Who Truly Threatens the Church?

The only real threat to the church are Christians within. They were essentially faithless and useless during lockdowns and attendance has been anemic since.

Maybe this is a time of pruning. Historically the church has thrived in times and places of real persecution.

 

Goes along with this study that states religion in America is losing its importance among the population. For the first time in US history, regular church attendance has dropped to well below 50% of the population, and the number of people who identify as Christian are now a plurality, not a majority.

30 years ago, Christians could espouse equality for all messages, because they still had most of the power in the country. Today, they are losing their power and in order to keep their traditional power, they are embracing more extreme measures.

 

imo this push for Christian nationalism and certain churches delving into politics and repeating a politician’s campaign platform is a turnoff for potential new members. This along with a constant aura of judgement for certain churches. Also baby boomers didn’t take their kids to church like their parents did. millennials, what is your feedback?

 

The church could do worse than to infect itself with the machinations of the state.

 

Welcome to the age of the "cultural Christian"

 

I think "religious" messages will still sell, it will just be some influencer you follow online.

 

I’m a boomer and I took my kids to church. Then I let them make their decision wether to keep going after they got into their teens.

 

Also, the Court used to be more skeptical of government endorsement of religion and the citation of religious views to avoid facially-neutral laws of general applicability. Today, it seems the Court is elevating religious belief while the people themselves are becoming less religious. I suppose Christians can argue that they don't have the near monopoly on political power they once had and therefore need more protections from laws they don't like or agree with. But it's also true that many want the government to promote their faith or related views in a time when there is even less of a consensus about it all and when even a lot of self-identified Christians don't take the time to go to church or only seem to reference Christianity when it's needed as a political tool.

 

It does amuse me, the people who imagine that the church wields terrifying power over the culture. It lost the culture war a long time ago.

 

Americans have been leaving Christianity since the '90s yet some people want to blame it on covid

 

Yes, of course. But never have I seen Christians so suddenly shrink back as during the Time of Hysteria. Ex: a neighbor of mine, a former pastor, did not leave his home for more than a year. He used to be the neighborhood ambassador. But he shriveled from fear.

 

Maybe God told him to stay home and he was just doing the will of God?

 

"threatens" is worthy of a moment's thought. Meriam would say either:

• express one's intention to harm or kill (someone).
  "the men threatened the customers with a handgun"

OR

• cause (someone or something) to be vulnerable or at risk; endanger.
  "a broken finger threatened his career"

I'd say the threat to the church has been this country's increased wgaf-ism about organized religion, not attacks against it. Sure, some of those that have turned away may be inclined to violence or action against the church, but largely it's a parting of the ways that ends in apathy. Not putting "Merry Christmas" on a coffee mug is only a threat in the second definition's sense.

I'd say if the church wants a revival, it needs to read the room and not double down.

 

That’s the way almost every church justified it. Churches succumbed to the campaign of terror as readily as almost any other demographic.

But First Century Christians were noted for ministering to lepers when no one else would. Most importantly, worship is an incarnational phenomenon.

It’s people gathering together, not home watching on their phones.

 

I think your approach was a good one and hope your church wasn't "extreme". Going to church is generally a good thing for youngsters. It reinforces our moral values. The kinds of churches referenced in the OP, however, are not good for young minds. They are too political and don't spend enough time teaching the essential message of Jesus and the Bible itself.

 

Just wanted it noted that I have only liked and agreed to a couple of posts and have contributed nothing else.

 

without shriveling from fear, there'd be no Christianity

 

People who call themselves Christians in any number of countries on Zoom waiting for you.

 

I have been studying more intensly ACADEMIC biblcal studies of the 4 Gospels, specifically lectures by
Bart Ehrman, Princeton School of Theology, UNC, a doctoral specialist in the field.

Any reader of the Gospels is familiar with the fact the 4 Gospels are somewhat different versions of a similar story, that being the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The guy is impressive with his depth of study, not only of Christianity, but many religions, in particular ancient ones and ancient ones from the Fertile Crescent, the Levant and really the entire Middle East.

One interesting factoid is the earliest documented scrap of the 4 Gospels from the New Testement Bible, was discovered in Egypt and has been dated to AD 150.

It was fragmentary, not very large and written in Greek Orthodox.

More to the post, no question Christianity is reducing its number of adherents however those still practicing have hyped up political activism and pressure to over the top levels.

Many adherents to the faith were involved with Jan 6th.