Why a Rattling Christian Church?
A recent Gatestone Institute article by Giulio Meotti has dire warnings for German Christians. In fact the slow death of Christianity in Germany has far-reaching ramifications. The first two bullet points neatly sum up the situation:
The fall of German Christianity leaves an emptiness that seems likely to be filled by a more multicultural and Islamic society. Germany today houses Europe’s largest Muslim community…Christians in Germany, Die Welt reports, will become a minority in 20 years…Christianity is Rattling: “Lights Out” in Germany
While Islam grows, Catholics are apostatizing. In 2015 only 2,685 people converted to Catholicism; the number of infant baptisms dropped by a third when comparing 1995 to 2015. The number of people marrying in a church has halved compared to twenty years ago. Even critics of Catholicism shouldn’t miss the significance of these statistics.
Meotti’s article poignantly notes that Catholic St. Peter’s Church in Mönchengladbach is now a rock climbing facility. A pity there’s little interest in a different Rock (Psalm 118:22; 1 Peter 2:7-8). It isn’t just the German Catholic church which is dying. In another article Meotti notes that:
In the Dutch province of Friesland, 250 of 720 existing churches have been transformed or closed… Germany is literally selling its churches. Between 1990 and 2010, the German Evangelical Church closed 340 churches. Recently in Hamburg, a Lutheran church was purchased by the Muslim community.
As a side note, in a more recent essay on multiculturalism, Soeren Kern commented on the favoritism Muslims receive in British prisons. Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe – who faces daily death threats – was advised to convert to Islam. Not only would Muslim gang members protect him, but his new faith would grant him privilege of a special diet and abstention from certain types of prison work.
Many professing Christians are adopting pluralism and cultural agendas. Christian churches are embracing diversity as a “doctrine.” There’s even a Hermeneutic of Diversity which re-interprets the Bible based on cultural needs. Ironically, the Christian voice is discouraged in schools and public forums for (allegedly) fears that its message may offend people of other faiths, and the faithless.
As one writer aptly points out, multiculturalism, diversity, gender issues, peace and human rights may sound benign. But they are Orwellian in their true nature and a means to an end. Those who push these narratives have political agendas. You may only celebrate diversity as long as you embrace the same ideology.
Modern culture demands abortion rights in the same way Old Testament Israel worshipped Molech. The only difference is that the babies are slaughtered before they even get to the altar. As the ancient kings of Israel acquiesced to the desires of the people, so have many churches today bent to please popular demand.
Just as there were temple prostitutes and unbridled sexual passions associated with Molech and Baal, so are many churches today sanctioning sexual sins. In fact many denominations ordain ministers who are in same-sex partnerships. Just as they seduced ancient Israel, the pagan gods are catching up with churches.
Instead of focusing on the way to salvation, clerics have capitulated by joining ranks with the secular world. Social justice, abortion rights, gender and environmental activism represent the “new spirituality.” Obedience to God and abstinence of sin are no longer emphasized in many pulpits (James 4:4).
Spurgeon once wrote:
…even if you gave your body to be burned and all your goods to feed the poor, if you do not listen to the Lord’s commands, all your formalities would profit you nothing.
How many times have we heard from Christian leaders that Muslims and Christians worship the same God? Yet if Middle Eastern examples of Islamic dominated countries are anything to go by, Christians will not be allowed to publicly worship their “same God” wherever Islam is dominant in Europe.
The reason is obvious to Muslims if it isn’t to rattling churches – Christians do not worship a god who denies Christ and the Trinity. Submission to Allah is not the same as submitting to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Recently I obtained a twitter account as a means of monitoring news headlines. I followed the leader of one of the world’s major religions. His tweets do not reference God’s Word. They contain the sorts of homilies readily found in New Age books plugged by Oprah. He sounds like the Dalai Lama.
Is it any wonder his churches are being emptied throughout Europe, when they can get their “spirituality” elsewhere?
I’ve tried to avoid commenting on the elections: firstly because I’m not a citizen and, secondly, because it’s such a divisive topic. Even so I’m amazed how many Christian leaders readily condemn one candidate’s behavior (rightly in some cases) yet mostly ignore the consequences of the ideology of the “progressive” alternative.
The alternative will carry on from the incumbent administration. This administration has encouraged the silencing of Christianity in the market place with the same passion that it worships at Molech’s feet by defending Planned Parenthood.
Expect a future where Christianity is prevented from teaching against certain cultural issues which contradict biblical teachings. You will be urged to fully embrace them at the altars of the old gods. There will be punitive consequences if you don’t.
How will corporate churches respond? Will they embrace the New World Order?
Something like ten years ago Chuck Missler saw all this coming, as did others. He speculated that the faithful church in America would be driven underground. Missler paid attention to the signs of the times in light of biblical warnings. Only recently, a leading reformed apologist expressed the same concerns. What took him so long to figure it out?
I’m comforted by the fact that God is sovereign. Trust in neither leaders of nations or corporate churches. Trust in God.
The Lord had warnings for the Seven Churches in Revelation. Here’s one:
“Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lamp stand from its place – unless you repent. Rev 2:4-5
I wonder how the letters might read in light of many of today’s churches. Perhaps something like this?
So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Rev 3:16
The gates of Hades will not prevail against Christ’s faithful church. And I believe the Lord can return for His Bride at any time.
Let’s keep busy and run our races faithfully so that we will not be ashamed at His appearing.
Sharing is caring!
