{"id":4567,"date":"2015-04-10T22:51:37","date_gmt":"2015-04-10T22:51:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=4567"},"modified":"2015-04-10T22:51:37","modified_gmt":"2015-04-10T22:51:37","slug":"bad-religion-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/bad-religion-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Bad Religion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trends, politics, and economics all impact the way that society views Christianity. Ross Douthat, in his book Bad Religion<\/em>, asserts that everyone is religious and this has been a driving influence in the churches ability to flourish across time and cultural shifts. While the church has flourished, it is this same climate that has introduced dangerous views surrounding Christianity.\u00a0\u00a0 It is the combination of outside influcences and an internal propusion towards a belief system that has created an environment where heresy thrives. Douthat describes America as being the most religious country in the world, but one in which \u201cJesus Christ is an obsession, God\u2019s favor a birthright, and spiritual knowledge an all-consuming goal. But it\u2019s also a place where traditional Christian teachings have been warped into justifications for solipsism and anti-intellectualism, jingoism and utopianism, selfishness and greed.\u201d[1]<\/a> His view of Christianity in America is bleak, but the reality is one that we must face. The case is made for Christian orthodoxy as a means through which one can save themselves. And, as we each individually seek to save ourselves, we can also save the country. The answer is simply seen in Matthew 6:33, \u201cSeek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through our studies this past year, we have reviewed many theories related to culture and religion. The authors have all attempted, with a unique focus, to answer how Christianity has evolved, and why or how society has engaged with religion. Most of the ideas presented are rooted with well researched facts. Their arguments are broad and address complex issues, yet they all point back to the simple truth that mass change across society must start with individuals. When we step back and consider man\u2019s relationship with God, since the time of Adam and Eve, the issues that we face today are just a more complex symptom of man\u2019s separation from the Creator.<\/p>\n

Morality is an issue that man has struggled with for centuries, as man rejects values that God has established for a healthy society. Heresy has been battled by the church for ages, and is easily seen in more recent history. The modern era, specifically the 1920-1940\u2019s, were characterized by totalitarian regimes that rejected moral values such as loving one another and God was seen as outdated and irrelevant. He wasn\u2019t seen as real. Society had a poor view of the church, and modern science and humanism influenced people\u2019s beliefs. Humanism was a threat to Christianity, and became such a widespread heresy that the church was forced to take action. By the 1950s, Christianity was again on the rise and Biblical values were evident in American society. In the 1960\u2019s social justice became a prevalent trend, although influence from the movements was seen differently across the various regions. Church attendance was up, but down again by the 1970\u2019s throughout mainstream denominations. Non-denominational churches became more commonplace. People were more spiritually minded, sought out self-help books, etc.<\/p>\n

The church\u2019s response to heresy is often to accommodate or resist the changes taking place in society. Douthat suggest that \u201cheresy sets out to be simpler and more appealing and more rational, but it often ends up being more extreme.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

Today, the church is faced with ever increasing complexity in the battle to fight heresy. There is a constant tension between staying relevant to society and keeping integrity in the Gospel message presented. Too many times, the church failes to address real issues facing real people. The impact is felt as individual lives aren\u2019t changed, and society views church as pointless. The churches efforts seem to be less effective today than in the past. hundreds of years. Douthat believes that \u201cwhat\u2019s changed today, though, is the weakness of the orthodox response.\u201d[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

According to Pew Research:[4]<\/a><\/p>\n