The American Freedom Network

The Coming Collapse of Evangelical Christianity?

The Internet Monk writes, in a three-part essay about what he sees at the coming collapse of his house, Evangelical Christianity.  One may disagree with some of his points, but they are hard to ignore.  he sees Evangelicals as too busy with their public face – the culture wars, GOP politics, spiritual fads, contemporary worship styles, etc. – to pass on to the next generation a body of sound doctrine that can withstand the full-bore assault of a secular world.  Indeed, he sees this falling away over the next decade as ushering in the era of active anti-Christian sentiment in the West.
Is he on target?  Demographics bear much of his argument out.  The younger generation is being lost; increasing numbers of Americans – 15% – describe themselves as being without religion, and Evangelicals are among the least-popular of groups, according to polling data.  (Being unpopular for the right reason is one thing, but being singled out for manifest failure to do the right thing is another.)
The predicted outcomes for Evangelical churches and their members as the culture wars are lost and as it becomes clear how Biblically illiterate many believers are is:  1.)  Face away into liberal Protestantism; 2.)  Melt into the secular world, severing all ties with Christianity; 3.)  Join the evangelical and Charismatic elements in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches; or 4.) Marginalization, perhaps along the lines of the Amish.  Pentecostals will constitute the majority of Evangelicals, in this view, as they will choose #4 above.
The Next Christendom makes similar arguments to #3 above for worldwide Christianity – that it will become medieval, liturgical, and intensely spiritual – a sort of pentecostal Catholicism.  The South has more immediate motivation to keep their spiritual house in order, as martyrdom is a fact of life in the Sudan and in other parts of Christendom touching the House of Islam.  Here, the softer persecution, infused with contempt and ridicule by society at large, will lead to a falling away by those lacking spiritual roots or the infusion of the Holy Spirit necessary to stand their ground.
Perhaps the Internet Monk misses the point in a few places, though two readings did not reveal any weaknesses in his arguments to me.  Even if there are shortcomings, he is in the main on-target, at least as one can judge by current events.  Contemporary services, ‘Christian’ rock (even in church), end-times prophesies not grounded in Scripture (and proven, quickly, to be wrong), a lack of Biblically-centered doctrinal emphasis, a desire to behind in, to assimilate, variants of Prosperity Theology, and other items give evidence to the fundamentals underlying the analysis.
Readers of these words are encouraged to review the material at The Internet Monk and to draw their own conclusions.  Comments are, as always, welcome.