The “theology” represented by the evangelical churches and the strategies used are tantamount to self-destruction. A disintegration that can be observed particularly clearly in the like-minded “woken” institutions in the USA.
Inhalt / Content
- 1 Catholic Church cannot fall away
- 2 Membership decline is “international”
- 3 “Most modern” church with the biggest problems
- 4 Parallels between US churches and EKD
- 5 TEC almost dead – EKD on the same path
- 6 Insight? Reversal? None!
- 7 Pastor Church of Scotland sums it up
- 8 “Woke” churches are self-destructing
- 9 The last “clou” in preparation
Catholic Church cannot fall away
The apostasy of the Protestant churches, which can no longer be overlooked, is not a unique feature of the churches in Germany, which are particularly keen on the deep apostasy, but a worldwide phenomenon. A state that the Catholic Church can never assume, because the basics are simply missing. A prerequisite for this apostasy is ever having stood on the basis of the gospel, and this was never the case in the history of the Church of Rome.
The institution, headed by the pope, has stood in opposition to and in the place of the gospel since its inception. Thus, apostasy remains a predicate of official Protestantism, and as things stand, the mother church is poised to shred its daughters after their assimilation.
Membership decline is “international”
The Roman Catholic Church is not alone in the ongoing massive wave of people leaving the church. Such a flight can also be observed in the churches of the EKD. The situation is similar for many smaller Evangelical Lutheran congregations in the USA. These would be referred to as “Free Churches” (“Freikirchen”) in Germany. In these smaller congregations, the development in membership numbers is just as catastrophic as in the large churches in Germany. And there is one striking similarity. In the USA, the churches are particularly affected by a mass exodus of their members, who describe themselves as “progressive or liberal”, in other words: “woke”.
“Most modern” church with the biggest problems
The Episcopal Church (TEC) is one of the most “progressive” churches of this kind in the USA. Their efforts in the “woke” direction even went so far that they far surpassed the adjustments in the big churches, as Christian Today reported. The TEC is thus one of the “most modern” of the evangelical churches in the USA. And how do church members take it? The summary at the beginning: Today the Episcopal Church is a dying church.
Parallels between US churches and EKD
The parallels between TEC and EKD are amazing. Like those responsible in the evangelical churches in Germany, the modern churches in the USA speak of necessary changes and adjustments in order to be able to cope with the demands of the modern world. Otherwise one would be condemned to insignificance. The same reasoning, the same appearance of a mass exodus of members.
In the US, the fruits of these efforts can be clearly seen. The more pronounced “woke” ideologies are designed, the greater the will to escape from this church.
The TEC board reported a good 23,000 funerals and almost 14,000 baptisms in terms of membership development for 2021. In six dioceses no children were baptized and in one diocese there was no baptism at all. Hundreds of parishes are now without priests. Between 2008 and 2021, the average number of visitors fell by 24.7 percent.
TEC almost dead – EKD on the same path
The US magazine Christian Today is not quite sure whether TEC is still dying or already dead. The figures published for 2020 show a doubling of the decline in members. The decline in membership is currently about to triple. More than 60 percent of episcopal parishes reported a decrease in church attendance (Sundays) of at least 10 percent over the past five years.
Insight? Reversal? None!
The highest-ranking lay woman in this denomination and also President of the House of Representatives, Julia Ayala Harris, calls for the focus to be less on the numbers and more on the fruits of the efforts. The church itself shows no willingness to stray even a finger’s breadth from its current course in order ideally to get closer to the gospel again. That church’s online presence states that Harris “has a passion for a wide variety of issues, including immigration, race and ethnicity, LGBTQ+ inclusion and truth-telling, and justice initiatives.” Any mentions of Jesus Christ, the Bible, the Gospel, or just theology? None of that.
Pastor Church of Scotland sums it up
For the author of the Christian Today article, Campbell Campbell-Jack, a retired Church of Scotland minister, the massive decline in membership of such “progressive” churches comes as no surprise. Society in the USA is becoming more and more secular. Here the TEC shows that these churches are no longer able to attract modern people. Then why even join a church that only offers surrounding culture with an added touch of incense?
Such “progressive churches,” whether of the TEC variety or the “mainstream church” under the control of “progressive Christians,” reject the idea of the Bible as God’s Word, according to Campbell-Jack. They update a heresy that has been with us since the beginning of the Church. Ever since the errors of Marcion (c. AD 85-160) there have been people who view the Bible as merely a patchwork from which they can simply pull out the parts that fit their own ideas and throw away the rest. Such people believe that the Bible should conform to the standard of their thinking, rather than subjecting their thinking to the standard of Scripture, Campbell-Jack said.
Today’s form of “woken” (“awakened”) churches has become a form of religion that Campbell-Jack describes as a surrogate Christianity. Today there are still many people who sincerely believe in Christ and want to follow Him. But these are trapped in “awakened” churches because of loyalty, tradition and lack of teaching. These believers should speak out clearly about such organizations and call them what they are: apostate churches harboring heretics in their leadership.
“Woke” churches are self-destructing
Among the changes that are needed in the Protestant churches is simply to present the saving message of Jesus Christ, the unchanging gospel, to the world in a way that people and their specific needs can understand, the retired minister said.
If the churches do not change their understanding of the surrounding culture to adapt to and even adopt the surrounding culture, the church will destroy itself.
The last “clou” in preparation
From the point of view of the “beneficiaries” of these destructive developments in the evangelical churches, self-destruction is of course a welcome vision and this goal will in all likelihood come true. After all, the future “replacement religion” is not based on the gospel, but on the “care of creation” that looks similar to the gospel.
The wave of exits from the churches of Rome also accommodates this vision, because those who have fled are also “cordially invited” to accept the substitute natural religion. Paradoxical as it sounds, the initiator and driver of this pantheistic nature religion is also the institution in Rome. With the encyclical “Laudato si’“, the Jesuit Pope Francis finally paved the way and since then he and numerous of his helpers from the same order have acted as “navigators”.
But even as the “woke” theology is doomed to failure, the desired replacement religion will only (be able to) be brought to bear for a short time. The Pharisee Gamaliel once described the survival chances of “art religions” very well, Acts 5:38-39:
“And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.”
The only difference today is that, according to the gospel, this nature-laden substitute religion is the adversary’s last “clou”. This modern Babylon will come to naught, and utterly.
Bible verses from King James Version
