A new study says “nones” are on the rise: One-in-Five Adults Have No Religious Affiliation.
Alan Jacobs expresses an interesting thought in light of this new research,
The question I would ask is this: Has there been an actual increase in religiously unaffiliated people, or do people who are in fact unaffiliated simply feel more free than they once did to acknowledge that fact?
USA Today explains, “Protestant” is no longer America’s top religious umbrella brand. It’s been rained out by the soaring number of ‘Nones’ — people who claim no faith affiliation.”
The USA Today article alludes to Jacobs’ point:
Rev. Martin Marty, a historian of religion and professor emeritus of the University of Chicago, says he wrote a book half a century ago on varieties of unbelief and has long thought that religious cohesion “has long been overstated.”
Says Marty: “The difference is now we have names for groups like Nones.”
On a good day I was an atheist; on a bad day I was an agnostic in the sense that God is someone I wished existed on the days I wanted help. a person on this video
Everyone struggles with faith.
Everyone
The overarching question we must answer is, “Does God exist? But more to the point, does God care for me if, indeed, He does exist?”
If you are not wrestling with these kinds of questions, you are either lying to yourself or not really thinking too deeply about things.
God exists and His name is Jesus
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. ~Hebrews 11:6
How do we know God exists? Jesus.
I have made this point many times before; I have, also, given two reasons why I would reject Christianity.
We know God exists and loves us because He showed His love to us, in that, He sent His only Son to die for us.
That is
If God loves us, He exists because He has demonstrated it in Jesus.
God loves you so utterly and completely that he has given himself for you in Jesus Christ his beloved Son, and has thereby pledged his very being as God for your salvation. In Jesus Christ God has actualised his unconditional love for you in your human nature in such a once for all way, that he cannot go back upon it without undoing the Incarnation and the Cross and thereby denying himself.
Jesus Christ died for you precisely because you are sinful and utterly unworthy of him, and has thereby already made you his own before and apart from your ever believing in him. He has bound you to himself by his love in a way that he will never let you go, for even if you refuse him and damn yourself in hell his love will never cease. Therefore, repent and believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour.
~T. F. Torrance, The Mediation of Christ, 94
3 replies on “Religion’s Decline in the USA and the Power of the Gospel”
I guess I see your point, but I can’t reconcile the Jesus of the NT w/ the God of the OT. I have a hard time believing God loved the Canaanite children and women he had slaughtered. I mean, I’m sure you can explain it in a way that satisfies you and I’m good with that, but it makes no sense to me. I sat in Hazor a few years ago, and it was at that spot I decided I couldn’t reconcile Jesus and “God”. Great blog here though. Thanks. Much to think about.
Frank,
I don’t know what struggles you’ve gone through. They sound like the kind that shake a person down to the core. I am sorry for that and pray God will give you grace to work through things.
This article ( http://www.totellyouthetruth.net/?p=1412 )may be a good starting point in the journey; it is a glimpse of how I see the God of the Old Testament and Jesus relate. It’s not a treatise of any sort nor a complete answer but a start.
I’d be happy to dialogue further if time permits.
I should’ve explained myself better. Does God exits? Probably. Does he love me? I don’t know. I don’t think he loved/s everyone (example: Canaanites). Jesus seems much more tolerant. I guess if God has changed so that Jesus represented who he became over time, then perhaps he does. I don’t know. Sorry I was typing fast…getting ready to go to a football game.