Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Evangelical Collapse
This is a very interesting piece in the Christian Science Monitor, which suggests that the evangelical movement is set to fail, as:
Coming the day after the USA Today piece reporting that faith, as a whole is declining across America. In the piece, though, there's reason to be hopeful for people of faith.
For those who value the separation of church and state this should be a welcome development, even for those of us who do believe. These establishment churches have given non-believers everywhere a false impression of what our faith is about.
"Evangelicals have identified their movement with the culture war and with political conservatism. This will prove to be a very costly mistake. Evangelicals will increasingly be seen as a threat to cultural progress. Public leaders will consider us bad for America, bad for education, bad for children, and bad for society.
The evangelical investment in moral, social, and political issues has depleted our resources and exposed our weaknesses. Being against gay marriage and being rhetorically pro-life will not make up for the fact that massive majorities of Evangelicals can't articulate the Gospel with any coherence. We fell for the trap of believing in a cause more than a faith."
Coming the day after the USA Today piece reporting that faith, as a whole is declining across America. In the piece, though, there's reason to be hopeful for people of faith.
"The loss of their political clout may impel many Evangelicals to reconsider the wisdom of trying to create a "godly society." That doesn't mean they'll focus solely on saving souls, but the increasing concern will be how to keep secularism out of church, not stop it altogether. The integrity of the church as a countercultural movement with a message of 'empire subversion' will increasingly replace a message of cultural and political entitlement."
For those who value the separation of church and state this should be a welcome development, even for those of us who do believe. These establishment churches have given non-believers everywhere a false impression of what our faith is about.
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