There Are Beautiful Expression of Hope Even in Declining Christianituy


 

A professor in a Southern Baptist Seminary knows how to express hope for Christians who see gloom and doom. He likes the term "evangelical" because it cuts across several factions and denominations.  His preoccupation is which the evangelical branch that went off the rails into politics, social influence and current affairs. The faithful should return to orthodoxy of individual faith not practiced alone but within the context of church institutions.

That religion is best practiced within institutions has been expressed in comments of this blog often. Ad lib religion, bad, accepting what the institutional church tells you, good, is the narrative. The link author makes his living inside one of these religions, Southern Baptist. It's only logical he would think it a requirement the faith center on churches and denominations.

Others, especially young people, will tell you it is the institutions that are wrong about religion. Individuals without the institutional baggage are closer to the truth. 

The Baptist professor tells us the wonderful about the faith when it is inside a denomination is that it expresses "hope." Is the opposite of "hope" "hopelessness?" He implies if one is approaching the life in some other religion entirely, Christianity outside denominations or as a nonbeliever he/she has no hope. 

Here again, we see religious people talking about non religious people as if the know what non religious people think or experience. It's obvious they know little about non religious people. In my experience non religious people have as much if not more "hope" or optimism than the religious. 

In terms of a business model, keeping Christianity in the domain of organized denominations is better than having it spread across the country as unique faiths scattered among unique individuals. By massing money in denominations there can be advertising and publicity for the faith. That will not happen without denominations. 

It is good for Christianity there are practicing clergy who have hope about its future.  

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