DECLINE OF CHRISTIANITY (II)

Below is our last comment from the previous post on this topic: “Ironically, it was the scientific and industrial advancements of the west that enabled the label of Christianity to spread, while nevertheless causing the substantive religion to shrink in significance.” (BENTON JOHNSON: a Professor of Sociology at the University of Oregon.)

Jesus also concluded as the prediction of what was coming; Matthew 24:12 “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.”

The Lord God Almighty is reorganizing the church as an institution for the advancement of His Kingdom. So what is happening in the mainline churches is typical of His chastising approach for all to resort once again to the Way, Truth and Life.   

Meanwhile, the American experience of the dwindling story of the church is never different from her counterparts in other nations of the world. The reasons for the decline are similar; until the church is awakened and ready to return Home to faith as the basis for the supernatural lifestyle, her decline will persist.

What, if anything, can the mainline Protestant denominations do to arrest their decline? Some of them are now, for the first time in thirty years, giving high priority to new church development, and if these new programs are well-planned and well-executed the membership loss may be slowed or even reversed for a time. …An appealing minister, a warm but low-keyed invitation to participate, a friendly and informal atmosphere… may persuade some of them to go back to church. But our data suggest that the vast majority of such prospects are lay liberals and few are likely, at least under present circumstances, to form deep commitments to the Christian faith or to the life of their new parishes. And if Bibby's Canadian findings can be extended to the United States, many "religious" dropouts will be unmoved by attempts to bring them back to church…   

“The underlying problem of the mainline churches cannot be solved by new programs of church development alone. That problem is the weakening of the spiritual conviction required to generate the enthusiasm and energy needed to sustain a vigorous communal life. Somehow, in the course of the past century, these churches lost the will or the ability to teach the Christian faith and what it requires to a succession of younger cohorts in such a way as to command their allegiance. Admittedly, doing so has become increasingly difficult for churches as close to the very center of American culture and institutional life as the mainline denominations are. The challenges posed to Christianity by various secular ideologies and moral systems have been truly formidable in recent times. Mainline Protestants in general and Presbyterians in particular are well educated. Many of their forebears read such authors as Darwin, H. L. Mencken, and Aldous Huxley. In response to the currents of modernity, denominational leaders promoted ecumenism and dialogue, but they did not devise or promote compelling new versions of a distinctively Christian faith. They did not fashion or preach a vigorous apologetics.” -(BENTON JOHNSON: a Professor of Sociology at the University of Oregon.)

The church in Africa and especially our local congregations in Nigeria must learn a lesson from the American experience of the mainline church decline!