposal, but don't avail ourselves of it. Satan has been defeated, but is willing to use whatever means he can in his efforts to do as much harm as possible. So where is God in all this? He is far from neutral. He defeated Satan on the cross and He is happy to empower His Church to the extent that we will allow Him. All we have to do is submit ourselves to His will.

I Want To Be Surprised, But

New Scientist reports a comparative, state by state, study on the use of porn in the US. These aren't casual users. These are people who actually pay to access pornography. There is a positive correlation between the conservative, church going, family values states and porn use. The more conservative one claims to be, the more likely that same person is secretly logging on to porn. Yes, I know there are a lot of us who don't do this, but I also know there are too many who do. Study after study has found little or no difference in the behaviour of those who claim to be Christians and those who don't. If the Church has no moral authority in the eyes of society at large, it is because it has no spiritual authority in the eyes of God, and it has no spiritual authority because it doesn't walk the walk. It says one thing and does another.

A Bible And Literature Quiz

The BBC site has is a short quiz about the Bible and literature, specifically on identifying Biblical allusions in classic lit. I hadn't read a lot of them, but still got nine out of ten by relying on my knowledge of the Bible. The one I blew was the only one I guessed at. Try it.

Getting Your Saints Right

Not being a Catholic, I don't really understand all this, but then many Catholics don't appear to understand it either. If you are praying for a new love, don't pray to St. Valentine. The proper saint is Raphael. Valentine is the saint for those you already have their special someone.

Its not mentioned, but Raphael is actually an angel. I didn't know they sainted angels.

June 29, 2010

A while ago I set myself a goal to shake off the spiritual status quo. I don't know even now what that means, but I wasn't happy where I was so I gave myself 1000 days, until June 29, 2010, to change... something. This month will bring me to the half way point. On the other blog I had been giving one hundred day assessments. I am not going to do that here. I may not mention the countdown again this year. I don't know. There is something on the horizon that may have some real consequences in my spiritual walk, but I can't discuss it at this point. Its something I have to let happen, which grates a bit. I'd rather just deal with it, but I think letting it happen is the Lord's will in the matter. Once it does happen I'll be able to talk about it.

In other news, I created a link to my earlier dispensationalist writings. That's the last of the 'old news.' All new content from here on!

Dispensationalism

When I began this blog I had just finished a study of Dispensationalism. This page links to posts I did then, and to an article on Dispensationalism and modern Israel I did for subter.

Leaving Dispensationalism Behind

Methods of Interpretation

Terminology

The Dispensationalist Outline of History

End Time Miscellany

Dispensationalism: A Look At II Peter 3

A Black Cheque

That's About It

Today I put up links to my personal testimony and some book reviews. I am going to add a link to the pieces I did on Dispensationalism back when I started this blog and that will be it for old business. I could have done that much today, but I hurt my thumb last night - I cut it well washing dishes - and my hand hurts if I type too much. As far as I am concerned, its on to new business!

My Testimony

I grew up in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, and life had not been good. My mother and my biological father had split up shortly after I was born. A sister of mine had died and the house was full of recriminations. My mother married my step-father when I was still a pre-schooler. He had a lot of things going for him but even when I was very young he was well on his way to becoming an alcoholic. Their marriage was stormy and short and ended with me being raised by my step-father. I sank into what I later realized was depression and became disconnected from those around me. The years from my parents’ divorce to my high school graduation were long and desperate. Once I reached eighteen I was ready to put it all behind me. To start my life over. That was what a move to Whitehorse, Yukon offered. I moved there because someone had offered me a summer job. I was at a turning point.

I had family in Whitehorse and began meeting lots of new people. One was a neighbor, a Pentecostal woman, named Lisa. She talked with me at great length, telling me what the Bible teaches and how the Spirit of God moved in her church. My childhood in a mainstream church did not include much in the way of Bible teaching. I had been allowed to skip church altogether from a young age so I was curious about the many things she told me. People were ‘healed’, people ‘danced in the Spirit’, they were ‘filled with the Holy Ghost’ and ‘spoke in other tongues’. She showed me accounts of miracles which had happened in the Bible, and she then explained that they still happened at her church.

With my curiosity aroused I decided to attend a service at the First Pentecostal Church of Whitehorse on the last Sunday of July, 1981, to see for myself. Even though I sat at the front, I spent much of the time watching the congregation worship. The Holy Spirit was strongly moving on me, and the very next week I returned to church and repented of my sins and was baptized by immersion in Jesus’ name. The church was constructing a new building, and I participated as much as I could. In the last service at the old building I went to the altar, and asked the Lord to fill me with His Spirit. I was filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with tongues, just as the church did on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2).

The year I spent in Whitehorse was the most important one of my life. I became a Christian and I met my future wife. In time we moved to Victoria, BC, to raise our family, and so that I could attend university. There were many blessings, particularly the birth of my two daughters, but there were also some hard trials. The hardest came in 1989, when my marriage ended. When we separated, my wife took the girls to her home in the Yukon, and I found myself sinking back into the same depression that had stolen much of my adolescence years.

When I became depressed my views and behaviour was undercut by feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. It destroyed all of my motivation and prevented me from reaching out or appreciating anything. Often I would question the value of serving the Lord, because my darkened mind rejected everything. But thankfully my earlier experience with the Lord prevented me from walking away. By that time I had lived for the Lord for the better part of a decade. I knew the truth of God’s Word and I knew the Lord personally. Even feeling that I was without hope, I knew that I had experiences I could not deny. In the Bible, when people began to be offended by Jesus’ teachings, many stopped following Him. He asked the twelve if they too would go. Peter answered, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.’ (John 6:68) This scripture was one that spoke to me again and again throughout this period. Even though I didn’t feel I was currently getting anything at all out of my spiritual walk, I knew that there wasn’t anywhere else to turn which would offer me anything more than I’d already experienced in Jesus. I was fully persuaded!

After about a year of suffering, during some special services our church hosted, I went forward and asked for healing. As hands were laid on me and I was prayed for (1 Peter 2:24, James 5:14) the spirit of heaviness was lifted by the power and presence of the Almighty God. A couple of months later I recieved custody of my daughters. There were still trials ahead, but freed from the deadening, crippling depression, I was able to see past my circumstances. ‘[W]hen I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me.’ (Micah 7:8)

Today I can look at where the Lord has me brought and appreciate all the blessings He has given me, including a strong family and a happy marriage, and the knowledge that His hand is on my life. Today I am setting down deeper roots in the Lord. Challenging myself and finding out that richer, greater levels of commitment are always met by a richer, greater flow of His Spirit in my life. When things are dark and I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, I know that He knows and that He will be there for me. It’s a question that was settled long ago and continually is bearing fruit today!

Book Reviews

One things I have been doing at the other site is reviewing books. There aren't many, yet, and I am going to link directly to that site, instead of reposting here. Future reviews will be here at Christian Beta.

Jesus and Yahweh: The Divine Names

AD 381: Heretics, Pagans, And The Christian State

The Fall Of The Evangelical Nation: The Surprising Crisis Inside The Church

Quitting Church: Why The Faithful Are Leaving And What To Do About It

The Lost World of Genesis One

All Or Nothing: A Short History Of Abstinence In America

Relaunch Prep Continues

Looking over 2008 posts that might be reposted here, there aren't a lot to consider. I made 19 religious or spiritually themed posts in 2008. About one every two or three weeks. I know that's a lot for some bloggers. There were links to news items, countdowns on my 1000 day goal (more on that later), even a re-post from here. There were a couple of book reviews I am thinking of linking to here. You may have noticed that the links I did have here are gone. A couple were more a appropriate to the other blog and the rest were dead. A couple of years is a long time in cyberspace. One thing I will be reposting over here is my testimony. Before I do any of it though, I am going to look through the rest of my hiatus period and see if there is anything else I need to consider moving. I intend to have it all done by the end of the month.

Christian Beta Returns

After about 25 months I have decided to revive this blog. I am not entirely sure about the when and how at this point. Originally I put this one on hiatus and started another with the idea of putting all my interests under one roof, but over the last two years my other site, David Bird, came to represent my geekier interests (comics, SF, and such) and stopped being the more generalized site I had imagined. I am okay with that. It just developed its own identity over time. Rather than force it back into the orginally intended mold, I am bringing this one back. I will probably link to some of the stuff I have there, but I don't think I'll repost it here. We'll see. Anyway. Good to be back. I am looking forward to a good year for Christian Beta in 2009.

New Blog Is Active

A week today will mark a year since I started this blog. I averaged a post a week. But my new blog is up and this should be my last post at Christian Beta.

My new blog is simply David Bird. You'll find the same stuff there that you found here and a lot more.

Thanks. Its been fun.

New Subter Article

I have a new article up at subter, A Blank Cheque.

Still can't settle on a new name. Was going to go with Carl's idea (Bird's Eye View), but another person at blogger has it. Maybe I'll switch hosts.

More Blog News

I have been thinking about this for a while, but I have come to a decision. Soon Beta Christian will be no more. I have decided to create a blog with a more generalized focus: all of my interests, instead of just one. Religion will still be a big focus, of course. Its a big part of my life. But other things will be there too. Off the top of my head, I think comics will enjoy the highest post count. Its what I write about the most.

When I do set it up, I will post a link here and keep this blog up for a while before deleting it.

Now I just need a name. Sadly, Birdopedia and Birdology are the front runners. Any thoughts?

Religious Right Continues To Fall Behind

Last February I posted news about an attempt to move America's Evangelicals towards acting on environmental issues. It failed. It looks like another such attempt has failed. Joel Hunter, only recently elected to lead the powerful Christian Coalition, has resigned - even before taking office. He tried to get the organization interested in things other than abortion and opposing gay marriage and it said no. Its not that he wanted to change positions on those matters. He just wanted to reach out to more issues that Christians care about. Issues that aren't necessarily supported by the Republican party.

Some day James Dobson's calls won't get answered and incidents like this are why.

Blog Problems

You may notice that the profile to the right is not the Christian Beta profile. The new upgrades to the Blogger system are merging accounts. I am trying to get this fixed. Please be patient. If I can't, I'll look for a new host.

I am shutting off the e-mail and other options as they aren't currently correct, either.

Matthew 1:18-25

Continuing from September 6th

1:18-25: Jesus’ Birth

The story of Jesus’ birth is told in five parts, each centered around the fulfillment of a prophecy. The first part completes chapter one, and is the fullfilment of Isaiah 7:14-15, in which Isaiah is told by the Lord to reassure Ahaz, king of Judah. Israel, the Northern Kingdom, and Syria had allied together and laid seige to Jerusalem. God assured Ahaz that they would not succeed, and that the Northern Kingdom would fall. God even offered to give Ahaz a sign that it would come to pass, but Ahaz deferred, saying he didn’t want to tempt the Lord. God was unimpressed. He then gave Isaiah prophecies of God’s judgements, but also promises of His mercy, including a saviour:

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.

Isaiah 7: 14-15

Immanuel means, as Matthew says, ‘God with us’, but Joseph is also instructed to actually name the child Jesus, because “he shall save his people from their sins.” The name Jesus means, 'Jehovah is salvation.' God is our source of salvation. It is a transliteration of the name Yeshua into Greek. Translated into English it is Joshua. The Greek language had dominated the eastern Mediterranean for three centuries by the time Jesus was born. While we assume his name actually was Yeshua, or an Aramaic version of the same, by the time of His birth it wasn’t uncommon for Jews to actually use the Greek version and it is the only version of His name found in scripture.

The angel speaks to Joseph. Throughout this account in Matthew the angel speaks only to Joseph, which reinforces the idea that this account, and its genealogy, are from his side of the family. The angel isn’t named, but, according to Luke, Gabriel spoke to Mary and its believed he spoke to Joseph too.

The account given by Matthew is very simple: Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they came together, sexually, she was pregnant. Joseph decided to break the engagement, but before he did an angel came to assure him that Mary’s pregnancy was not what it appeared. God himself was the father. Though these scriptures don’t speak of ‘God the father’, rather, it’s the Holy Ghost. Throughout the Old Testament, when God acted in this world, it was said that His Spirit, the Spirit of the Lord, came, acted, or inspired. The same thing happened here. In fulfillment of the prophecy God had given Ahaz a virgin was pregnant and the messiah was about to be born. And we believe this because we know Him. We know the Risen Saviour.

And Mary believed because the angel Gabriel told her. She would have known she was pregnant and that she was a virgin, but not how such a thing could be. Joseph knew because an angel told him. But what of the people around them? An engagement was not a trivial matter; everyone knew that Mary was Joseph’s. And not only was she pregnant, it wasn’t his child. I don’t know if it’s possible for us today, at least in the West, to appreciate what that meant, but it links her to the four women already mentioned in this chapter. Like them, her life knew shame and humiliation. Yet, unlike them, hers came as a result of God’s blessing. How often do we despise the blessings of the Lord, taking our measure from the world?

What has always stood out to me in this passage was Joseph’s reaction, before the angel spoke to him, to the news of her pregnancy:

Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.

Matthew 1:19

My copy of Vine’s tells me that the word ‘just’ “denotes righteousness, a state of being right, or right conduct, judged by the Divine standard, or according to human standards of what is right.” And how does a just man repsond to this news? He didn’t want to marry her, it wasn’t his child, but he didn’t want to shame her either. By the day’s standards she was his and her pregnancy was a mark against his honour as much as hers, but he was happy to let that go. He didn’t see any value in humiliating her. People would talk. Both their reputations would be forever linked to this scandal. But because he was a righteous man, he didn’t see any need to strike out. To show the world that he was blameless; that the situation was not his fault. And when he received instructions on the matter from the Lord, he believed and he acted. He wed Mary, ignoring what others might say, he didn’t touch her until the baby was born, and then he named the child Jesus.

Much is made of Christ’s humility, and rightly so, but he had more than a heavenly Father to turn to for guidance. He had two earthly examples.