My Prediction: The Coming Evangelical Collapse (1) | internetmonk.com.
The Internet Monk, also called Dispatches from the Post-Evangelical Wilderness, is a theology blog that I have discovered only recently and with great pleasure.
I invite you to explore it for yourselves.
And, as a teaser, here is a blog post about the ‘coming evangelical collapse’. No, it’s not the typical dooms day text, but something more thoughtful.
Whether you agree or not with the author, I think it is worth weighting his arguments:
1) Evangelicals have identified their movement with the culture war and with political conservatism. This was a mistake that will have brutal consequences.
2) Evangelicals have failed to pass on to our young people the evangelical Christian faith in an orthodox form that can take root and survive the secular onslaught.
3) Evangelical churches have now passed into a three part chapter: 1) mega-churches that are consumer driven, 2) churches that are dying and 3) new churches that whose future is dependent on a large number of factors.
4) Despite some very successful developments in the last 25 years, Christian education has not produced a product that can hold the line in the rising tide of secularism.
5) The deterioration and collapse of the evangelical core will eventually weaken the missional-compassionate work of the evangelical movement.
6) Much of this collapse will come in areas of the country where evangelicals imagine themselves strong. In actual fact, the historic loyalties of the Bible belt will soon be replaced by a de-church culture where religion has meaning as history, not as a vital reality.
7) A major aspect of this collapse will happen because money will not be flowing towards evangelicalism in the same way as before.
* * *
This is the first in a series of 3 articles on this topic. The next two will deal with:
Part 2: What Will Be Left When Evangelicalism Collapses?
Part 3: Is This A Good Thing?
Persona 
Iata, va las pe dvs sa aveti ultimul cuvint. Este evident ca traim in lumi paralele.
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D-le Manastireanu:
“is a theology blog that I have discovered only recently and with great pleasure” (sic)” Dvs va manifestati marea placere la acest blog. De ce sa va contrazic?
– In privinta caracterizarii ce mi-o faceti n-am de gind sa comentez.
– Asa cum spuneti, caracterizari psiho-sociologice sunt justificate. Daca reducem la asta toata viata bisericieasca -precum calugarul virtual- suntem pe pozitia unor analisti necredinciosi. agnostci ori de-a dreptul atei. Ce vina am eu?
– Dvs nu ma cunoasteti pe mine decit din scris. Nici eu nul cunosc pre calugar decit dupa cum scrie. E mult prea sarcastic si plin de dispret pt a fi duhovnisec. Asta se vede de la o posta! Apoi, probabil e un om tianr. E posibil sa fie emergent; n-ar fi pacat. Dar dupa teoria ‘mnealor cu cit dispare crestinismul actual cu atit mai bine. Vor cladi ei altul mai bun (sic). … E drept ca si eu m-am crezut mai bun decit generatia anterioara mie dar n-am avut pretentii chiar atit de apocaliptice.
Indiferent cum ma caracterizati, eu asa l-am citit pe individ sine ura et sduio…si habar n-am cine este flacaul.
Exista o emisune la un radio crestin super- local in Detroit. O negresa usor billbiita incheie cu moto-ul “God is alive and well”… Il deschid la sfirsit pt ca salutul ma bine dispune. Asta i-a spune si lui nea monk, ala.
Stay warm d-le DM – a propos de frigul din tara-. Pe-aci e-o incalzire golbala… si o ampla evanghelizare cu implicarea a 530 de biserici evanghelice… EACH (everyoane a chance to hear)… Michigan nu e Bilble belt ci rusty state… Din pacate si spiritual tot rusty; domina catolicii si musulmanii in plan spiritual. Dupa cum se vede, nu toata lumea evanghelica doarme. Au venit evanghleice tocami de la Londra (de UK, nu de Canada) ca sa se inspire de la EACH de Detroit… Sa stm bine, sa stam cu frica!
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Unii (vezi mai jos si pe domnul Radu) prefera mai degraba sa-i injure pe cei care trag semnalul de alarma, decit sa caute solutii la o situatie cu adevarat disperata. Seamana cu orchestra care cinta melodii romantice pe Titanicul care se scufunda. Jalnic.
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Domnule Radu,
Rea credinta cu care citit acest blog, din care v-ati facut un adevarat crez, iese la iveala si de aceasta data. E drept, omul trebuie sa fie consecvent, nu-i asa?
Iata si citeva intrebari, daca se poate:
1. de unde trageti dvs concluzia ca ‘dansez’ pe ipotetica moarte a cuiva?
2. pe ce va bazati cind ma acuzati in mod ofensator c as fi un dusman al evanghelismului (ale carui elemente esentiale am afirmatin mod repetat ca le sustin)?
3. de unde trageti concluzia, absolut aberanta, ca autorul textului este un necredincios;
4. si chiar daca ar fi, cu ce afectaza acest lucru valoarea textului, daca acesta prezinta adevarul? (ceea ce, evident, ramine de demonstrat)
Sociologia nu poate fi exclusa din analiza bisericii, chiar daca aceasta, asa cum bine spuneti, trebuie supmimentata cu dimensiunea mistica a comunitatii eclesiale.
In final, decit acest soi de aparare irationala, cu loviituri orbesti, inspirate de dispret fundamentalist suveran, n-ar fi muult mai de folos o discutie asezata, pe substanta acestui text? Eu asa as spune, dar se vede ca preferati plesnelile de genul celor care au facut gloria indoilenica a ‘vindecatorului’.
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Good question.
If we consider ourselves evangelicals, which I do, trying to ask these questions is much more profitable than booing those who ask it, as some do, even in the comments on this blog.
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este nevoie de o noua “reactie” la ceea ce se intimpla in lume, inclusiv in america. daca evanghelicii sunt pe moarte, sa le fie tarina usoara! nu o sa plinga dumnezeu dupa ei. mor pe mina lor.
o sa apara ceva relevant pentru ceea ce se intimpla azi sau mai bine zis miine in lume.
pacat ca unii au nasul prea mare si nu pot sa vada prea departe din cauza lui! dumnezeu nu o sa intre in pana nici de idei, nici de oameni. nu?
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“The Internet Monk, also called Dispatches from the Post-Evangelical Wilderness, is a theology blog that I have discovered only recently and with great pleasure” (sic)
Trist. Sa publici un text scris de cine? SI sa te bucuri de el. Ma surprinde reactia dvs. Ca sunteti anglican nu ma deranjeaza. Nici ca sunteti critic. Dar sa “dansat” pe o ipotetica m”moare” a unui dusman cred de dvs este condamnabil.
Mai intii, intreaga afacere e rautacioasa si apoi fara valoare. parca e scrisa de un ome necredincios. A murit Dumnezeu?
Viitorul? Scriptura nu-l descrie roz : “dragotea celor mai multi se va raci… lepadare de credinta, va gasi Fiul Omului credinta pe Pamint, etc”…
Am mai scris: m-as bucura sa fie cum spun carsimaticii si inaite de revenirea Mintuitoruli sa fie o noua revasare a Duhului Sfint. Ma tem ca ei gresesc. Deci e posibil sa vedem o decaderea Crestinismului in ansamblu. Sarea ce si-a pierdut gustul isi pierde valoarea si ajunge sa fie calcata in picioare.
Orice analiza strict sociologica a unei miscari crestine-excluzind lucrarea Duhului Sfint- este falsa din start. Afara doar daca miscarea -biserica- analizata e lepadata de Domnul. Si atunci ar trebui sa intre in analiza si factorii spirituali…
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It does sound like all doom and gloom, but it may be the best thing that may happen to American Evangelicalism.
To take the points in the article:
1. Yup. Jesus focused him ministry on the poor, the oppressed and the marginalised; US Evangelicals have mostly cast their lot with the rich and powerful. It makes for some rich and powerful churches, but it doesn’t help their spiritual life any.
2. Trouble here is that Evangelicals – and not just the ‘west of the pond’ ones – have a rather skewed view of what orthodoxy is. When you have to believe in a literal 7, 24hour days creation, 6000 year old Universe, at a time when telescopes can spot galaxies over 13 billion light-years away, it’s no wonder out youth believe Evangelical Christianity is only for those able to give their brain an extended leave of absence.
3. Well, maybe. I think the strength of US evangelicalism is in the 4th chapter, which is missing in the article – the little, 100-member churches who are healthy and faithfully working at changing lives. 3-day-wonder megachurches will go; spiritually dead churches will eventually be buried; and while many new church plants are attempts at being the next consumer megachurch, some are surprisingly strong, healthy, and active – but then they tend to become just another overlooked 100-or-so small church.
4. Almost makes one wonder if Evangelical education is not an oxymoron.
5, 6 and 7 are rather obvious for whoever has eyes to see.
So now, what can we do about it?
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Indeed, he talks primarily about American evangelicalism. Yet, mostly because of the current (but, thankfully, declining) financial power of American evangelicals, their influence on the rest of evangelicals is overly inflated. To the detriment of the movement as a whole.
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Wow! that is hard-hitting! He seems to be talking about American evangelicalism.
I think I want to say that evangelicalism ‘in its current forms’ may be collapsing. Which may be a good thing …
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