The Church in a Post-Christian Culture Where We Are - How We Got Here – How Shall We Now Live?

The Church in a Post-Christian

CultureWhere We Are - How We Got

Here –How Shall We Now Live?

“We, whose names are underwritten… having

undertaken, for the glory of God, and the advancement of

the Christian faith… a voyage to plant the first colony…”

- The Mayflower Compact, 1620

“The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right

which Heaven itself has ordained.”

- George Washington, 1st President,

Inaugural Address, 1789

“Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.

It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

- John Adams, 2nd President

“It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not

by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

- Patrick Henry, Statesmen, Patriot of the American

Revolution

“Unto Him who is the author and giver of all good, I render

sincere and humble thanks for His manifold and unmerited

blessings, and especially for our redemption and salvation by His

beloved Son.”

- John Jay, 1st Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court

“In this age there can be no substitute for Christianity. That was the religion of the founders

of the republic, and they expected it to remain the

religion of their descendents.”

- House & Senate Judiciary Committee Report, 1854

“In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in

which all children, under a free government, ought to be

instructed…”

- Noah Webster, Founding Father of American Education, 1828

“Let every student be plainly instructed, and earnestly

pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ

which is eternal life (John 17:3).”

- 1642 Rules and Precepts of Harvard University

The Foundations Upon Which Our Nation Was Built Have

Eroded Under Our Feet!

How Did This Happen?

“There arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord.”

– Judges 2:10

“But if we are looking across the history of the world to see those times when men knew the truth and turned away, let us say emphatically that there is no exhibition of this anywhere in history so clearly- in such a short time- as in our own generation… Men of our time knew the truth and yet turned away- turned away not only from the biblical truth, the religious truth of the Reformation, but turned away from the total culture built upon that truth, which included the balance of freedom and form which the Reformation brought forth in northern Europe in the state and society, a balance which has never been known anywhere in the world before. Having turned away from the knowledge given by God, man has now lost the whole Christian culture…

In Europe, including England, it took many years- in the United States only a few decades… Ours is a post-Christian world in which Christianity, not only in the number of Christians but in cultural emphasis and cultural result, is now in the minority. To ask young people to maintain the status quo is folly. The status quo is no longer ours… Do not take this lightly! It is a horrible thing for a man like myself to look back and see my country and my culture go down the drain in my own lifetime. It is a horrible thing that sixty years ago you could move across this country and everyone, even non-Christians, would have known what the gospel was. A horrible thing that forty to fifty years ago our culture was built on the Christian consensus, and now we are in an absolute minority…

As Christians in this period of history we are faced with some crucial questions, the first one being this: what should our perspective be as we acknowledge the post-Christian character of our culture?”

Francis Schaeffer - Death In The City

Written in 1969 (44 years ago)

“Ours is a post-Christian world.”

How Much Further Has Our Culture Fallen

In 44 Years?• 55 million babies aborted since Roe vs.

Wade.• 9 states fully recognize same-sex

marriage- numerous others quickly moving that direction.

• 33% of non-Christian & ‘born again’ Christian marriages end in divorce (Barna ’13).

• Over 50% of marriages do not last 20 years (CDC ‘12).


In 44 Years?• 53% of children born to women under

age 30 are born out of wedlock (New York Times ‘11).

• Over 50% of sexually active adults will acquire an STD in their lifetime. 19 million new cases reported each year (CDC ‘11).

• 1/5 of the population has no religious affiliation (Pew ‘12).


In 44 Years?• 1/3 of the population under age 30 have

no religious affiliation (Pew ‘12).• 95% of U.S. cities are not ‘Bible-

minded’- having a majority of citizens who read the Bible at least once a week and assert it is accurate in the principles it teaches (Barna ‘13).

• Only 9% of Americans hold to a Biblical worldview (Barna ‘09).


In 44 Years?• Only 19% of Evangelicals hold to a

Biblical worldview (Barna ‘09).

Biblical worldview defined as believing: “absolute moral truth exists; the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches; Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic; a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or do good works; Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today” (Barna ‘09).


In 44 Years?• Secular, anti-biblical agenda pressuring

traditional Judeo-Christian values on all fronts- family, media, education, business, laws, the Church, etc.

Examples: Gay marriage, Chick-fil-A, Hobby Lobby, Boy Scouts of America, Health Care Mandates, Anti-bullying Legislation, Hate Crime Laws, the War on Christmas and other Public Expressions of Christianity, Louie Giglio & Inaugural Prayer, etc.


Culture is simply worldview externalized. The culture

around us reflects who and what we value.

“The history of mankind will positively demonstrate that no society or people has ever risen above it’s religion… and man’s history will show that no religion is ever

greater than it’s concept of God.”

- A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy

“A people cannot be better than their gods.”

- Vishal Mangalwadi


Romans 1: 18-32• Suppressed the truth (v. 18)• Exchanged the worship of God for idols (v. 23)• Exchanged the truth of God for a lie (v. 25)• Abandoned natural relations for unnatural ones (vs. 26-27)• Did not retain the knowledge of God (v. 28)• Ignored God’s laws and encouraged rebellion against them (v. 32)

“God gave them over”


Culture- How We Got Here -

Worldview =The lenses through which you view the world & How you answer the “3 Great Questions of life”.

1. Where did I come from?2. What is the meaning and purpose of

life?3. What happens when I die?

How you answer these 3 questions will affect every aspect of your life.

The Foundational Question of Every Person’s Worldview:

Are Men & Women Accidents

Evolved from “Pond Scum”Or…

Are We the Unique Creation of God?

How You Answer the Question of Origins Will Determine:

• Value for Human Beings• Basis of Morality• Meaning & Purpose of Life• Ultimate Destiny

Naturalism > Humanism > Relativism >

Pluralism > P.C. Tolerance > Oppression of Dissenting

Voices

The Question of Origins is the Front Line in Today’s

Culture War!

How Did We Arrive at Today’s Post-Christian Culture?

Two Key Figures of 19th - 20th Century Naturalism & Humanism:

Charles Darwin (1809-1882)Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)


Charles Darwin (1809-1882)• On The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life (1859).• All living organisms on earth descended from a single primordial form over millions of years of gradual change.• Nature is purely mechanistic; no purpose; no plan; no design in mind.• Evolution = survival of the fittest.• Man is an animal, the pinnacle of evolution.


Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)• Vastly influential proponent of the anti-theistic worldview (Hitler, Freud, Humanists, Existentialist & Postmodern philosophers, etc).

• “God is dead”. Society must be rebuilt on a God-less foundation.

• Christianity was repressive and stunted the ongoing evolution of humanity. It was a religion of the weak.

• If freed from religion the “Superman” could appear and create a Humanistic Utopia on earth.

Naturalism: “There is no supernatural; Science is adequate to explain all Reality.”

Humanism: “There is no God; man is a product of evolution; man is inherently good and can create a Utopia on earth.” Man

God

“God Is Dead”

* All that exists is the finite, three dimensional,

natural world.

“It is not true, as is sometimes said, that man cannot organize the world without God. What is true is that, without God, he can only organize it against man.”

- Henri De Lubac, French theologian, 1944

If “God is dead” and man is just an animal, what then is our basis

for morality?

Man

God

Opinion?… Social Consensus?… Strength?


Following the horrors of the 20th century, instead of turning back to God, Western culture embraced an

even more absurd philosophy…

Postmodernism


Postmodernism:• A cultural movement or ethos stemming from a loss of optimism from the failures of Modernity.

• No God, No absolutes, No ultimate meaning and purpose.• Societies and people define truth and reality for themselves.• Relativism• Tolerance becomes society’s highest virtue. • Deconstruction of traditional worldviews (Christianity chiefly).• Elevation of historically marginalized peoples and worldviews.

20th & 21st Century Postmodernism:

1. Postmodern Existentialism

2. Postmodern Spiritualism

3. Postmodern Secularism

Postmodernism Existentialism:

• “Existentialism” = meaning of existence

• Man is alone in the universe.

• Man has no value or meaning apart from what he gives himself.

• Life is ultimately absurd.

“Man is merely an accident, whose number came up on the universal roulette wheel. There is no meaning to anything. Everything is

ultimately absurd and meaningless.”

- Jacques Monod, French Existentialist-Biologist

“No finite point has meaning without an infinite reference point”

- Jean-Paul Sarte, French Existentialist

“That God does not exist, I cannot deny, that my whole being cries out for God I

cannot forget.”

Postmodernism Spiritualism: • Elevation of non-Western, non-traditional

religions

• “God” = an impersonal, universal force

• Monism (all is one) & Pantheism (all is god)

• Worship of Mother Earth (ecology movement)

• Universalism (no judgment)

Notice: Theological Liberalism & Liberal elements of the Emergent Church embrace the same views!

Postmodernism Secularism: • A renewed Humanism (roots in Darwin & Nietzsche)

• Humanity basically good

- People are not guilty of violating a moral law. They’re only guilty of guilt.

• Institutions create evil by limiting freedom (religion)

• Christianity is the primary cause of evil in the world

- Keeps people from experiencing ‘self-actualization’.

20th & 21st Century Postmodernism:

1. Postmodern Existentialism

2. Postmodern Spiritualism

3. Postmodern Secularism

What do these 3 manifestations of

Postmodernism have in common?

Postmodernism:• Denial of a personal God• No absolute truth• No objective basis for morality• No meaning and purpose to life• No ultimate destiny

What is the inevitable outcome for a culture that embraces Postmodern

thought?

Naturalism > Humanism > Relativism >

Pluralism > P.C. Tolerance > Oppression of Dissenting

Voices

The Question of Origins is the Front Line in Today’s

Culture War!


Politically Correct “Tolerance” & the Oppression of Dissenting Voices is Already

Here!

Examples: Gay marriage, Chick-fil-A, Hobby Lobby, Boy Scouts of America, Health Care Mandates, Anti-bullying Legislation, Hate Crime Laws, the

War on Christmas and other Public Expressions of Christianity, Louie Giglio & Inaugural Prayer, etc.

If “God is dead” and man is just an animal, what then is our basis

for morality?

Man

God

Opinion?… Social Consensus?… Strength?

History Repeats Itself!

“We can and must write in a language which sows among the masses hate, revulsion, and scorn toward those who disagree with us.”

- Vladimir Lenin


“Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down

the path of increasingly repressive measures…”

- President Harry Truman

Politically Correct “Tolerance” & the Oppression of Dissenting Voices is Already

Here!

Examples: Gay marriage, Chick-fil-A, Hobby Lobby, Boy Scouts of America, Health Care Mandates, Anti-bullying Legislation, Hate Crime Laws, the

War on Christmas and other Public Expressions of Christianity, Louie Giglio & Inaugural Prayer, etc.


“If God does not exist, all things are permissible.”

- Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Russian novelist


Culture(part II)

How Shall We Now Live?

Documents

The Church in a Post-Christian Culture Where We Are - How We Got Here – How Shall We Now Live?