Hanging by a thread.

[MoreCoffee]

The gospels and letters of the new testament hang on an historical thread. Any accident could have brought the whole enterprise of Christianity to an end. An untimely death for Peter or Paul, the Loss of manuscripts and letters, a flood or earthquake could have ended it all. Or so it seems. The miracle is that even under severe persecution Christ's story and his church survived; every effort to end them failed and still fails today when more than two billion people profess belief in Jesus Christ and the God whom he revealed. It is true that many of the two billion are not well informed about the gospels and letters of the new testament and only a portion of them attend church meetings with any frequency yet the story of Jesus and the church that he founded has persisted. It's surprising but it is not unique.

Look at Islam and Mohammed. That religion also hangs by a thread in history yet it survived and grew until today it has over one billion followers.

Perhaps it is part of God's plan that Islam like Christianity persists until our day. I wonder what the future holds for both. Will persecution make either or both shrink to a small remnant?

Jesus promised to be with his people until the end of the ages and he sent the Holy Spirit to guide and teach until the end.

 

[Lamb]

Do you think God always leaves a remnant? I'm trying to remember throughout the bible. I know that He kept Noah and family safe through the flood so they were the remnant saved. Lot was saved when Sodom & Gomorrah was destroyed. Out of the Exodus wilderness wanderings only Joshua and Caleb were left.

I found a great article about "remnants". I didn't read the entire thing yet to determine how the theology is at the end but I like the references provided:

http://www.ldolphin.org/Remn.html

 

[MoreCoffee]

God moves in mysterious ways

 

[Lamb]

We should do a bible study on God moving. He moved along in a pillar of cloud. There's one!

 

[Josiah]

The obituary for Christianity has been written many times......


I DO think these are challenging times (much like the first 3 centuries of Christianity) as the world and culture are increasingly disinterested and perhaps even hostile, as Christianity is increasingly foreign. For perhaps 1500 years, we lived in the "age of the church" when for many areas, Christianity was simply a part of the culture, assumed, supported. Increasingly, that is not the case anymore. And lands where that was ONCE the case have become very secular (I've been to France, Denmark, etc.).


BUT I'm not sure that really reflects the situation.... True, church attendance has fallen sharply. Many denominations are gushing members (the RC Denomination has lost at least 30 MILLION in the USA just in the past 20 years or so, EX-Catholics are now the second largest religious group in the USA); very few denominations are growing at all - most are declining fast. BUT I think much of that has been among those more CULTURALLY Christian. People who would JOIN a church.... maybe attend a FEW times a year.... but whose faith was not established (it often takes LITTLE to bring about their desertion of Christianity because there was LITTLE connection to it). My own parish now worships 50-60. Twenty years ago, when it was very new, it worshipped twice that. BUT we have MORE in Bible study today, offerings are higher (even adjusted for inflation, etc.), ministries are stronger. Even our meager church choir actually is a bit larger than it was then!


I'm not rejoicing..... it matters that those seats are empty, that kids aren't getting to Sunday School, people are not being exposed to Word and Sacraments! I decry that! We better figure out how to change that, and have the dedication to DO what needs to be done! The gushing needs to be reversed! On the other hand, I think the FAITH continues strong and we have an opportunity here: to spread the FAITH, to lift high the CROSS - rather than simply to pass on a culture. Early Christianity THRIVED in the pre-church age ...... we can again in the post-church age. Maybe it's even good to get the focus off denominations/institutions, off "cultural Christianity" and place it squarely on the Cross, the Savior, the Faith? I think the next century will really shake things up in Christianity, things may be very different 100 years from now..... and maybe that's a good thing.



Pax Christi



- Josiah

 

[Tigger]

After reading Josh McDowels "Evidence that demands a verdict", my faith was solidified by not only the reliability of the scriptures but its supernatural survivability.