Six Major Religious Trends in America

The Changing Religious Climate in America

According to the Barna Group, an analysis of research from the past year reveals six major religious trends in America. These "megathemes," as Barna calls them, should encourage Christian leaders to "revisit their criteria for 'success' and the measures used to assess it." According to Barna, the research also reveals that, "In a society in which choice is king, there are no absolutes, every individual is a free agent, we are taught to be self-reliant and independent, and Christianity is no longer the automatic, default faith of young adults."

The six trends that Barna identified are:

1.The Christian Church is becoming less theologically literate. For example, research in 2010 showed that while most people regard Easter as a religious holiday, only a minority of adults associate Easter with the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
2.Christians are becoming more ingrown and less outreach-oriented. Less than one-third of born again Christians planned to invite anyone to join them at a church event during the Easter season.
3.Growing numbers of people are less interested in spiritual principles and more desirous of learning pragmatic solutions for life. Spiritual practices like contemplation, solitude, silence, and simplicity are rare, while the importance of lifestyle comfort, success, and personal achievements is growing.
4.Among Christians, interest in participating in community action is escalating. Christians are becoming more open to involvement in the community, especially as it pertains to justice and service.
5.The postmodern insistence on tolerance is winning over the Christian Church. Possibly because of the fear of being labeled judgmental, Christians have become tolerant of a vast array of morally and spiritually dubious behaviors and philosophies.
6.The influence of Christianity on culture and individual lives is largely invisible. While contemporary Americans find it difficult to identify any specific value that the Church has added to society, they have no problem identifying the faults of the churches and Christian people.

According to the Barna Group, "The Christian Church is in desperate need of a more positive and accessible image ... and the most influential aspect of Christianity in America is how believers do — or do not — implement their faith in public and private." For the complete report, go to The Barna Group.


Blessings on Ya
Paswtor Kitner

Phillips, Craig & Dean :: I Am Crucified With Christ

"Chrislam" What is that?

During the weekend of November 13, many Christian churches
across the United States began a series of sermons aimed at
...bringing about reconciliation between Muslims and Christians.
These misguided Presbyterian ministers are trying to focus on a
relationship between the Holy Bible and the Koran they call
"Chrislam." They are saying that because the Koran mentions
Jesus that there is common ground with Christianity. To prove their
point, they are placing Korans along side the Holy Bible in their
pews. And they are teaching that you can be a follower of Christ
without necessarily believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
God, who died for our sins offering the gift of eternal salvation.

Writes commentator Paul Williams:

"The Chrislam movement has gained impetus by statements from
President George W. Bush and that Christians, Jews, and
Muslims all worship the same God and by Rick Warren's
reference to Isa (the Muslim name for Jesus) in his prayer at the
inauguration of President Barack Obama."

Williams points out that Jesus in the Koran is not the
only-begotten Son of God nor the Messiah. Williams says,

"He is rather viewed as a prophet who was appointed by Allah to
prepare mankind for the coming of Mohammad." In the Koran,
Williams reminds readers, "The victim at Calvary, Islam teaches,
was either Simon of Cyrene or Judas Iscariot."

The Koran states in Sura 5:17, "In blasphemy indeed are those
that say that God is Christ the son of Mary. Say: "Who then hath
the least power against God, if His will were to destroy Christ the
son of Mary, his mother, and all every-one that is on the earth?
For to God belongeth the dominion of the heavens and the earth,
and all that is between. He createth what He pleaseth. For God
hath power over all things." The Koran has many verses that
command the followers of allah to kill Christians and Jews if they
do not convert to Islam. There is absolutely no common ground
between the Holy Scriptures and the Koran when these are the
mandates of the prophet Mohammed, who wrote the Koran.

Jesus said in John 14:6,

"I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the
Father, but by me."

This is the central doctrine of Christianity. There is instruction by
the Holy Scriptures to not fellowship with those who do not
recognize the truth in this doctrine. 2nd John verses 9-11 say,

"Whoseover transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ,
hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath
both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring
not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him
God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his
evil deeds."

Thus are those deceivers who believe in common ground with Islam.

-Please comment on this topic at the website below-

http://www.johnthebaptisttv.com/

SOURCE-
http://www.standingforgod.com/2010/12/the-chrislam-movement-in-the-apostate-
church/