Christianity
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In our current times, no, Christians and Cristianity are not popular. Outside of Christian circles, most people used to at least be indifferent before (would at least say "Merry Christmas" for example) but now I would say many are flat out intolerant. The big shift towards this intolerance has occured because the general public has generally become more liberal over time over a wide variety of issues, which clashes with the more traditional/conservative Christian views. Furthermore, religion is very much politicized nowadays which adds to the polarization.
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Restaurants? Really? Sounds cool. Many people go eat after church, why not spend your money towards a good cause?
Jesus flipped the tables and brandished a whip due to 1. It was Holy ground. 2. The Merchants we're really thieves price gouging people on animal sacrifices.
So not really the same comparison.
Also the church is not the temple. Our bodies are the temple. Church is simply where 2 or 3 gather in the name of Christ.
Mega churches could simply be blessed with tithes and not restricted to growth under a denominational hierarchy that take the local churches tithes and filter it back to the pastor.
The only questions that should be answered is the church teaching a accurate Biblical worldview and has money been used for good. We sometimes forget God also made people in OT quite wealthy. (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph after imprisonment, Moses as a child and later as the leader of Israel, Joshua, then the many kings, etc.)
Jesus flipped the tables and brandished a whip due to 1. It was Holy ground. 2. The Merchants we're really thieves price gouging people on animal sacrifices.
So not really the same comparison.
Also the church is not the temple. Our bodies are the temple. Church is simply where 2 or 3 gather in the name of Christ.
Mega churches could simply be blessed with tithes and not restricted to growth under a denominational hierarchy that take the local churches tithes and filter it back to the pastor.
The only questions that should be answered is the church teaching a accurate Biblical worldview and has money been used for good. We sometimes forget God also made people in OT quite wealthy. (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph after imprisonment, Moses as a child and later as the leader of Israel, Joshua, then the many kings, etc.)
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It depends on are they preaching sound doctrine.
If not then it also depends on how bad is it because even many prosperity gospel tv evangelist have led people to faith and those people got connected to local churches with sound doctrine.
So it really boils down to the heart and that God knows the heart better than any of us. A child like faith can still see salvation along with the faith of a scholar.
If not then it also depends on how bad is it because even many prosperity gospel tv evangelist have led people to faith and those people got connected to local churches with sound doctrine.
So it really boils down to the heart and that God knows the heart better than any of us. A child like faith can still see salvation along with the faith of a scholar.
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Does it matter if it is popular or not? Since the god of this world -- Satan -- controls the world, we cannot expect Christianity to be popular. In fact it is under attack, and has been under attack for quite some time. And the reason for that is given in Ephesians 6 -- "we wrestle not against flesh and blood".
So who is really behind the attacks on Christ, Christianity, and Christians? It is a hierarchy of evil angels and demons under the control of Satan, who are in turn controlling (a) governments, (b) the education systems, and (c) the media. If you go by the numbers, godless Communism is the most popular ideology, followed by Islam. Christianity is the least popular. And we should not forget that Satan literally blinds the minds of people, so that they begin to hate the truth and love the lies.
So who is really behind the attacks on Christ, Christianity, and Christians? It is a hierarchy of evil angels and demons under the control of Satan, who are in turn controlling (a) governments, (b) the education systems, and (c) the media. If you go by the numbers, godless Communism is the most popular ideology, followed by Islam. Christianity is the least popular. And we should not forget that Satan literally blinds the minds of people, so that they begin to hate the truth and love the lies.
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Is Christianity popular? There could be nothing less important than the popularity, the current fad of society, about Christianity today. Jesus, Himself, asked if there would still be faith when He returned.
That being said, it seems that the rich countries of the world are abandoning Christianity for the things/pleasures/materialism of the world. That being said, things may just be shifting. As the rich countries of the world are shedding their Christianity, other countries are grasping hold. The former atheist state of Russia has now become a leading supporter and bastion of conservative Christianity. China and Africa are two countries where Christianity is growing fastest.
While rich Western Countries, the people of these countries, are abandoning Christianity, Christianity is thriving elsewhere. The world has always been engaged with a war of principalities and that won't change
That being said, it seems that the rich countries of the world are abandoning Christianity for the things/pleasures/materialism of the world. That being said, things may just be shifting. As the rich countries of the world are shedding their Christianity, other countries are grasping hold. The former atheist state of Russia has now become a leading supporter and bastion of conservative Christianity. China and Africa are two countries where Christianity is growing fastest.
While rich Western Countries, the people of these countries, are abandoning Christianity, Christianity is thriving elsewhere. The world has always been engaged with a war of principalities and that won't change
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The first response that comes to mind is that Christianity's known, at least in the United States, but misunderstood and often vilified. Before I came to Christ I was guilty of the same. People, including my friends, often saw Christianity as an easy scapegoat for the country's ills based on specific incidents and inaccurate information.
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Honestly I don't think its a scapegoat. All the literacy in the Bible literally basically deal with everyday happenings around the world. Its basically details the right and wrong and how you should treat peopke , the same thing that applies at a job and in the real world. talks about morals basically
You are correct, Christianity has always been under attack by those who hate it. After Jesus ascended, the Apostles went out into a world of wolves and each of the Apostles would be murdered/martyred. For 300 years Rome entertained itself by torturing Christians and feeding them to the lions in the Coliseum. This kind of murderous hatred for Christians has continued throughout the world unabated. About 100 years ago, atheistic communism reared it's ugly head and persecution of Christians and the Church was communism's objective. Today, the rich countries of the world have become secular and you'll find the highest percentage of atheists in countries like Norway and Sweden and they want nothing to do with Christianity. The USA now scoffs at Christian values. IT'S A BATTLE OF PRINCIPALITIES, and Jesus warned that few would find the way to salvation.
So, Christianity has been hated to various degrees throughout the world and throughout time. But you know what? 2,000 years after Christ ascended, there are diehard Christians still on the face of the earth and in significant numbers. And these Christian soldiers will keep the flame of Christianity alive for those who seek Jesus and His salvation.
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You are correct. The world has always been a battleground a war between God's ways and Satan's ways.
We Christians have great hope. Jesus came to save sinners and to offer us eternal life. Through His sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection, He opened the gates of heaven for all who would believe in Him and follow His teachings.
But God gives us the gift of a free will, and while Jesus asks us to follow Him, He never forces us to. Ultimately, He leaves the determination of our salvation or damnation up to us. In the end, it will be our choice as to our eternal destiny.
Throughout our lives, we are going to be continually faced with two different and opposing ways of living; God’s way or Satan’s way. We’ll constantly have to make choices on which path we want to follow.
We’ll have to decide on God’s way or Satan’s because we can’t act upon the word of both because they are completely opposites of each other.
The Word of God declares us to be His adopted and beloved sons and daughters, His joy and delight, sons of God.
The word of Satan tells us that we don’t have to be children of God. We can be our own gods, living and dying on our own terms.
The Word of God tells us that we are so important to God and that He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us in the most horrible way.
Satan tells us that we have no need of anyone dying for us and that we can become important on our own, as self-made men.
God tells us that we belong to Him and Satan tells us that we belong to ourselves alone.
The Word of God reveals that we have been created in God’s Own Image and Likeness.
Satan tells us to create our own self-image, our best self-image is the one that is pleasing to us, a self-image created according to our wills and desires.
God tells us that He is the Way and that we should walk in His light. Satan tells us to go our own way and to walk in the light of our own pride.
God tells us that there is no profit in possessing the whole world at the cost of losing our souls.
Satan tells us that we have no soul. So we need to grab for all the things and pleasures that we can get, right now, in this life.
God tells us that there is life after death and that Jesus has prepared a place for us in heaven, where we can share in God’s life and glory for all eternity.
Satan tells us that there is nothing after death, we are going nowhere. And so it doesn’t make any difference what we do.
God tells us that He is Truth.
Satan, the father of all lies tells us that there is no such thing as absolute truth and that we must create our own truths that allow us to achieve our own worldly ambitions and desires.
Satan is a tough opponent and always tries to make us feel small, insignificant, and helpless. And many times he fools us into being our own worst enemy. But even when Satan does fool us, God doesn’t give up on us and continues to address us in His Word and Spirit.
We say it’s impossible, we can’t do it; God says all things are possible through Him.
We say I’m too tired, God says, come to Me and I will give you rest.
We say I can’t go on, God says My Grace, My help is sufficient to see you through hard times.
We say I can’t figure things out, God says I will direct your steps, if you ask.
We say I can’t forgive myself of my many sins against God and against my fellow man. God says I will forgive you.
We say I can’t manage my life, God says, if you seek My kingdom and it’s righteousness, then I will supply all your needs.
We say I am afraid, worried and frustrated. God says I have not given you the spirit of fear, cast all your cares upon Me.
We say I am not smart enough, God says I will give you wisdom.
We say I don’t have enough faith, God says I have given everyone a measure of faith.
We say we feel all alone. God says I will never leave or forsake you.
We say nobody really cares or loves me. God says I love you.
Yes, all our lives we will be faced with countless choices. The Way of God or the way of Satan.
And we need to clearly decide what we want, God or Satan, good or evil, life or death, salvation or damnation. Jesus offers us His salvation as a free gift. And when we choose, we need to reach out and take what we choose for what we choose we shall receive.
But the choice of Jesus salvation and our own damnation will always be ours to make. If we want salvation, then Jesus and His truths need to be at the center of our lives. Not Satan’s lies, not worldy pleasures, and not our own desires.
A few final thoughts. All our lives we’ll be faced with spiritual battle, between God and Satan. We need to be ever alert and aware of our weaknesses, because Satan knows our weaknesses and he’ll tempt and attack us where we are the weakest.
But remember this, God isn’t too interested in our past lives and sins, He cares a lot more about our future lives.
We’ll all fall in to sin and make the wrong decisions many times during our lives. Sometimes we battle and struggle with the same sins, over and over, maybe for many years, maybe for a lifetime.
But, each time we do fall, never give up, it’s important not to run away from God, but that we get right back up, repent, and turn to Jesus. He’s always willing to forgive and take us back and let us start our lives all over again, in Christ.
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