“Christianity will go,” John Lennon announced 50 years ago. “It will vanish and shrink … we’re more popular than Jesus now.” - 4/3/66.
We all know the story when it comes to Christianity: a dying religion; a relic of a bygone era. Modern society is moving on, leaving it behind. Church attendance is dropping, and the traditional theologies of the Church are not accepted by today’s society. Yet, studies suggest that the number of Christians is at least steady, and in some parts of the world their numbers are even rising. So is Christianity really in a terminal decline, as is often believed? The current situation faced by the Church is far from its first crisis. The Church was born from a crisis: the split from Judaism. The Diocletian Persecution
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The poorest people in the world, who most desperately need education are often provided for only by the Christian Church in countries such as Rwanda and South Africa. This demonstrates how integral the Church still is to many aspects of the Modern World. However, it is not only the poor who benefit from the Church’s tradition of education. The Church established the first University at Bologna in 1088, promoting advanced education, and in the 1150’s Pope Alexander III confirmed the “Authentica Habita,” the key founding document for ‘academic freedom.’ At its best the Church has always promoted freedom of learning and therefore became and still is a key component of …show more content…
It is sometimes said, that with the numbers of people, who were brought up as Christians and became non-religious later in their life, that the high fertility rate alone cannot support the Christian faith. However a 2011 PEW research centre survey stated that in 2010 there were 2.2 billion Christians internationally, then went on to predict that in 2050 that there would be more than 3 billion worldwide. It suggests that the high fertility rate not only outweighs the negative effects of conversions, but that Christianity’s growth rate will remain extremely high for a long time. This is reinforced by the fact that annually roughly 2.7 million people are converted to Christianity. In fact, even as a percentage of the global population Christianity is predicted to remain relatively constant to 2050 (31.4 percent in 2010, and 31.4 percent, the exact same figure in
Smitha, Frank E. "Trends in Christianity." Trends in Christianity. MacroHistory and World Timeline, 2013. Web. 09 Dec. 2013.
In the book’s introduction, Walter Rauschenbusch has written “It follows that the relation between Christianity and social crisis is one of the most pressing questions for all intelligent men who realize the power of religion, and most of all the religious leaders of the people who give direction to the forces of religion” .
The contemporary Church is so often a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. It is so often the arch-supporter of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the Church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the Church's silent and often vocal sanction of things as they are.”
From the Middle ages, the church faced many problems such as the Babylonian Captivity and the Great Schism that hurt the prestige of the church. Most of the clergy lived in great luxury while most people were poor and they set an immoral example. The clergy had low education and many of them didn’t attend their offices. Martin Luther had witnessed this himself, “In 1510 he visited Rome and was shocked to find corruption on high ecclesiastical places”
Eck, Diana L. A New Religious America: How a "Christian Country" Has Now Become the World's Most Religiously Diverse Nation. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2001. Print
The Story of Christianity is a very informative summation; a continuation of Volume 1 which covered the beginning of the church up to the Protestant Reformation, while Vol. 2 dealt with the Protestant Reformation up to more modern time period. This author delivers a more comprehensive and deeper look into the development of Christianity, which includes particular events which had transpired throughout the world; particularly how Christianity has expanded into Central and South America. Gonzalez opens up this book with the “Call for Reformation,” where he shares with his readers the need for reform; the papacy had started to decline and was corrupt, in addition to the Great Schism, which had further weakened the papacy (p.8). The author explains how the church was not the only issue but that the church’s teachings were off track as well, seeing that the people had deviated from...
During the Great Jubilee year, John Paul II gave a relevant speech of apology on behalf of the entire Catholic Church for the serious sins committed by its members for over 2,000 years. Since John Paul II did that, he wished the Church to enter the new millennium with a clean slate, allowing it to speak to and discuss freely with the other religions of the world, including the cultures and nations from a place not only of permanency but also of moral and religious power, having acknowledged in specific ways the crimes, from time to time unbearable, committed by its human origins throughout history. These apologies were hardly accepted, and common apologies for sins committed against the Church and its members have not been imminent. “Catholics distinguish between the holiness of the inevitable sinful nature of men, including the men who serve the Church stated by Thomas E. Woods Jr.” From the Catholic observation point, the Church presents two parts: One representing its divine nature as the untarnished body of Christ, and one directing on the weaknesses of the Church's human members suffering from sin, which does not prevent it from receiving God's forgiveness through the sacraments, however troubled it may be by the sins of its members.... ...
After reading The Next Christendom by Philip Jenkins I found that this book reminded me of a memorable passage from the movie Apollo Thirteen: a military man in the tense Houston control shares with a political figure his forewarning that the tragedy before will be the catastrophic moment for the space program Mission control flight chief Gene Kranz overhears their conversation and addresses it: 'With all due respect, gentleman, I believe this will be our finest hour.' This summarizes the book quiet well as the apparent demise of the western church (when the day comes) is forecasting on its fate over against the perceived adversaries of secularism and post-modernism. Jenkins reminds us that when view through a wide-screen lens so to speak, the inherent threat often yields to a broad outlook of opportunity, painting a clear picture of the future of Christianity in colors unaccustomed to American thinking, outlining the characteristics of the fast growing Christian churches that are outside of Western Europe and US. Jenkins also shows the possibility of conflicts between Christianity and other major religions (such as Islam or Hinduism). Speculating what affects this will have on established churches of having a Christian majority outside the west. The basic premise of this book I think is simply: the heart of Christendom has moved from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere, what is surprising about this premise is that the northern hemisphere did not see the move, and still deny that it is moving.
The Catholic Church is right now struggling with a very serious and grave scandal, Sexual Abuse of catholic priests and Paedophilia. Within the last year the Catholic Church has had to dispense over 100 million dollars in sexual abuse settlements*** (find source). However, the crisis became mainstream when two Catholic priests in Boston were accused of abusing over 100 boys and young men. The church worldwide has felt repercussions from this scandal. In fact, it even resulted in the call of all American cardinals who are healthy enough to travel to a summit in the Vatican with Pope John Paul the second.
The rise of Christianity in western civilization is arguably among the most important memories in history. There is no denying what the spread of Christianity has done for the world, for better or worse. Its impact on western civilizations is unrivaled and unprecedented. Christianity slowly became something for many individuals to turn to; in times of hurt its provided comfort, in times of pleasure it has given thanks. The will and belief for salvation has driven individuals to be better, and to have a reference while in need. The rise of Christianity more than 2000 years ago provided necessary building blocks for the future. Without Christianity there would be no cathedrals, no monasteries, no music from one Johann Sebastian Bach, no paintings from Michelangelo, nor no philosophy from Saint Augustine (Backman 205). There are countless times in history, whether good or bad, that can be credited to
Education from the Church has initiated structural learning which brought a gradual end to the barbaric era (Dark Ages). The Church’s legacy gained them the medieval reputation of society and this has influenced the reputation of the Church today.
“Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that; I'm right and I'll be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first—rock 'n' roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me” - John Lennon.
In our modernized secular society, catholic membership began to drop initially, due to the conservative views of the church. As a result of Vatican 2 Catholicism was modernized and membership within the religion was re-established. Although the nature of Catholicism has changed in this age of materialism and consumerism, this does not necessarily indicate direction of decline.
Ethics is the moral behavior that guides our actions; it motivates us in our personal behavior and is relevant in a business setting as well. Many organizations have set forth a set of guidelines known as a “Code of Ethics”. The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, being one of these organizations, has set forth their code as a requirement for students and engineer members to adhere to. Heading towards a career in electrical engineering I choose this organization to elaborate on for my ethics project.
“Christianity is the faith tradition that focuses on the figure of Jesus Christ” (McGinn, 1). Not only is Christianity a set of religious beliefs, it has also created an entire culture, “a set of ideas and ways of life” which have been passed down from generation to generat...