European Endangered Species
The Anglican Bishop of Manchester, Nigel McCullough, wrote, "We will, unless there is a turn in the tide, be a church that gradually disappears from the land." Those prophetic words are becoming a reality in Europe and especially England. There are in fact more practicing Muslim in England than Anglicans. And it's getting worse for the Anglicans by the month.
Christianity in Europe is no more the glue of society; but rather, Christianity has become the veneer and the varnish that's quickly wearing off. Catholicism is no longer the biggest religion of Europe- Islam is. Callum Brown wrote in 2006, "It took several centuries to convert Britain to Christianity, but it has taken less than forty years for the country to forsake it."
Don't look now, but American Christianity is looking like those big red and or yellow stars that cave inward on themselves and explode. Amazingly the star gets brighter just before it becomes a black hole. Many say that the American mega-churches are an indication of that brightness principle before the implosion happens.
Why is this happening?
My answer is because of the incestuous nature of the church which has pulled WITHIN, told the world and all others that they're going to hell if they don't accept Jesus, fallen into bibliolatry, and staked out indefensible territory that makes one look like a heretic- while calling all those who don't believe as they do- heretics! Go figure!
There is GOOD NEWS though.
Christianity may be departing from Europe and the West; however, it is finding a home in the South and in the East where Jesus is seen as a mystic and the Bible is seen as more metaphorical. As Leonard Sweet wrote, "The language of Christianity today is Spanish; the color of Christianity is not white but brown. There are more Christian churches in India today than in the United States. The West is deconstructing, and Christianity is dying in the West."
As I've said before, we need to "Go EAST, young man, go EAST" and that's not a geographical statement but a metaphysical-philosophical one. The library of sixty six books, known as the Bible, is of Eastern, oriental origins, not occidental! We've rationalized that which can't be, we've denied the contradictions which can't be, and we've stumbled on the spiritual truths in hopes of maintaining our false beliefs.
It's not working!
We must get back to LIVING the LOVE and being the LIGHT! No one is transformed by religious intellectualism, nor threats of eternal hell; but, by loving and compassionate GOOD NEWS. What do you want to hear? What do you want to be? Do you want to defend you prejudices and bias or do you want to die to your old self and let your new LIGHT SHINE? :-)
About the Author:
As a spiritual-futurist, I interpret current events in light of possible macro-universal forces at play leading up to 2012, but not limited to it.