So the question that comes to mind is, "Why is our faith slowly fading away in America?" It seems that there is something that is working, fairly effectively, against the Christian faith.
I believe that over the last few decades there has been a growing assault on Christianity. This can be seen in the ever-loosening restrictions as to what we can see on T.V. and movies and hear on the radio. As well as the ever-growing restrictions as to what we can say or do in school, at work, and in public in relation to faith. Religion has become taboo in our society. It is now politically incorrect to talk about religion outside of your home or church. The government is constantly telling us that we are not allowed to pray or gather in public outside of our churches. Public schools and secular colleges do the same thing. We are considered "right-wing nut jobs" when we stand up for our faith and the standards we are called to live by. It is always widely reported when a prominent Christian screws up or sins in a terrible way (as seen in all of those Catholic priest scandals a while back). Everyone sins, as hard as we try not to daily, we still sin, it is the nature of the beast, we are fallen creatures.
All of this culminates in this very "uncool" and "hypocritical" view of Christianity to non-Christians or those unsure of their faith. I feel like this gets worse every year. So what do we do?
Stand up in the face of persecution. Jesus was constantly trashed for his "hypocrisy" (which was really just his not following the Pharisaic laws and rules). He got slammed for dining with sinners and tax collectors, healing on the Sabbath, and eventually crucified for who he was.
As awful as that sounds, that is what we have to do, stand up for who we are in Christ and face the persecution. 1 Peter 3:15 says, "...In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." Of course, we will screw up, we will sin, and we will get caught doing it. It happens. When that happens we just fess up to it, take responsibility, repent, and take another step forward. If we live our lives as close to the model of Christ as we can, daily, and be prepared to explain and defend our faith to others, we can take this country back. It starts with each of us working up the courage to do so.
Romans 1:16, "I am not ashamed o the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the Salvation of everyone who believes..."
would you really call a failure to censor the media an outright assault on Christianity? believe me, media censorship has its place. it's necessary in some cases. but to give the media and it's censorship practices all the credit for attacking Christianity is downright unfair. i'm more inclined to think that the people in charge of censorship probably consult some sort of manual or rule book for facts about what to censor, not the bible. and it's for the better, as i'm pretty sure the bible doesn't say a whole lot about whether-or-not it's okay to show some titty on tv after 11pm... or maybe it does. i don't really know.
ReplyDeleteGood point. I wouldn't say it is all media. I guess that's just mostly what came out of me while I was a little bummed about that article in USA Today. What do you think about it.? Is it media, is it our fault as Christians, are we not doing the right things to show people the God we love? I'd love to get some conversation going on here about what practical things we can do to change this downward trend in faith in America, or even in our own neighborhoods. Hit us up with your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI think Christians try and point the finger at everyone but themselves. Before you fall into that again be quick to realize it is those who call themselves Christians that are supporting these types of reform. Before you point the finger at someone else, find the common enemy.
ReplyDelete1. C.S. Lewis's book Screwtape Letters talks a little bit about this. Lewis speaks of a war that has been going on for our souls since the beginning of time. This war will continue. It is not "those people" or "government" that we are fighting against.
2. How then do you fight something you cant see? Think terrorism. How do you fight terrorism? You cant. Terrorism is a state of mind, an ideology, the condition of the soul. In my experience its quite simple. Love with a purpose. To affect a condition of the soul one must reach the soul. However, love with the intention to change for your benefit is not love. Much like forced morality is unmoral in itself.
Love to love not to change.