The Enemy Within July 12, 2010
Posted by Dan R. Dick in Communication in the Church, Core Values, Religion in the U.S..Tags: Christian Community, church
4 comments
On a not-too-infrequent basis, Christian commentators will rant and rail against secular and non-Christian forces conspiring to destroy our faith. Any given day, the Muslims or the scientists or the atheists or the Jews or the secular humanists or the liberals or the homosexuals or Planned Parenthood or the… you get the point. Google the subject and you will find articles citing each and every one of those I listed as a threat to the Christian faith. Yet, as I listen to the hate and bile being spewed by those governed by fear and violence rather than by faith, it occurs to me that the greatest threat to the Christian faith are Christians.
If the Christian church in the United States is destroyed any time soon, it won’t be because an outside force conquered it. It will be destroyed from within. Science can’t disprove faith. Atheists aren’t that impressive. There are as many liberal Christians as conservative Christians, so you can’t call them an “outside” threat. And Muslims and Jews and Hindus and Buddhists and dozens of other world religions have no power over Christians. No, there is only one group on earth powerful and influential enough to destroy our church — and that is Christians. Christians who would rather battle and argue with each other than find ways to get along. Christians who would rather debate “truth” in order to ignore things like “justice.” Christians who attack and condemn each other while spouting that “God is love.” Christians who are more concerned with how we differ than what we could become if we were united by our faith.
