This morning I was thinking about some articles I have recently
read. In Belize which is ostensibly a very Christian nation (86%) it takes only
a few moments to find people who practice or believe in some form of witchcraft
or paganism. It also does not take too long to figure out that 86% reflects a
cultural tradition in which most people identify as Christian whether they are
practitioners or not. In America the percentage is 77.5 with some 25%
identified as evangelical. Again it does not take long to figure out that
perhaps 6-8% of the population consist of practicing evangelicals. As a result,
things are a changing. You might enjoy this Dylan song that reflects the sentiment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90WD_ats6eE
A large percent of millennials are now “nones” and some 63% seldom or never
attend church. Therefore, the religious landscape of the US is going to
continue to change. A recent article in the NYT notes that psychotherapist and
others in the caring professions are going to have to learn about astrology,
tarot cards and crystals as their clients are increasingly also consulting
shamans and New Age teachings. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/28/style/therapy-psychology-astrology-tarot-ayahuasca.html.
In regard to that I recently I have had
a couple of conversations with people who view the universe or earth as
sentient and attach divine character to them. Why do I mention this? I mention
it because as Christians we are the people that God has put in this time and place
to represent the Kingdom of God. We need to share our faith (with words and
deeds) with all those who might be open to hearing the message. We need to come
out of our comfort zones and engage the culture with the Gospel. While we need
to do this with love, sensitivity and compassion we must model a Christian
Worldview as an alternative to what is now in the marketplace. That is why we
are here.