Christianity Disappearing?

[PJD1987]

Jules Michelet, a 19th century French historian, once predicted that Christianity would disappear, but that people would still believe in “God, the Soul, and the Power”…doesn’t it seem that his prediction is slowly coming true with the rise of Spiritualism and the “I love God but hate religion” crowd?

Any thoughts are welcome!

God bless.

-Paul

P.S. If theres a better forum for this topic, please feel free to move it. Thought it might fit here, however

 

[wittgenstein]

Constantine Christianity is disappearing. The idea that Christ taught that God is like an emperor and that spirituality = submissiveness to authority. Of course Constantine being an emperor himself would favor such an interpretation.
Constantine Christianity is based on reward and punishment (Skinner) not love, which is what Christ taught.

 

[Charlemagne_II]

Christianity will not disappear in the West. When the world is fed up with the rotten values of our secular civilization, Christianity will thrive once again as it did when the world got fed up with the rotten values of Roman paganism.

 

[MidnightSun12]

Jules Michelet, a 19th century French historian, once predicted that Christianity would disappear, but that people would still believe in “God, the Soul, and the Power”…doesn’t it seem that his prediction is slowly coming true with the rise of Spiritualism and the “I love God but hate religion” crowd?

Any thoughts are welcome!

God bless.

-Paul

P.S. If theres a better forum for this topic, please feel free to move it. Thought it might fit here, however

It sure doesn’t seem to be coming true in Russia:

firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2013/01/03/theocracy-in-russia/
zenit.org/article-36196?l=english
rt.com/politics/christianity-russia-orthodox-church-205/
life.nationalpost.com/2011/09/13/russian-orthodox-leader-urges-pope-to-work-on-ending-1000-year-schism/

Weren’t these guys an athiest state at one point?

Personally, I would put a lot more weight in our Holy Mother’s predictions about the future of christianity!

 

[po18guy]

Constantine Christianity is disappearing. The idea that Christ taught that God is like an emperor and that spirituality = submissiveness to authority. Of course Constantine being an emperor himself would favor such an interpretation.
Constantine Christianity is based on reward and punishment (Skinner) not love, which is what Christ taught.

Really? Why is Christ the Judge, if there is nothing to judge? Why is there a judgment seat if we all just Schuss to heaven upon death? Illogical, to my way of thinking. Why is God a jealous God, if He just cannot do anything but love? Very European. And, it is in Europe that Christianity is most rapidly being discarded. North America is second. In the rest of the world, which is far less material in nature, and far more spiritual, Christianity is growing at a steady pace.

 

[meltzerboy]

Really? Why is Christ the Judge, if there is nothing to judge? Why is there a judgment seat if we all just Schuss to heaven upon death? Illogical, to my way of thinking. Why is God a jealous God, if He just cannot do anything but love? Very European. And, it is in Europe that Christianity is most rapidly being discarded. North America is second. In the rest of the world, which is far less material in nature, and far more spiritual, Christianity is growing at a steady pace.

Most Jewish scholars of the Bible state that the Hebrew word “jealous” when applied to G-d has the meaning of “zealous.” IOW, it means that G-d has intense love for His creation, particularly human beings.

 

[twoshoes]

Jules Michelet, a 19th century French historian, once predicted that Christianity would disappear, but that people would still believe in “God, the Soul, and the Power”…doesn’t it seem that his prediction is slowly coming true with the rise of Spiritualism and the “I love God but hate religion” crowd?

Any thoughts are welcome!

God bless.

-Paul

P.S. If theres a better forum for this topic, please feel free to move it. Thought it might fit here, however

Question, how do you love God but hate his people? Where in the Scripher, tradition, or anywhere else does it say you can love God, but not his people. A rotten tree cannot bear good fruit, you can not love God and hate, this tree is rotten. I believe as others have said, there are always more, or less people of faith all througout history. 1.5 billion Christians to me is not the christian faith shrinking.

 

[po18guy]

Most Jewish scholars of the Bible state that the Hebrew word “jealous” when applied to G-d has the meaning of “zealous.” IOW, it means that G-d has intense love for His creation, particularly human beings.

Yet, He is also a G-d of justice! He rewards us according to your deeds - good or bad. His hands are Mercy and Justice.

 

[PJD1987]

Question, how do you love God but hate his people? Where in the Scripher, tradition, or anywhere else does it say you can love God, but not his people. A rotten tree cannot bear good fruit, you can not love God and hate, this tree is rotten. I believe as others have said, there are always more, or less people of faith all througout history. 1.5 billion Christians to me is not the christian faith shrinking.

I agree that you can’t love one and hate the other, but there are many people out there that do, and the popularity of the youtube video “Why I Love God, but Hate Religion” last year, just goes to show how popular that view is: link here >>> youtube.com/watch?v=1IAhDGYlpqY…

Obviously the video shows a lack of understanding of Christ and His Church and what He did while on Earth, but again, it doesnt matter for those that adhere to this folly. Also, as someone else pointed out, most Christianity is growing in parts of world that are not in the highly secularized West, but in the U.S. and Europe it has been declining for some time now, and thats where the philosophy that the video provided thrives. If that’s the philosophy and spirituality that our younger generation embraces, then 50-100 years from now, Michelet’s prediction might be completely true.

God bless.

-Paul

 

[meltzerboy]

Yet, He is also a G-d of justice! He rewards us according to your deeds - good or bad. His hands are Mercy and Justice.

Yes, I agree. G-d’s justice is tempered with mercy.

 

[po18guy]

Yes, I agree. G-d’s justice is tempered with mercy.

Amen. Christianity, particularly in Europe, has been infected by this earthly belief that, since G-d is love, we automatically receive His mercy. It began, probably, with the European originated belief that we are guaranteed salvation and cannot lose it.

 

[rcwitness]

Jules Michelet, a 19th century French historian, once predicted that Christianity would disappear, but that people would still believe in “God, the Soul, and the Power”…doesn’t it seem that his prediction is slowly coming true with the rise of Spiritualism and the “I love God but hate religion” crowd.

I don’t know if Christianity is much different in terms of numbers of believers, but our enemy is always trying to rip us apart from the inside. It is counter productive to turn a term like religion around to mean something more specific to what they don’t like. So many people are so anxious to separate themselves from some of the bad examples in the Church that they throw the baby out with the bath water (or whatever the expression). They think they are larger than who they really are, and end up doing less than what they could have. These under the banner of “love God but hate religion” are seeking glory for themselves. They look at the Catholic faith and see Authority, we look at it and see obedience. Why do we love Mary so much? Because she is full of authority or obedience. The Church is more of a family than religion anyway. But we don’t demonize the term.

God Bless,
don’t be discouraged.
Michael

 

[ltwin]

Jules Michelet, a 19th century French historian, once predicted that Christianity would disappear, but that people would still believe in “God, the Soul, and the Power”…doesn’t it seem that his prediction is slowly coming true with the rise of Spiritualism and the “I love God but hate religion” crowd?

Any thoughts are welcome!

God bless.

-Paul

P.S. If theres a better forum for this topic, please feel free to move it. Thought it might fit here, however

Not really. While the West (meaning North America and Europe) have underwent dramatic secularization in recent years, Christianity is expanding phenomenally around the rest of the world. Look at Africa. Look at the Chinese underground house church movement.

Christianity is not disappearing – at all. What is actually happening is that the center of gravity in the Christian world is moving away from the West and moving to the global South.

But even in the West, Christianity wont disappear entirely. First, there are many Christian groups actively evangelizing, and second, there is a new phenomenon of non-Western churches sending missionaries to Europe and the Americas.

It is likely that a lot of the older churches will be diminished considerably over time, but if current trends continue, the non-denominational churches will continue to thrive.

 

[Auntie_A]

No doubt we are seeing a very focussed war on Christianity, filled with truths, half-truths, and outright lies. But “disappearing”? That is what the attackers want.

I’d say that many Christians fell suppressed or tired or unarmed. Many Catholic Christians are finding themselves unable to respond to false accusations because they were not educated, or they were sleeping during catechism class, or they feel shame, real or contrived. Good Catholic Apologetics needs to be nurtured and taught again.

Prayer is also more important than ever. The rosary is a miraculous weapon.

So many of the Christian churches practice “Christianity Light”, the “thin religion” that C.S. Lewis spoke of. It’s flimsy and “nice” and can’t hold against secularism and attacks. Catholic Christianity, the “thick” orthodox kind, needs to be nurtured and taught again.

Meanwhile the “I respect any belief” and “I’m spiritual-not-religious” cult will begin to reap the rotten fruit of that sad philosophy. Do you really respect “any” belief"? Being “against organized religion” has led to very unorganized and self-centered behaviors. This mess has happened before, it will happen again. There is nothing new under the sun. Just pray and watch.

 

[po18guy]

No doubt we are seeing a very focussed war on Christianity, filled with truths, half-truths, and outright lies. But “disappearing”? That is what the attackers want.

I’d say that many Christians fell suppressed or tired or unarmed. Many Catholic Christians are finding themselves unable to respond to false accusations because they were not educated, or they were sleeping during catechism class, or they feel shame, real or contrived. Good Catholic Apologetics needs to be nurtured and taught again.

Prayer is also more important than ever. The rosary is a miraculous weapon.

So many of the Christian churches practice “Christianity Light”, the “thin religion” that C.S. Lewis spoke of. It’s flimsy and “nice” and can’t hold against secularism and attacks. Catholic Christianity, the “thick” orthodox kind, needs to be nurtured and taught again.

Meanwhile the “I respect any belief” and “I’m spiritual-not-religious” cult will begin to reap the rotten fruit of that sad philosophy. Do you really respect “any” belief"? Being “against organized religion” has led to very unorganized and self-centered behaviors. This mess has happened before, it will happen again. There is nothing new under the sun. Just pray and watch.

Well said!

 

[abucs]

Hello PJD.

We have to look at why Christianity has been declining in Europe and America. This has been because of a determined push by a section of the populace.

Like all historical movements they come and go. I think the forces that have tried to get rid of Christianity have been based in the Universities and the media. These forces are less coherant and less united today than previously and with the rise of instant (and universal) communications, it means that such a voice no longer has had the dominance it has enjoyed for decades.

I do not think it a mere co-incidence either that those places in the world that are growing in Christianity are also growing in relative strength and those places in the world that are declining in Christianity are also declining in relative strength.

Russia and China have learned that lesson the hard way. There are some still in “the west” who haven’t yet learned, but it is inevitable.

 

[twoshoes]

I agree that you can’t love one and hate the other, but there are many people out there that do, and the popularity of the youtube video “Why I Love God, but Hate Religion” last year, just goes to show how popular that view is: link here >>> youtube.com/watch?v=1IAhDGYlpqY…

Obviously the video shows a lack of understanding of Christ and His Church and what He did while on Earth, but again, it doesnt matter for those that adhere to this folly. Also, as someone else pointed out, most Christianity is growing in parts of world that are not in the highly secularized West, but in the U.S. and Europe it has been declining for some time now, and thats where the philosophy that the video provided thrives. If that’s the philosophy and spirituality that our younger generation embraces, then 50-100 years from now, Michelet’s prediction might be completely true.

God bless.

-Paul

I was laying in bed after my post and thought it a bit uncharitiable. You are right Paul. They are a work in progress, a saying from one of my favorite Priest. Let’s pray they complete the task.

 

[kelner]

It sure doesn’t seem to be coming true in Russia:

Bad example.

After the anti-communist revolution in Eastern Europe started essentially in churches in Poland and Romania, Russians decided to (re-)create a state church to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.

I mean, look at what happened to this band which performed an anti-Putin song in the church. They were quickly put in jail, and the church hierarchs spoke in support of the sentence.

 

[kelner]

youtube.com/watch?v=1IAhDGYlpqY…

Enumerate falsehoods in this video. I do not see any.

If that’s the philosophy and spirituality that our younger generation embraces, then 50-100 years from now, Michelet’s prediction might be completely true.

And that’s a bad thing why? Where does it say that one cannot achieve salvation by himself, without the help of men in expensive robes? Are they really indespensable, or just a product of Medieval times?

 

[atheistgirl]

Any thoughts are welcome!

My honest opinion is Christianity will never disappear.

Sarah x