Greatest challenge..

This thread is purely subjective and there will be no "Right" answer. One answer may be more immediately felt than another but it does not make the other opinion wrong so please abstain from bashing someone when their opinion was what was asked for.

What do you think are going to be the greatest challenges facing Christianity in this new century and why? (it is apropos in these threads since apologetics are one of the ways the challenges will be handled)

Follow up question, How should apologetics handle the challenges you forsee?

Among many American churches, there may be a massive falling out, however this may actually be good in the long run, but to spark biblical Christianity and a pure search for truth, the Holy Spirit of God, really, is all Who can handle it. Though apologetics may work at maintaining a reasonable and logical Christianity that will encourage many scholarly people to become or remain Christians.

There may also be many people who disregard the whole Bible if evolution is proven to be 99% fact with any real evidence, facts, etc. But apologists should look at evolution, see if it seems realistic on it's own as a scientific explanation, then take a look through the Bible and see whether or not acceptance of it actually changes anything. Many if not all non-American churches already welcome it gladly, and as such, I don't see a problem with it. So America really seems like a country to keep your eye on, spiritually

As for anything else, many other religions may obtain their own "Renaissance" and spread to more areas and peoples, but our apologists and intercontinental Christians should become one body under Christ, not as any particular denomination, but in action / mission, love, and desire [for God and His work].

Another thing that is interestingly dangerous is "transhumanism." Basically, it's the technology of the future to create yourself into whatever kind of human you want. While this may be okay if you're only going to stop at things like "better athlete" or "quicker reader," but people can twist it to make unstoppable armies, deadlier weapons (bio-bombs to transform enemies into weaker forms, etc.). While this may sound scyfy, there are plenty of people researching it, so we can only hope it turns out harmless, it doesn't happen, or we don't have to deal with it.

__________________
The man who follows Christ in solitary mourning is greater than he who praises Christ amid the congregation of men.

—St. Isaac the Syrian

Even if we have thousands of acts of great virtue to our credit, our confidence in being heard must be based on God's mercy and His love for men. Even if we stand at the very summit of virtue, it is by mercy that we shall be saved.

—St. John Chrysostom




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κύριε ελέησον!

The biggest challenge for Christianity in the 21st century is post-modernism. I do not mean, however, that post-modernism is a "threat" or is in and of itself a challenge; rather, the challenge will be in Christian thinking decoupling itself from its entrenchment in modernism and the values/structures/etc. that is erected based upon this philosophical system over the last 400 years.

Ironically, the biggest challenge is also Christianity's greatest salvation, if only it will be embraced for what it can bring to the table.

We know there will be a great apostasy before The Day of the Lord, and as it will occur as God's word has prophesied, there is little we can do about it. The people sitting in church with you every Sunday may look and act like Christians but many are not. They are the "tares" of Jesus' parable. These are the ones who will fall away, the ones who are not saved and never were. These will not be the great challenge to the church.

The great challenge to the church will be to endure the criticism and rejection, not only of our faith but of us as individuals. The American church has never undergone persecution and we are not now. Enduring in the face of continuing and increasingly hostile anti-Christians will be the true challenge. Will we be silent to avoid being identified as "one of those hated Christians" or will we stand and deliver for Christ? It will not be battle of lines and fronts as a traditional war, it will be a war with our neighbors and perhaps within our own homes. It will be as the times of the disciples, as Jesus warned them of their pending persecution as they took His message to the whole world.

John 10:16-23
16 "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.
17 "But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues;
18 and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.
19 "But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say.
20 "For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
21 "Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.
22 "You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.
23 "But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes.

This is our challenge to come, and it will be as difficult to face and endure as it was for the disciples, the Twelve who all but John were martyred for speaking God's truth. That will be how it is. Are you able and ready?

I suspect that the society at large will become increasingly secularist, to the extent that Christian morals will be seen as detrimental to a person's standing in society. England's court has already ruled that Christians who do not approve of homosexuality are forbidden to be foster parents due to their 'bigotry'. Laws have already been passed here in the USA forbidding ministers from promoting Christian morality, and vague enough so that even a mild reprimand could cause fines and imprisonment for the ministers.

As well, we have special-interest organizations which are all demanding that their own particular agendas be given priority. Some of these groups are virulently antireligious in any form, and are endeavoring to gain wealth and power for themselves so that they can succeed in promoting their agenda of severely curtailing any and all influence which religious institutions might have over the community at large. Others give lipservice to religious institutions, but only to the extent that those institutions accept their agendas as having priority over even Scripture.

Christian heirarchy will have some hard decisions to make. Either they can choose to follow the whims of those who are nonreligious, and by so doing become only a whitewashed tomb, or they can choose to accept the Scripture as written as their sole moral guide, and by so doing bring down on themselves the wrath of those whose philosophy and lifestyles are diametrically opposed to any and all religiously-motivated moral bases.

I think one of the biggest challenges is going to be our ability to confront sin and still convey a message of love and mercy. We have not figured out how to "speak the truth in love" effectively yet.

I also think we will be challenged by the growing anti-Christian gov.'t in the U.S. The U.S. used to have universal Judeo-Christian values that were accessible to everyone. Now it's difficult for the church to speak out on issues without appearing political. We cannot alienate ourselves to the lost as a church by appearing political and yet we must stand up for truth and what is right. This will require new strategies and fresh wisdom from Heaven.

The biggest challenge facing the churches is to turn our respective countries back to God. Firstly we'll have to take on the comlacency and apathy within the church. Then we need to reshape the way we work to reach those outside the church. We will have to stand up to attacks from hostile groups of many different kinds. It'll be a difficult multi-generational mission and the real question is are our churches up for the challenge?

We in the west who consider ourselves “Christians” are going to be challenged to accept “Christians” from Asia (especially Communist China), India and Africa that are truly being “Christ Like” in that they are a contrast to the social clubs we call churches in the West. Will we “fellowship” them and/or will they be able to fellowship us and/or will we dilute them away?

How do we handle the contrast?

it depends where it is. In the west it is evolution, humanism, neo- paganism, complacency, affluence and comfort, and atheistic anti-christian governments. in the east it's communism/buddism, and in the middle east it is Islam.

Pretty good answer. Islam is spreading, and atheistic gvts are also in some eastern places. In general, this answer shows that Satan attacks in different ways, according to the conditions favorable for him.




If I had to pick just one, I'd say that it seems new age, paganism, magic, etc. stuff like this is coming back: in alot of places in the world it is still the norm, and in places like the US it is making a comeback, even if in the form of stuff like ecotheology, and yoga/meditation for physical and mind health. So this seems like it would be the most diverse over the entire globe. Thos places that haven't left it will be at home again, and those places that have are coming back to it, and those places that never had it are embracing it.

But that's just a very humble guess of mine. Apologetically, we need to learn how to dialogue with, and explain our religion to, this type of thinking. Show we're they're wrong and we're right, but not in a "You're wrong, I'm right, period: now convert!" type way.