The Disenchantment of the West: Why Christianity is Waning in the United States and Europe
Until the Western Church is willing to embrace the supernatural, our churches will not match the growth in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. God is up to inexplicable things, and we are mostly missing out.
In this unique hour, Westerners can no longer afford to be disenchanted.
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For Further Reading
Real Christianity is Growing in the USA
Is Christianity dying in America? In this review essay by historian William De Arteaga, he points out that the statistics about the church shrinking are not what most have made of it.
Notes
[1] This figure is contested, with many researchers suggesting lower numbers. Several estimate the figures to be around 2.2 billion. Rodney Stark, Triumph Of Faith: Why The World Is More Religious Than Ever (Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2015), 12.
[2] Bruce Milne, Know the Truth: A Handbook of Christian Belief (Downer’s Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2010), 332.
[3] Islam’s 1.84% growth is due to high birth rates. Various, “The List: The World’s Fastest-Growing Religions,” Foreign Policy, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (May 2007).
[4] Pew Research Center, “The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections,” 2010-2050 (April 2, 2015). http://www.pewforum.org/files/2015/03/PF_15.04.02_ProjectionsFullReport.pdf (Accessed June 22, 2018).
[5] Rodney Stark, Triumph Of Faith: Why The World Is More Religious Than Ever (Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2015), 19.
[6] Ibid.
[7] See J.D. King, “The Underground Revival In The Middle-East That Might Just Take Down Islam.” https://jdkinginsights.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-underground-revival-in-middle-east.html
[8] Global statistics from 2005-2010, derived from http://www.operationworld.org/ and displayed in the following chart. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B_sThFDJErc/VdStKZzGLDI/AAAAAAAAJeQ/icz__663RfM/s1600/World%2BChristian%2BGrowth%2BMap.tif (Accessed June 22, 2018).
[9] See Jason Mandryk, Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation (Downers Grove, Illinois: Intervarsity Press, 2010).
[10] See Lamin Sanneh, Whose Religion is Christianity? The Gospel Beyond the West (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003), 15. [Editor’s note: Read the review essay by the late Richard Twiss, “Difference Can Make Us Mo’ Betta”].
[11]. Elizabeth Isichei, A History of Christianity in Africa: From Antiquity to the Present (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995), 1.
[12] Sarah Pulliam Bailey, “Christianity faces sharp decline as Americans are becoming even less affiliated with religion,” Washington Post (May 12, 2015).
[13]. Kinnaman writes, “When it comes to ethnicity, black Americans (55 percent) are almost twice as likely as white (29 percent) and Hispanic Americans (26 percent) to agree strongly that people can be physically healed supernaturally by God. Finally, the West (22 percent) and Northeast (29 percent) regions of the United States are more skeptical of supernatural healing, while the Midwest (32 percent) and particularly the South (43 percent) are more likely to believe people can be physically healed supernaturally by God.” David Kinnaman and Roxanne Stone, “Most Americans Believe in Supernatural Healing,” Research Releases in Faith and Christianity, September 29, 2016. https://www.barna.com/research/americans-believe-supernatural-healing/ (accessed October 10, 2016).
[14] Max Weber, From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology, translated and edited by H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills (New York: Oxford University Press, 1946), 155.
[15] Rodney Stark. Triumph Of Faith: Why The World Is More Religious Than Ever (Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2015), 16.
[16] Peter Kreeft with Dave Nevins, Charisms: Visions, Tongues, Healing, etc. (Book Baby, 2013), Kindle locations 47-49.
[17] Randy Clark, Evangelism Unleashed (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Global Awakening, 2011), Kindle Locations 962-965.
[18] George Otis Jr. “Why Revival Tarries in America.” Charisma 37:8 (March 2012): 42.
[19] See Albert Mohler, “Why Moralism Is Not the Gospel — And Why So Many Christians Think It Is,” (September 3, 2009) https://albertmohler.com/2009/09/03/why-moralism-is-not-the-gospel-and-why-so-many-christians-think-it-is/
Category: Church History, Summer 2018
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