1. If the U.S. Congress and Supreme Court have opened with prayer for centuries, exemplified by a prayer of Benjamin Franklin on June 27, 1787 at the Constitutional Convention, but these days a public school student can be suspended from class for saying the words, “bless you”, as was Kendra Turner, then you might be living in a post-Christian society.
2. If a religious lifestyle has been shown to provide the greatest sense of happiness in scientific studies, such as ones mentioned here and here, and “Studies show that rates of depression for Americans have risen dramatically in the past 50 years.” – with 1 in 10 US adults presently reporting a struggle with depression, then you might be living in a post-Christian society.
3. If the phrase, "In God we trust" first appeared on U.S. 2-cent coins in 1864 and the phrase, "In God is our trust." is in the official US national anthem and “one nation under God” is a phrase in the Pledge of Allegiance, but presently public school students are censored from saying the word “God” or “Jesus” in their personal farewell valedictorian speeches, as was Kyle Gearwar, then you might be living in a post-Christian society.
4. If one of the Ivy League universities founded mainly to train Christian missionaries and pastors, such as Princeton University, now employs a “distinguished professor” who teaches that bestiality and infanticide are ethically acceptable and sometimes preferable choices, then you might be living in a post-Christian society.
5. If The New England Primer was used as a U.S. textbook from 1690 to1930 (240 years) to teach students in American public schools how to read using actual Bible verses, but now many U.S. revisionist school textbooks contain outright lies about U.S. history meant to discredit Christianity, then you might be living in a post-Christian society. The desire for U.S. democracy versus a monarchy actually originated among Protestants desiring to break away from religious and political oppression. It was not based on Enlightenment philosophies. But U.S. public schools censor out any positive references to Christianity documented in actual history. The American Heritage article “Anti-Christian Bias in Education" documents text book quotes that are essentially lies.
6. If a local public school holds a Thanksgiving Day celebration meal and the only prayers are pagan admonitions made to the sun and the four compass directions and the school leaders are spiritually blessed with the waving of Native American turtle-shell rattles and bird wings, then you might be living in a post-Christian society (Our family witnessed this one at our local school this year).
7. If placing a town’s traditional Christmas nativity scene at a public venue is considered so offensive that it garners a national protest and national news attention, and a new approach for Satanists is to set up a "Snakivity Scene" on the Lansing Michigan Capital grounds, then you might be living in a post-Christian society.
8. If a boy decides that he wants to self-identify as a girl and decides that he should be able to use the girl's bathroom in a public school and wins a $75,000. legal award affirming his right to do so, then you might be living in a post-Christian society.
9. If there has been a history of three great awakenings and spiritual revivals in the U.S., based upon the preaching of the gospel and the need for repentance, but now the largest and most popular church is one in which the words "sin" and "hell" are not mentioned in church because this might make people feel bad, then you might be living in a post-Christian society. Joel Osteen, the pastor of the largest "Christian" church in the U.S., Lakewood Church, denies the need for repentance and claims that all people are basically good and bound for heaven, despite embracing a habitually sinful lifestyle.
10. If public school teachers can promote witchcraft and promiscuous sex, including demonstrations of how to strap on and use a dildo, but can be fired for using the words, "I am a Christian", then you might be living in a post-Christian society. The documentary film Indocrination: Public Schools and the Decline of Christianity in America documents some dialogues with Christian teachers that were fired for saying the name "Jesus" or for stating, "I am a Christian" in public schools.
11. If sexual obsession in culture has grown to the point where sexual addiction is a major problem with 25% of all search engine requests on the Internet are pornography related and a new Federal bill is being reviewed to stop federal employees from watching porno while at work, that have been spending sometimes "six hours a day" up to "98% of the workday." - watching porno on a government computer. - then you might be living in a post-Christian society.
12. If The U.S. National archives building constructed in 1933 contains one version of the Ten Commandments installed in the floor and the main U.S. Supreme Court building constructed in 1935 contains two permanently installed images of the Ten Commandments, one at the entry and one at the bench, but now uninformed and biased judges rule that these historic, iconic documents, which formed the basis of U.S. laws and history, are generally not permitted in public buildings, - then you might be living in a post-Christian society. “The heart of the problem, Dr. Keyes noted, is that federal courts are increasingly imposing a uniform national regime of disbelief and atheism on the people of this country. They are doing exactly what the Constitution of the United States forbids.”
13. If at one time the U.S. Founding Fathers, understanding the dangers of our human tendency towards sin and corruption, created a system of political checks and balances in order to guard against political corruption, but now the prevailing winds of academia and governmental oversight govern as though leadership does not need any serious accountability, then you might be living in a post-Christian society. Numerous publications have issued warnings over the abuse of the "State Secret Privilege Act" - that had exploded in use beginning with George W. Bush's presidency. President Obama has fostered the same type of lawlessness and unaccountability. A quote by the Center for Constitutional Rights condemns government secrets and unaccountability , "...the greater good is actually served by denying the executive a trump card that would allow it to cover up its incompetence or abuses of power."
14. If your country used to hang and imprison foreign officials that supervised or engaged in water-boarding, in accordance with both national and international laws, but now neocon ex-government officials are highly paid to go on TV interviews and boast, “I’d do it again in a minute,”- referring to acts that have been defined both nationally and internationally as illegal, then you might be living in a post-Christian society.
15. If the U.N., with its low standards for addressing its own corruption, identifies torture as a serious crime with absolutist standards more in keeping with scriptural ethical principles than the relativist position on torture offered by your country's increasingly defunct legal system, then you might be living in a post-Christian society. There are many reasons why thinking Christians oppose torture of all forms, regardless of the common trending excuses.
16. If the government at one time used the IRS and tax system to single out and attack a murderous criminal, such as Al Capone, but these days Washington uses the IRS to single out and attack civilized conservatives that support the U.S. Constitution, then you might be living in a post-Christian society. The Inspector General stated, "The IRS used inappropriate criteria that identified for review Tea Party and other organizations applying for tax-exempt status based upon their names or policy positions instead of indications of potential political campaign intervention." - Though applications were delayed for years on end, there has never been any punishment for those directing and administering the focused and illegal harassment.
17. If at one time a Christian going by the name of Johnny Appleseed was famous for planting apple tree nurseries in remote areas so that arriving homesteaders would not starve to death, but now a huge corporation by the name of Monsanto has become infamous as a candidate for the "most hated company in the world" in a Nielson Poll, because it uses bribery, legal attacks and revolving-door FDA hiring tactics in order to promote itself and force unhealthy GMO foods (and GMO apples) on its own people and the entire world, then you might be living in a post-Christian society.
18. If the main parties of your political system seem to be more focused on working together in a bi-partisan manner to legally conduct insider trading in the stock market (basically stealing from the system), rather than attempting to curtail the rampant corruption surrounding them, then you might be living in a post-Christian society.
19. If many of the U.S. Founding Fathers, including John Adams, believed that, "The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity."- but now belief in the Bible gets you placed on a special government terrorist watch list as an "extremist," then you might be living in a post-Christian society. According to a U.S. Army Power Point presentation, obtained and posted online by legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, the Army Reserve in Pennsylvania considers evangelical Christians, Catholics, and Mormons as dangerous as the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaeda, and Hamas. And Tony Perkins, Family Research Council president, commented on another incident at Fort Hood in Texas: "On the very base that was the site of mass murder carried out by a radicalized Muslim soldier, it is astonishing that it is evangelical groups that are being identified as a ‘threat.’”
20. If whistler blowers are more likely to be punished and imprisoned (or even killed) than the law-breaking criminals that they expose, then you might be living in a post-Christian society. There's the Army's Bradley Manning, CIA's John Kiriakou, NSA's Edward Snowden, and then there's the UBS banker whistle-blower Bradley Birkenfeld, who was first arrested and imprisoned, but then awarded a large sum from the IRS. Most whistle blowers have not been so lucky, however. Operative Frank Olsen was a victim of classified CIA drug experiments in 1953 (as in he was killed). In 2004, CIA whistle blower Gary Webb was found with two bullet wounds to the head and declared to be a suicide case by the coroner. This was after CIA whistle blower Steve Kangas was killed in 1999, and so on.
21. If the US used to lead in its involvement in sending missionaries but, “Churches in the United States have been declining in their missionary sending capacity each year for the past 20 years.”, then you might be living in a post-Christian society. The US has fallen to position 9 in sending out missionaries, when the amount is determined based on the number of missionaries sent out per million church members. Palestine, Ireland, Malta, Samoa and South Korea qualitatively outperform the US.
The following are 21 positive points to
consider today in response to the 21 negative points
highlighting the chaotic and basically evil direction of U.S. society
and culture today. Regarding Christ and Christianity, there's no need to end on a negative note.
21 Positive Points for Christians Today
1. Now matter how sinful and evil
society may become, we know that, where sin abounds, grace abounds
all the more (See Romans 5.20)
2. Where there is great darkness a little bit of light can make a big difference. Jesus said that when we allow our lights to shine in the darkness God the Father is glorified (See Matthew 5.16).
3. Though we may be attacked and
persecuted, we have an inspiring and magnificent reason for hope: "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." (Romans 8.18 ESV).
4. Our greatest treasure is not
whatever temporal and material gain we can vainly grasp for, but it
is the exceeding treasure of the indwelling and eternal Holy Spirit,
who encourages us daily and gives revelation of truth: "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." (2 Corinthians 4:7 NIV).
5. Though the U.S. has become
increasingly corrupt and dark, history outlines how great awakenings have occurred when most young people were lost: "Few professed to be Christians, and many were guilty of gambling, drunkenness, swearing, and immorality."
6. Because we know that God will judge all people justly, that gives us the freedom to extend forgiveness and love to all people, even the most evil and corrupt
people in society today.
7. Given our county's present course,
we could soon end up in prison indefinitely simply for believing the Bible. But,
on the bright side, this would give us more time for prayer and
communicating the gospel with others around us who need to hear the
message.
8. For us Christians, the “worst”
thing that could happen to us is that we could end up executed for
our faith. A staggering estimate of 49 to 78 million people were killed in the Christian-purging genocides of Mao Ze-Dong. However, the Apostle Paul
outlined how this can actually be viewed as a positive end. He stated, “For to me, to live is
Christ and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1.21 NIV).
9. The Bible admonishes us with a
challenge: “Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with
good.” The more difficult the challenge may seem, the more
opportunity we have to see God working through us. We will be less
tempted to rely on our own plans and programs and more motivated to
seek God's perfect will each day.
10.
The Bible declares that there is grief when reversed relativistic
morals prevail in society: “Woe to those who call evil good and
good evil.” The increasing chaos, unrest and violence in the U.S.
confirms the truth of this verse.
11.
Despite the continuous criticisms of atheists, the Bible still stands
as the ultimate source of cohesive spiritual and philosophical truth. The
prophecies of scripture have been and continue to be fulfilled with
precision. Atheists have been unable to adequately demonstrate
otherwise, as noted in blog comments and dialogues.
12. The fact that secular-humanistic
educators sense a need to lie in U.S. public school textbooks about
the true and historically documented motivations of the founding of
the U.S. and the historical benefits of Christianity underscores the
weakness of secular humanism.
13. The fact that Richard Dawkins
senses a need to misrepresent Charles Darwin, and that fact that Darwin stated that life had divine origins, underscores the deceitful and
fraudulent nature of New Atheism and its proponents.
14. Presently, William Lane Craig is
considered the top debater in the world, even by prominent atheists.
The most prominent atheist apologists are afraid to debate him, as
evidenced by the myriad of illogical excuses invented and documented.
15. The top debater in the world
generally uses five logical arguments in order to defeat his atheist
opponents. This underscores the fact that Theism holds a more logical
philosophical foundation than atheism and secular humanism.
16. Though Christianity is declining in
the "politically-correct" censored West, it is increasing dramatically these days in the East and in less-developed countries.
17. Before people become willing to try
something new and different, they often need to become very
dissatisfied with the present situation. The fact is, atheist and
secular-humanist ideals and precepts have offered the main
contributions towards destroying the once-strong foundation of the
U.S. and the increasing rioting and street demonstrations relate
mainly to an ever-increasing frustration with the prevailing
injustice and corruption documented in the U.S. today.
18. There are some very positive and
inspiring examples today of Christians that are willing to take a
courageous stand for the truth and love of Christ. One example is a
group of Christians in a local community who walked out onto a high
school football field in order to pray together and glorify God,
despite outspoken threats by atheists against the community of
believers there.10. Hudson Taylor had experienced a vision of a great
and sweeping world-wide revival. He predicted that is would occur
after two great world wars, even before WWI and WWII occurred. It
does not seem as though this revival has occurred as of yet.
19. The Internet allows us to share the
gospel today with a unique kind of effectiveness. Articles and blog
posts can be instantly translated into any popular language in the
world. This may become government censored, but for now God has given
us an open door to utilize.
20. Hudson Taylor had experienced a
vision of a great and sweeping world-wide revival beginning in the
former Soviet Union. He predicted that this would occur after two
great world wars, even before WWI and WWII occurred. It does not seem
as though this revival has occurred as of yet.
21. The Internet allows us to share the
gospel today with a unique kind of effectiveness. Articles and blog
posts can be instantly translated into any popular language in the
world. This venue may eventually become government censored, but for
now God has given us a free and open door to utilize.
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