The coming evangelical collapse in America

by zeet | March 10, 2009 at 09:16 am
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According to the writer the collapse is eminent because Christianity is identified with culture war and political Conservatism. The orthodox form is no longer in line with the youth, which will result in fewer followers. In a way, the "product" has proven not to be "timeless".

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.

Within two generations, evangelicalism will be a house deserted of half its occupants. (Between 25 and 35 percent of Americans today are Evangelicals.) In the "Protestant" 20th century, Evangelicals flourished. But they will soon be living in a very secular and religiously antagonistic 21st century.

This collapse will herald the arrival of an anti-Christian chapter of the post-Christian West. Intolerance of Christianity will rise to levels many of us have not believed possible in our lifetimes, and public policy will become hostile toward evangelical Christianity, seeing it as the opponent of the common good.

Millions of Evangelicals will quit. Thousands of ministries will end. Christian media will be reduced, if not eliminated. Many Christian schools will go into rapid decline. I'm convinced the grace and mission of God will reach to the ends of the earth. But the end of evangelicalism as we know it is close.

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4
Roy C

Nietzsche was the first of a long line to point out that literal religious thought was collapsing, the problem being that nihilism was the likely result, already obvious to him in the 1880s.

Jung dealt with this problem extensively, as did Gurdjieff.

When a literal belief dies, it takes a while for the metaphorical truth that actually sustained the belief to filter up.

In the meantime, the newborn rationalist succumbs to "rationalism", resisting any spiritual or even objective interpretation of the meaning of being in the world.

You see this in deconstructionism.

3
Karen Hatter

An interesting article.

2
Fripouille

Excellent comment that Roy.

You're right in you explanation of what these guys thought, and they may even be right. But you want my call here?

I'd risk change. Because we've all suffered enough from not only Evangelism, but organised religion as a whole.......

We can no longer expect anything else from religion, but we may be able to shape a future........

2
zeet

For the believer, no proof of a divine being is needed.
For the non-believer, no proof of a divine being is possible.

So religion will never disappear, but probably find it's natural level of power and influence in an increasingly enlightened 21st Century.

2
Roy C

"I'd risk change. Because we've all suffered enough from not only Evangelism, but organised religion as a whole.."

I agree wholeheartedly, Fripouille. There are two risks that I have been through. The first was to abandon the faith and the second was to abandon the abandonment and find out that religious feeling and thought come out of something valid and get "literalized" because that is the level that the people were on, for the most part, at that time and in times after that.

"So religion will never disappear, but probably find it's natural level of power and influence in an increasingly enlightened 21st Century."

Good comment, Zeet. 

The Jung book that deal with this and politics is called The Undiscovered Self. He felt that only about 40% of people were mentally healthy, and that what he called "creeds" had substituted themselves for religion of a deeper nature.

When religions fail, the state takes on religous meaning, and not just temporal meaning. The the president is not just a civl ruler, but something like an ancient high priest.

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Roy C

More like "crazy like a fox".

1
Roy C

Well, I was raised in a working class neighborhood in a middle class family where my father put himself through law school and I have been a student in catholic school and Quaker school.

My thought on getting to the private school was that the level of insanity in highly educated people was actually greater. Working class people said more things that were just plain dumb and when they got crazy, they were crazier, but the intellectual class is actually more out of line, more presumptuous, more anti-"Carla Bruni", the real feminine, in the end as their conscious minds have taken over and lack balance.

Ordinary people know that they cannot understand everything, while I watch the History Channel and see some physicist in full possession by his intellectualism say that they are going to discover a parallel universe and understand where we all came from !! INCREDIBLE AND INSANE!!

I don't know what the percentage is, but he based it on plebiscites reported voting patterns. Too low? Should we postulate 50%? Whatever it is, a sizable percentage of people, at least one third, have major problems which appear more normal than they should because of the frequency of the disorder.

Once I left my sibling off at a party of rich kids and Iwas told afterward that they got high and then sat around and cried for hours.

That and the number of people on anti-depressants should tell you something. Evangelicals and people who think Obama is the savior, also belong on the list of  "not in the 40 %".

1
zeet

See? I knew it. I'm insane...

1
zeet

You shouldn't worry Roy - you're not a tasty little chicken...:) LOL

1
Fripouille

....more like healthy and innate good ol' fashioned common sense! lol!!

1
politisite

Thanks for the story.  The number of Children who will embrace the Christian faith  is diminishing rapidly.  Groups like http://battlecry.com/ and others are addressing the spiritual decline in America.  Faith  was encouraged by Americas founding fathers

0
zeet

You're a clever man, Roy.
Yet:
"He felt that only about 40% of people were mentally healthy"

Surely that percentage is too low!
I should know, being totally crazy myself...

:)

0
politisite

Roy,

You have me out with my reference materials LOL  Well said... I think LOL

0
AnaBana

Great comments here. I learned about what spirituality really is in a 12 step program. . it has elements of esoteric Christianity. T V Evangelism is not what many Christians are about either. I do see the end for I knew that the whole truth of mental health could not be received from legalistic Christians. Woe to them!!! True Christianity is an internal job not external. One in my opinion cannot become one until they enter the second half of life. I agree with Roy on this one and also studied Jung. I personally found Strategies for a loss of Faith a great companion thru my time of disconnection from dogma. We have so much to learn about our selves. Man / woman is not that evolved spiritually. We can do the moon thing but have no idea what is truly inside us...the job of developing our true selves.

0
azzayindia

i agree we should give away from the organised mob menatlaity called religion  


0
ay

Evangelists scare the shit out of me. They're religious extremists. I just started watching Jesus Camp, I couldn't get through the first 10 minutes. I'm going to have nightmares. I do not subscribe to any religion but I have the ability to respect my fellow human beings and their beliefs. However, there's something about Evangelists that prohibit that ability and send me into spell of disbelief and fear that these people actually exist. 

0
Cuda

I for one have listened to the lies and fear evangelicals have pumped down our throats long enough.  To be sure, the anti homosexual main theme has turned Gods words into pure hatred and intolerance.  I look foward to the complete collapse of christianity for it is nothing more than a book wrote by men, about a man, for man to follow.  It is fake.  Thank the creator for this evil system to finally die!

 

0
HonestJoseph

I agree that religion is an evil thing, there is nothing worse than a system created by man to save himself. I would never listen to the crazy ramblings of T.V. preachers who are more motivated by money then an actual relationship with God. I remember how crazy and hectic my life use to be and how I had no inner peace or hope, and I wont be like the rest of the world and tell you how to live your life. But I know God gave me peace, and that the whole crazy loony Jesus story is real, I am a completely different (happier,better) person. Not because of an organized list of to dos and not to dos but because my heart changed. It hurts me to see how christs message has been distorted for personal gain, resulting in the distrust of the world. I am glad I don't follow a religion, I have as many faults and problems as any one else, But I have friends that support me and care about me enough to see me through. My friends and I really would rather help people and show love then fall into the trap of waging political wars(a cause instead of a faith) And i'm just a regular dude who has made a lot of mistakes, but I feel like maybe i'm starting to get it now. Forget the fake pre-tenses, I would rather be real. I hope no one discount's this message because of a bad experience with someone who wasn't what they said they were........

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