jloucks@uts.amdahl.com (Jim Loucks) (04/25/91)
An atheist once told me that as a Christian, I was a dying breed. This
seems to be the general belief in a lot of newsgroups. The Center for
World Missions reports a different story:
Worldwide Christianity is growing at a rate of 70,000 persons every
day; 3500 new churches are opening every week.
After 70 years of oppression in the Soviet Union, people who are
officially Christians number about 100 million - 5 times the number
in the Communist Party and 36% of the Soviet population.
In China, Christianity is growing by an average of 28,000 every day.
Conservative estimates indicate there are 40-50 million Christians in
that country.
The Church in Africa is increasing by 20,000 per day on the average;
that continent was 3% Christian in 1900 and is over 40% Christian today.
More Muslims in Iran have come to Christ since 1980 than in the previous
1000 years.
In 1900 Korea had no Protestant church. Today Korea is 30% Christian
with more than 4000 churches in Seoul alone.
In Islamic Indonesia the percentage of Christians is so high the
government won't print the statistic - which is probably nearing
25% of the population.
-----------------------
I'm not proselyting as some are quick to point out. Just pointing
out some facts so you may know... the rest of the story. If you can't
understand the message of the Bible, it may be because:
The Bible says in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 4:
The god (Satan) of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of
Christ, who is the image of God.
and in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verses 18-19:
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are
perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the
intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."
These two verses appear to denote the majority of the difficulties
most non-Christians possess in regards to Christianity and the Bible.
Ignoring flames is biblical according to the Bible in Proverbs
chapter 15 verse 1:
A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Maybe better than a gentle answer is no answer, at least on the net.
Email replies are most welcome, which most likely will be answered
with the same.
--
Jim Loucks {sun, pyramid, uunet}!amdahl!jlouckskriz@skat.usc.edu (Dennis Kriz) (04/29/91)
In article <Apr.24.23.28.52.1991.11071@athos.rutgers.edu> jloucks@uts.amdahl.com (Jim Loucks) writes: >An atheist once told me that as a Christian, I was a dying breed. This >seems to be the general belief in a lot of newsgroups. The Center for >World Missions reports a different story. > [What follows was an accounting of the phenomenal growth of Christianity > in the non-Western world] To this I would add that even the popular press, ie Newsweek, is starting to grudgingly admit that Christianity is by no means "dead" in the United States. Last December, in a cover article, Newsweek pointed to a finding that even among the baby-boomer generation, regarded as perhaps the most cynical/worldly generations of our history, 2/3 of it is now going to church, and that 1/3 had never left to begin with. The article put all the possible spins on it that it could ("the baby boomer generation, while recognizing "societal sins", still rejects "personal sin"", etc etc ...) But the spins were *so* visible, that they betrayed what they were trying to hide. Life which rejects Christ lives in denial. "You will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free." -- Christ dennis kriz@skat.usc.edu
tp0x+@cs.cmu.edu (Thomas Price) (05/03/91)
In article <Apr.24.23.28.52.1991.11071@athos.rutgers.edu> jloucks@uts.amdahl.com (Jim Loucks) writes: >An atheist once told me that as a Christian, I was a dying breed. This >seems to be the general belief in a lot of newsgroups. The Center for >World Missions reports a different story: > >Worldwide Christianity is growing at a rate of 70,000 persons every >day; 3500 new churches are opening every week. In 1989, if I recall correctly, Islam was the fastest-growing religion in the United States. I doubt it would have slacked off. Religion in general is booming as a result of maturation of the spirituality of the 1960s. >After 70 years of oppression in the Soviet Union, people who are >officially Christians number about 100 million - 5 times the number >in the Communist Party and 36% of the Soviet population. This has as much to do with Nationalism as with anything else, IMHO. There is a lot more going on in the USSR than just religion, but as it is all happening together it is easy to oversimplify. >In China, Christianity is growing by an average of 28,000 every day. >Conservative estimates indicate there are 40-50 million Christians in That's about .04 % >The Church in Africa is increasing by 20,000 per day on the average; > ... >In 1900 Korea had no Protestant church. Today Korea is 30% Christian > ... >In Islamic Indonesia the percentage of Christians is so high the > ... Certain African countries are cracking down on big Evangelical groups because of their "success". It seems to me that bringing a highly trained organization with powerful media skills into a less sophisticated culture is reprehensible in the extreme. Certainly Jesus is Lord, but the Third-World evangelism of today could sell people on Zoroaster just as well. The message is presented in good faith to people who are not cynical or sophisticated enough for their acceptance of it to mean much. I don't think much of Robert Heinlein, but the "Fosterite Church of the New Revelation" from _Stranger in a Strange Land_ comes to mind as I make these comments. Christianity can't be sold nor marketed. Jesus of Nazareth said that many would be called but few would be chosen -- only one of many things he said which makes me think that Christianity is never going to be a "success" in the world ... and if it ever seems to be, then perhaps the marketing is what's succeeding and NOT the Christianity. >I'm not proselyting as some are quick to point out. Just pointing >out some facts so you may know... the rest of the story. I'm not flaming as some might be quick to point out. Just sharing some opinions so that you might question ... the reasons for the story. >Jim Loucks {sun, pyramid, uunet}!amdahl!jloucks Tom Price tp0x@cs.cmu.edu PS Chuck, if I could lovingly ask you not to commentate on this post ... ?
mazz@jupiter.newcastle.edu.au (Richard Mazzaferri) (05/07/91)
tp0x+@cs.cmu.edu (Thomas Price) writes: >In article <Apr.24.23.28.52.1991.11071@athos.rutgers.edu> jloucks@uts.amdahl.com (Jim Loucks) writes: >>In China, Christianity is growing by an average of 28,000 every day. >>Conservative estimates indicate there are 40-50 million Christians in >That's about .04 % I'm confused. Shouldn't that be about 4% of the total Chinese population ? Mazz. -- ----------------------------------------------------------------- Richard Mazzaferri Ph.D. student Uni. of Newcastle Ph (049) 602574 mazz@nucs.newcastle.edu.au Australia. -----------------------------------------------------------------