I read something a couple of months ago in the Atlantic Monthly that made me stop and go “hmmm.” The article was about the spiritual revival that seems to have taken place in North America and elsewhere, and the man who wrote the article (I forget his name) said that religions and denominations that try really hard to be “modern” and “relevant” tend to lose their identity or fade away, while more radical, mystical forms of faith tend to thrive. Do you think that’s true?
Sub-question—do you think the cino brand of Christianity, the engaging-culture-through-a-biblical-perspective brand of Christianity, is doomed to suffer identity crises, or worse, fada away?
Sub-sub-question—why is it that the Roman Catholic Church suffers scandal after scandal, attack after attack on their doctrine, but inspires such fierce loyalty? And why is it that “hip”, “relevant”, or “seeker friendly” churches often don’t inspire a lot of loyalty?
Disclaimer: My post contains a lot of generalizations. To anyone who I may have offended, I am truly sorry.
Andrew
Aug 10 2003
05:06 pm
I read something a couple of months ago in the Atlantic Monthly that made me stop and go “hmmm.” The article was about the spiritual revival that seems to have taken place in North America and elsewhere, and the man who wrote the article (I forget his name) said that religions and denominations that try really hard to be “modern” and “relevant” tend to lose their identity or fade away, while more radical, mystical forms of faith tend to thrive. Do you think that’s true?
Sub-question—do you think the cino brand of Christianity, the engaging-culture-through-a-biblical-perspective brand of Christianity, is doomed to suffer identity crises, or worse, fada away?
Sub-sub-question—why is it that the Roman Catholic Church suffers scandal after scandal, attack after attack on their doctrine, but inspires such fierce loyalty? And why is it that “hip”, “relevant”, or “seeker friendly” churches often don’t inspire a lot of loyalty?
Disclaimer: My post contains a lot of generalizations. To anyone who I may have offended, I am truly sorry.