“Less Christian Every Day—What Is Wrong With the Church?” is the title of an article I received on the Internet recently from answersingenesis.org. It was first published June 29, 2011 in Current Issues in the World. The article points out the menacing moral decline in our nation, and a major reason for that decline. The list it provided of threats to Judeo-Christian values which once prevailed is the following:
- In 1962, school prayer was ruled unconstitutional.
- In 1963, Bible reading in public schools was ruled unconstitutional.
- In 1973, restrictions on abortion were lifted, and abortion clinics began to permeate the nation (Roe vs. Wade).
- In 2003, laws against homosexual sodomy were ruled unconstitutional.
- In 2004, a federal court held it was unconstitutional for a school to teach intelligent design theory as an alternative to evolution.
- And of course, in the past few days, the New York legislature legalized “gay” marriage—it joins many other states now.
The list goes on.
The way to effect change most successfully, whether in individuals, churches or nations, is to do so incrementally—step by step, so as to minimize the shock. It is only after multiple changes have been stealthily put in place that there is a rude awakening as some begin to awaken out of their slumber, and ask, “What happened?” The article also points out that a recent poll taken by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life revealed that 82% of U.S. evangelical leaders see a decline in their influence on the country. The United States, which once was favorable to Judeo-Christian values, has become more and more secular. Some have stated boldly, “We are no longer a Christian nation.” Some have observed that our country now has another more-or-less-official religion—Secular Humanism.
Part of the blame for this downward spiral of Christian influence in our country must be the nominal “church”—those who would call themselves “Christian.” The article recognizes a fact overlooked by many church leaders—“that the major problem is the loss of biblical authority in our churches.” It cites:
“(1) So many church/Christian leaders compromise God’s Word in Genesis and thus opening the door for the next generation to walk away from God’s Word;
(2) That churches and Christian colleges are not teaching apologetics to raise up generations to stand on the authority of God’s Word and be able to defend the Christian faith;
(3) Two thirds of our young people are leaving the church by college age because of compromise by Christian leaders and the lack of teaching apologetics plus other reasons.”
Like the congregation at Laodicea, (Revelation 3:14-22), a growing number of churches are “neither cold nor hot” (v. 15), but “lukewarm” (v. 16), not necessarily in zeal but in compromise. They are not totally “cold” in the sense of rejecting Christianity, but neither are they “hot” in the sense of total acceptance of truth and the way set forth in God’s word. The sentence of the Lord: “I will spew thee out of my mouth!”
Ron Bartanen lives in Sullivan, IL and is the Minister of the Arthur Church of Christ in Arthur, IL