The Cleansing?

Recently the Pew Research Center came out with a study that suggests that in less than 50 years Christians could make up less than half of the U.S. population. "Oh, my!" "If Christians keep leaving religion at the same rate observed in recent years," they say, by 2070 the best outlook for Christianity is 54% in America and the worst case would be down around 35%. "Oh, my goodness!!" Of course, I would argue that it's all nonsense, and not necessarily because their numbers are wrong.

First, what do we mean by "Christians"? For most of us today the term refers to anyone who claims it. No context. No content. Just the simple claim. Years ago a friend of mine told a woman, "I am a Christian, you know." She answered, "Aren't we all?" That kind of thinking. But is that a "Christian?" In institutional terms, it can refer to that organization we call "Christianity" that has no qualifications except the willingness to call it your own. In biblical terms that's not Christianity. Christianity in the Bible is referred to as "the faith" and requires adherence -- agreement with -- the faith to be part of it. Frankly, so does every other organization. "If you want to be part of us, you have to agree with us." So today's modern "Christianity" is an anomaly and a bizarre one. Instead, Jesus (You know, the one for whom "Christianity" is named) said, "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Matt 7:13-14). That is, modern society says "The gate that is 'Christianity' is wide and many find it" in direct contradiction of Christ. Jesus said, "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me" (Matt 10:37-38). In distinction, modern, "crossless" Christianity denies it all. So, I would argue, that's not "Christian." And, I would suggest, Christians -- Jesus's version -- have always been a minority.

The fear of Christians and the fear of many in this country regarding Christians is the political power they wield. They wield that power in a democracy because they are a "majority." And when they become a "minority," they won't. So this report, for Christians (by their reckoning) is that they'll lose political power. For the rest, it's good news. But genuine Christians were never about political power. Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36). He went on to say, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth" (Matt 28:18). So political power here and now is meaningless. Instead, we serve a God who is able to do "exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us" (Eph 3:20). Our modern pseudo-Christianity may lose political power, but Christians have no need to be concerned about that. Not with that kind of power within.

It is said that America is (or, at least, was) a Christian nation. Since no nation can meet the demands of faith and practice that identifies one as "Christian," it is nonsense, of course. But that's not what is meant by the term, "Christian nation." The term refers to a nation whose laws and culture tend more toward the laws and values that are found in (genuine) Christianity than in the world. And there was a time when a majority of unbelievers would still submit to those kinds of laws and values even if they didn't believe in Jesus. In that sense, we were, once, a Christian nation. And, in that sense, we clearly are no longer that nation, as we watch such laws and values erode in our time. But the truth is, Christians (the genuine type) are not driven by laws or social pressure; they are driven by the Spirit within. So if the Pew Research Report is perfectly accurate, what we're looking at is not a decay of Christianity. It is as peeling off of a false veneer to reveal the real core of what it means to be a follower of Christ. (In biblical terms, "They went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us" (1 John 2:19).) Our real concern won't be political power or even a decline of the faith; those are false concepts. It will be that we have submitted ourselves "to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy" (Jude 1:24). Because He is the One who builds His church. Because in Him we are more than conquerors (Rom 8:37).