Who or What is Responsible for Declining Christian Numbers

This past year a book called Atheist Overreach was published in an effort to reverse Christian decline. There have been hundreds of sermons and articles trying to figure this out.

Atheist Overreach apparently blames it on atheists. He is particularly angry at the "new atheists" who wrote four best selling books several years ago. No one among atheists, so far as I know, now refers to the four authors as "new atheists," they are just among the millions of ordinary atheists.

Christians claim on this blog that atheists "want to remove all Christianity from the public square." This, of course, is a complicated issue involving two Constitutional issues, freedom of speech and no government endorsement of a religion. To a large extent, Christians have been successful in leaving all kinds of marketing of their faith, and no other faith, in the public square. Even as they continue to be successful in doing this their numbers continue to fall. I doubt either more or less government endorsement of Christianity will change the trajectory.

In my view, the problem has not been Atheist Overreach but Christian overreach. Christians have made bogus claims about homosexuality and abortion that do not jive with any available facts. To make it worse, the true facts are quite well known throughout society.  Add to that overreach by Christians about the afterlife and their confidence they know which sinners will go to hell and which not. I've been told countless times I am headed for hell. Yet Christians are taught they are supposed to admit they themselves are "sinners." I guess they figure their sins are not as bad a mine. But upon what authority can they make such a claim?

It is quite clear falling Christian numbers are not due to Atheist Overreach. There is no one reason for it but all of them have their source in the faith itself. The losses could be reduced or maybe turned around if only all the branches of the faith could unite and present a believable story without looking down on everyone else. 

Unfortunately for the faith, it is not possible to see itself as others see it.   


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