There seems to be a never-ending fascination to see the demise of Christianity. Since the time of the apostles, the Jews wished for Christianity to go away, cf. Acts 5:35-39. Then the Romans wished for Christianity to go away, since the subject of the Empire were not finding answers in the old pagan religion, but in Christ preached by Christian. Then, the big schism in 1054 between the Orthodox Church in the east and the Roman Church in the west happened. Many saw this a sign of the end of Christianity. Yet, it didn’t happened. Then, the church in the west became corrupt, and again, many said that Christianity was done for, but then, the Reformation came along.After the Reformation, the new Humanism that changed our contemplation of God as the creator, and focused our attention to God’s creation, not to praise Him, rather, to doubt Him, then attacked Christianity. With the Enlightenment, humanity seemed to have grown up, and did not need the out of fashion belief of a powerful and all loving God, and of Jesus. Those who held such views were seen as to hold back progress. Voltaire, the great French Revolutionist, predicted that in 100 years, the Bible would be no “forgotten and eliminated”. In the last century, Time magazine had an issue in which it declared God as dead, on April 8, 1966. And of lately, there’s a group within Christianity, the Emergent Church, that calls for Christianity to die in order to survive.
There seems to be a fascination with the death of Christianity. I think it is because that while Christians exists, they will be a reminder that Jesus is the Lord of all, and that the world needs a saviour. Although the world may wish for the demise of God’s people, we hold on to Jesus’ promise, Mat. 16: 18 “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. “
Luis A. Jovel
