from author Eric Shuster
SECTION
3: WHERE ARE THE CHRISTIANS?—A
Categorization
Chapter
9: They’re Leaving—Losing Their Belief
as Departing Christians
There are 2 billion Christians in the world today; nearly
250 million people in the United States who identify themselves as Christians giving
America a Christian population that is over double that of the entire world on
a per capita basis. Yet corruption, greed, crime and moral disintegration are
all on the rise in the United States. In such a great country where
Christianity abounds in vast numbers how can such a trend be? It causes one to
ask… Where are the Christians?
The five chapters of Section 3 answer the question by
revealing the five major types of Christians in America today—Departing Adequate, Hesitant, Laboring and
Latent—and how one can complete an
exercise to identify themselves among these five.
The first Christian type to be explored is the Departing Christian. These are
Christians who are literally or psychologically losing their faith. These are
Christians that don’t believe as they once did (or perhaps never did), who are
living watered down doctrines of Christianity, and losing their testimony of
the Savior through inactivity and prolonged sin without repentance. Simply put,
these are Christians who are leaving the faith.
The Departing Christian has lost faith in the scriptures.
Although there has been 6 billion Bibles sold since its first publication, only
82% of Americans consider it to be sacred scripture and only 69% consider it to
contain “everything a person needs to know to live a meaningful life” according to the American Bible Society.
Other studies suggest lots of Bibles in American homes, but few that are being
read.
The Departing Christian lives a watered down faith. Studies
show Christians adopting beliefs and practices that are inconsistent with
traditional Christianity. A 2002 Barna study showed 76% of Christians relying
on personal scriptural interpretation while 51% believe in praying to deceased
saints. A 2009 study by Pew Research revealed 65% of adults adopting elements
New Age thinking, 25% believing in astrology, and 24% believing in
reincarnation.
The Departing Christian is fed up, disillusioned and
dismayed. Negative experiences such as the death of a loved one and natural
disasters challenge the faith of the Departing Christian who loses hope and
becomes dismayed as to why God would allow such events to take place.
The systematic decrease in the percentage of the American
population that considers themselves to be Christian is shown in the National
Council of Church’s Yearbook for 2012
where five of the ten largest Christian Churches reported a decrease in
membership. Other studies show leading
indicators of a waning Christian faith, many of which are likely Departing
Christians.
German philosopher Hermann Keyserling introduced the phrase
“Post-Christian” in his 1929 book titled
America Set Free. Keyserling’s work grew legs into the 1960’s with the
“death of God” movement leveraging the phrase used by Nietzche in the 19th
century. While the population of Departing Christians may not be large, the
elements that have led to their faithlessness are elements that are affecting
many in America. Next we will examine the Adequate Christian.
Go to www.findyourchristianity.com
to watch the book trailer, find out what type of Christian you are, and to
order the book.
Where are the
Christians? The Unrealized Potential of a Divided Religion
by Eric Shuster
Coming May 2013!
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