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The 4 April issue of newsmagazine Newsweek headlines a story entitled, "The End of Christian America" with the subtitle, "The percentage of self-identified Christians has fallen 10 points in the past two decades. How that statistic explains who we are now—and what, as a nation, we are about to become." (1) The writer, John Meacham interviews R. Albert Mohler Jr.—president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary as part of the article. He states that Mohler was shocked to learn that the percentage of Americans who identify themselves as Christians has declined 10% in the past 20 years with rising numbers in New England, a regions he believed to be the bedrock of Christian religious faith in the USA. (2) Meanwhile, the percentage of Muslims is rising now up to .6% in the US. Though, so is the number of agnostics and atheists. (3) Meacham however asserts, despite the sensationalistic headline he likely didn't write, that there has been a simultaneous rise in Evangelical Christians he suggests is a political rather as faith choice. He notes several very interesting statistics from a Newsweek poll all of which show a decline in the relevance of religion in American culture especially when it comes to being able to solve the nations woes. (4) Most interestingly, he concludes his narrative with a lengthy assertion that religions are historically more powerful when they steer far from government and politics citing countless examples of scripture that support the notion that faith transcends local government, ironically, a construct in the Qur'an that suggests that if all people follow the holy word of God and God's law, there will be no need for governments and human kind will share the world.
In any case, it is important for Christians in the USA to realize that their political positions are waning in relevance. Their adherence to anti-homosexual positions are degrading the good they could do as it has been demonstrated time and again by unbiased sources who evaluate the scripture that the evidence against homosexuality is far less secure than that against the perfectly common cause of divorce. Newsweek Magazine, coincidentally, covered this same topic in a now famous issue where a panel of scholars eventually concluded this fact. So is their ardent anti-abortion position. Many at RantRave have written eloquently on this topic in particular most concluding that while they don't favor abortion as a solution, until both sides galvanize against the common element of pre-marrital, unprotected intercourse, unwanted pregnancies and abortions will be the outcome. It has to do with getting at the root of the cause instead of trying to clean up the aftermath. The final straw, however, for many leaning Christians has been this inexplicable cause against those who would fight global warming. There has become an unfortunate overlap between the source material for the right and the Evangelical Christians. This is off-putting to young Christians whose science educations might have precluded evolution but certainly did not exclude the green house effect. And it has been pointed out by this writer in the past that it seems incongruous to people who think they know something about Christianity to see these same people then championing anti-global warming effort movements. Do you love the world that God gave you or not?
So, what might replace the "Christian values" that so long ruled our nation? The likely choice isn't Islam (which shares most of the same values), but the Green movement. A growing number of people want to live in harmony with our planet in stead of in spite of it. Most do not believe that the rapture is around the corner so we can do with the planet what we will.
The green lifestyle offers much of the guidance people need, and it's hard to see how on earth it wouldn't be favored by God vs. other movements and religious manifestations. In fact, living green puts one in closer connection to God's world, if you believe in God as the creator. One would think that would be a good thing. And, the beauty of the Green movement is that if you don't believe in God or any religion, you still fit in just fine.
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(1) "The End of Christian America"
http://www.newsweek.com/id/192583
(visit external link one for the full article)
(2,3,4) ibid.