Do you think religion is being taken out of secular society.

[bèlla]

The point is society has been using the bible as a representation of truth, justice and something we measure right and wrong by.

You’re worrying for nothing. Politics has done a brilliant job at distracting Christians. I’m fairly sure that only a handful on this site are called to politics, policy, and activism.

That means the rest are taking their eyes from their assignment and worrying about things He never told them to get involved with.

He raised Jesus from the dead. Do you honestly think He can’t intervene in America and turn things around? Of course He can.

The disciples had tunnel vision. They were wholly consumed with their mission. We’re supposed to do the same.

The people He assigned the worries you’ve picked up are working on a solution with His guidance. He’s got the matter in hand.

Even if it means you suffer for a time. God’s got it still. Be anxious for nothing.

 

[stevevw]

You’re worrying for nothing. Politics has done a brilliant job at distracting Christians. I’m fairly sure that only a handful on this site are called to politics, policy, and activism.

That means the rest are taking their eyes from their assignment and worrying about things He never told them to get involved with.

He raised Jesus from the dead. Do you honestly think He can’t intervene in America and turn things around? Of course He can.

The disciples had tunnel vision. They were wholly consumed with their mission. We’re supposed to do the same.

The people He assigned the worries you’ve picked up are working on a solution with His guidance. He’s got the matter in hand.

Even if it means you suffer for a time. God’s got it still. Be anxious for nothing.

Good points, I guess Australia is going through something the US has been dealing with for years. Religion has yet to enter politics here and I understand the need to keep them separate. But at the same time things like rights should be something Christians are concerned about and this will sometimes get political. I understand rights can also conflict with Christian values and beliefs when comparing secular values and beliefs. I agree that even if denied and persecuted Christianity can still be a force. In fact during the first couple of centuries after Christs death Christians were denied their rights and persecuted yet the church grew even stronger as a result until it became the dominant belief in the Roman empire.

 

[RDKirk]

Good points, I guess Australia is going through something the US has been dealing with for years. Religion has yet to enter politics here and I understand the need to keep them separate. But at the same time things like rights should be something Christians are concerned about and this will sometimes get political. I understand rights can also conflict with Christian values and beliefs when comparing secular values and beliefs. I agree that even if denied and persecuted Christianity can still be a force. In fact during the first couple of centuries after Christs death Christians were denied their rights and persecuted yet the church grew even stronger as a result until it became the dominant belief in the Roman empire.

The Body of Christ in North Korea has grown tenfold since the mid 90s.

 

[BNR32FAN]

I have been pondering this question for a little while now and was wondering what others thought. Lately I have noticed that more people, organizations and governments are talking about the irrelevance of religion or religious belief. I am mainly talking about Christianity as in my country Australia we seem to be moving away from it pretty fast. Considering that we were built on Christian values it seems that we are forgetting our foundations.

I think this has been spurred on from the troubles we have had with some of the extremist groups like ISIS which is giving all religion a bad name. I know that there has been less people involved in religion over the pasts few decades and today's young generation are the least religious. I think at least in Australia because we are a multicultural country we are seeing other religions come in and the government is saying we can have any one religion being dominant. They are being too politically correct and saying it may offend other religions if we promote our own christian beliefs.

So now we can't have traditional celebrations like Christmas or Easter and now it is not being acknowledged anymore. In fact the commercial aspect of these occasions is becoming bigger and kids are more likely to believe in Santa Clause. It seems some are even getting angry or intolerant of any religion now and see it as not being relevant in today's world. Do you think this trend will continue and will Christianity eventually be totally removed from all public places.

I’m not sure about Australia but I’ve heard that the number of Christians in America has stayed about the same since the 80s. Although I would be willing to bet that those numbers have probably dropped between the 50s and the 80s significantly. There seems to be a significant drop in the morality of society since the 50s. Common decency was much more prominent back then it seems.

 

[stevevw]

I’m not sure about Australia but I’ve heard that the number of Christians in America has stayed about the same since the 80s. Although I would be willing to bet that those numbers have probably dropped between the 50s and the 80s significantly. There seems to be a significant drop in the morality of society since the 50s. Common decency was much more prominent back then it seems.

This is a good point as well. As society abandons Christian beliefs there seems to also be a lowering of morality. People like to say that things are much the same but I think as you have pointed out that things like decency and courtesy have diminished. In Australia young people are especially abandoning religion and it is in this group that most crime, drugs and defiance is happening.

 

[RDKirk]

This is a good point as well. As society abandons Christian beliefs there seems to also be a lowering of morality. People like to say that things are much the same but I think as you have pointed out that things like decency and courtesy have diminished. In Australia young people are especially abandoning religion and it is in this group that most crime, drugs and defiance is happening.

It's not just a matter of abandoning Christian beliefs in particular, in becoming nihilistic as well--largely not replacing them with any other foundation of common morality either.

Most people are not philosophers--moral humanism is not inborn any more than Christianity is.

 

[BNR32FAN]

This is a good point as well. As society abandons Christian beliefs there seems to also be a lowering of morality. People like to say that things are much the same but I think as you have pointed out that things like decency and courtesy have diminished. In Australia young people are especially abandoning religion and it is in this group that most crime, drugs and defiance is happening.

Perhaps we as Christians should be having more offspring to help combat the offset ratio of Christians to unbelievers. According to statistics there are 7.7 billion people in the world and 2.07 of them are Christian. The average household has 3.17 children. So the Christian population is roughly 26.8% of the world population. So if 5.7 billion people have an average of 3 children then that’s 17.1 billion unbelievers born in the next generation. This means the Christian population needs to have 8 children each to reach 17.6 billion Christian offspring in the next generation but that puts the population too close to a 50/50 ratio of Christians to unbelievers so it’s probably best to have an even 10 children each to better offset the balance and with Christianity being much more widely accepted in society evangelism would be at an all time high compared to now thus causing a chain reaction to further diminish the unbeliever population. Then again there’s also the possibility of some Christian children falling away so we might want to make it 12 children each to compensate for a possible 20% loss of fallen away children. So if we have 12 children each then the next generation should be predominantly Christian and the world will be a much better place.

 

[stevevw]

It's not just a matter of abandoning Christian beliefs in particular, in becoming nihilistic as well--largely not replacing them with any other foundation of common morality either.

Most people are not philosophers--moral humanism is not inborn any more than Christianity is.

That also makes sense considering that youth experience the highest mental health, self harm and suicide of all aged groups. They are more susceptible to the ideals of adults and follow their lead. This mostly comes from the media which presents an unreal picture which beauty and material things are made out to be all important. Having no moral basis they can be easily influenced by anything.

 

[stevevw]

Perhaps we as Christians should be having more offspring to help combat the offset ratio of Christians to unbelievers. According to statistics there are 7.7 billion people in the world and 2.07 of them are Christian. The average household has 3.17 children. So the Christian population is roughly 26.8% of the world population. So if 5.7 billion people have an average of 3 children then that’s 17.1 billion unbelievers born in the next generation. This means the Christian population needs to have 8 children each to reach 17.6 billion Christian offspring in the next generation but that puts the population too close to a 50/50 ratio of Christians to unbelievers so it’s probably best to have an even 10 children each to better offset the balance and with Christianity being much more widely accepted in society evangelism would be at an all time high compared to now thus causing a chain reaction to further diminish the unbeliever population. Then again there’s also the possibility of some Christian children falling away so we might want to make it 12 children each to compensate for a possible 20% loss of fallen away children. So if we have 12 children each then the next generation should be predominantly Christian and the world will be a much better place.

Or perhaps each Christian try to save 12 non-Christians in each generation. I think adding more people to the world population may cause other issues such as more demand for energy, food and water which we are already struggling with. It will also put more pressure on the earths resources.

I think there has been a lot of damage done by religion in the past generations that have turned people away especially young people and this may still be continuing in some ways. At the same time there has been a big influence from technology and the media which is causing people to put their hope in worldly things. Mental health problems are becoming a modern day epidemic and the solutions offered are not able to treat peoples problems especially how prescribed medication is the default remedy which is causing more issues. So maybe there needs to be a revival of some sort where people see the positive side of Christianity through Christ at work which can offer them hope beyond the limits of worldly solutions.

 

[BNR32FAN]

Or perhaps each Christian try to save 12 non-Christians in each generation. I think adding more people to the world population may cause other issues such as more demand for energy, food and water which we are already struggling with. It will also put more pressure on the earths resources.

I think there has been a lot of damage done by religion in the past generations that have turned people away especially young people and this may still be continuing in some ways. At the same time there has been a big influence from technology and the media which is causing people to put their hope in worldly things. So maybe there needs to be a revival of some sort where people see the positive side of Christianity through Christ at work.

Nah don’t worry about resources Jesus said

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”
‭‭John‬ ‭15:7‬ ‭NASB‬‬

 

[stevevw]

Nah don’t worry about resources Jesus said

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”
‭‭John‬ ‭15:7‬ ‭NASB‬‬

I am not worried for myself but thinking on a wider scale. Trying to be conservative in regards to life in this world. We know that human kind is contributing to mass extinction of other species, pollution that is causing climate change and the consequences are making people suffer such as with severe droughts and depleted drinking water especially in 3rd world countries and the extreme weather events that have caused floods and wild weather which are destroying peoples homes and livelihoods. How the development and destruction of nature is threatening the stability of environments and ecosystems which have consequences for humans and how this also leads to many people ending up in poverty. We know that increases in population also compounds these problems and leads to indiscriminate loss of life. I am just trying to be practical and reduce these impacts so that it does not lead to more suffering.

 

[BNR32FAN]

I am not worried for myself but thinking on a wider scale. Trying to be conservative in regards to life in this world. We know that human kind is contributing to mass extinction of other species, pollution that is causing climate change and the consequences are making people suffer such as with severe droughts and depleted drinking water especially in 3rd world countries and the extreme weather events that have caused floods and wild weather which are destroying peoples homes and livelihoods. How the development and destruction of nature is threatening the stability of environments and ecosystems which have consequences for humans and how this also leads to many people ending up in poverty. We know that increases in population also compounds these problems and leads to indiscriminate loss of life. I am just trying to be practical and reduce these impacts so that it does not lead to more suffering.

In many cases it is when people are in a dire situation that they turn to God for help. Such was my case when I repented and turned to God and as a result I am now saved.

 

[stevevw]

In many cases it is when people are in a dire situation that they turn to God for help. Such was my case when I repented and turned to God and as a result I am now saved.

Yes that's true, but then Christians need to spread the word for people to hear it to be saved.

 

[stevevw]

Here's another example of political correctness gone mad and the attempts by the radical left to take Christianity out of society. It is coming up to the 50th anniversary of Margaret Courts tennis achievement in winning the grand slam of tennis. She is one of the worlds greatest tennis players and has won more than any other women. Yet there are people like with Tennis Australia who want to deny her any accolades and even want her name to be taken off a grand stand at Melbourne's tennis arena which has been there for many years all because of her personal views about being against same sex marriage and believing this should be something between a man and women.

It is also Rod Laver's anniversary as he has also achieved great things in tennis and his achievements were celebrated the other night on 60 minutes yet Margaret Court has been ignored. This IMO is discrimination and bias and doing exactly the same thing that the radicals are saying should not happen which is targeting people because of their lifestyle which is hypocritical. It just shows this is not just about what is right but a political agenda. They choose to celebrate Mr Laver a male and ignore a women. Its a wonder supporters of women's liberation are not standing up.

This is very much the same thing that has happened to Israel Folau with RU Australia and there will be more and more examples where sporting bodies and corporations are calling the shots in what people can and cannot say in society. At the moment it is denying Christians the right to express their beliefs which is religious discrimination.

Margaret Court has shown in her life that she is a good women who does a lot of charity work like Folau. She and has friends who are gay and does not discriminate against them. It seems certain factions who have power are dictating to society what we can and cannot say and do. This to me is more worrying than anything and reeks of dictatorship.

Australia is suppose to be a democratic and free society yet we seem to be more restricted every day with our freedoms. Big sporting bodies and corporations should stay out of politics. I look forward to Christmas and wonder how much the Christian point of view is going to be banned in our schools and public places.