This post is a bit long, but I trust you will find it worth reading.
In the United States, both the church’s influence and a Biblical belief in God on the individual level have been declining for quite some time. Many will point to the 1960s as the beginning point, however, it likely began shortly after World War II.
In May 2021, for example, the Family Research Council along with George Barna released a study showing that only 6% of Americans have a Biblical view of God.
The study found that 51% of respondents claimed to have a Biblical belief in God, but the study found significant inconsistencies once responses were received to questions identifying core beliefs. In 2009, George Barna conducted a similar study in which 78% of respondents claimed to have a Biblical belief in God. This is a more than 25% decline in just 12 years!
However, the number of unaffiliated with any religion and the number of those who do not care if God exists has been steadily rising during the same time period.
In 2014, Deseret News published an article citing that the majority of people are concerned that the church’s influence is declining and do not like that it is declining. Why should we take notice of all this? Like anything else, the church’s influence takes up space. As the church’s influence declines, something else fills the void left behind. When we look at a cup and ask if it is half empty or half full, the answer is it is completely full. Air displaces the water as the water level decreases. The cup is always full of something.
What displaces the church’s influence as it declines?
We are seeing a rise in the influence of Communism in the United States, not exclusively in political office, but in many aspects of public life such as schools. This is worthy of our serious consideration because of both recent and ancient historical precedent.
Edgar Mower in his book, Germany Puts the Clock Back, wrote that by 1920 God and Christianity had been in steady decline across Germany, a process that had begun in1860. During the same time, sexuality became more promiscuous, and abortions dramatically increased. There was an absence of any recognition of sin, and the majority of church-going individuals did not hold a Biblical view of God. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
Hitler was elected and could not have come to power without the “Christians” voting for him. Indeed, even some of the church leaders who later would speak against Hitler and the Nazis had originally voted for him. Hitler had played to German nationalism as a means of uniting people, and it was this quest for nationalism that enabled the deaths of many millions. [Nationalism is decried today as being associated with the politically conservative, however, it is more likely to be used for destructive means by the politically left.]
Likewise, Christianity had a more than 900 year history in Russia leading up to the Bolshevik Revolution and the installation of Communism. While Christianity was somewhat widespread among the peasants, they held a dualistic view such that their Christian beliefs were intertwined with paganism. Thus, in the time period leading up to the revolution, Christianity in Russia was not strong and had been steadily declining. The Bolsheviks attacked Christianity through the 1930s in the media as well as a heavy-handed government and were able to spark a more significant decline in Christianity. This decline enabled the continuation of the Communism regime – like air displaces water, it displaced the church’s declining influence.
What is striking in Russia is that when Stalin gave the church a reprieve and the church grew stronger, the Communist regime began its slow collapse. There is an equal direct correlation between the church’s rising influence and decline in Communism. It is also striking that in the Bolshevik Revolution the church was brought to a point of great compromise. We have seen a similar great compromise among the church today – remain open for in-person services and spread the coronavirus or close and be viewed as impotent. This is a no-win situation and explains why some have worked hard to change the narrative. Our great compromise has significantly weakened the church.
The parallels between church history in Russia as well as Germany in the 1920s to 1930s and the United States from 1960 to 2022 are strikingly similar. In Russia and Germany, the church’s decline gave way to Communism. Interestingly, the German nationalism of the 1920s should be looked at today as a form of idolatry. It grew in influence to a point where people placed it above God, and it took precedence in their lives and political beliefs. This form of nationalism is indeed unhealthy, and for the Christian, a balance is required where God continually remains supreme.
Does this mean the United States is destined for a Communist takeover where millions of people will die? This remains to be seen, although we are certainly off to a good start in that direction. The only barrier to a rise in Communism is a strong church.
The link between a declining church and rising Communism is nothing new. One need only read the Old Testament to see what happens when the Israelites compromised with Baal, followed after idolatry and engaged in sexual promiscuity. A godless, sinful nation results in chaos, destruction and mass death. This is evidence of the Fall and our default to sin. It is also evidence that sin is very destructive to the human mind and soul – left to our own devices without a godly influence, we resort to killing, destruction and chaos. This is the way of Satan who wants nothing more than to overthrow God, or at least weaken the kingdom of heaven. Like Satan, evil is always doomed to fail, which explains why Communism and Marxism have utterly failed in recent history. Righteousness will always prevail, and evil cannot stand.
What can we do? All this sounds gloomy, but we have hope! For starters, we have an individual responsibility before God to be obedient and holy. To the extent we fail in this responsibility, we are contributing to the further decline in the church and rising influence of evil. In Nehemiah chapter 3, rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem was a seemingly insurmountable task, but we read that the people who lived closest to the wall each built the wall in front of their house. Thus, the task was completed efficiently. We also read in Nehemiah chapters 8 and 9 that Scripture was read, worship of God was restored, and the people confessed their sin. The remaining chapters in Nehemiah detail how obedience to God was restored.
If we do not like what we see happening in the culture around us, then we must take individual responsibility for our own obedience and holiness before God. We must have a proper view that a strong church is necessary to prevent chaos, destruction and murder. You and I are all complicit in evil when we fail on this point.
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