The End of Christian America? Not Really

"The percentage of self-identified Christians has fallen 10 points in the past two decades. How that statistic explains who we are now--and what, as a nation, we are about to become." This was a lead-in to a cover story by Newsweek magazine.

The article tries to imply that America is becoming a "post-Christian" nation. Even though 76 percent of the people polled identify themselves as Christians, Newsweek implies that the God of the Bible is on His way out. The only real change in the poll is the number of people who chose not to identify their religious belief--up from 14 million to 34 million.

Christianity is in good demographic shape. The American Religious Identification Survey that Newsweek cited estimated there are now 173.4 million self-identified Christians in America, up from 151.2 million in 1990. The percentage declined, but the actual number increased.

In March, CNN ran a similar story about the downfall of Christianity. The two stories tell me there is a liberal agenda at work.

To have Newsweek and CNN predicting the end of Christian America is like the dinosaurs telling the cockroaches that their days are numbered. In the past two years, Newsweek has lost 52 percent of its readers. The magazine's circulation now stands at 2.6 million. The Wall Street Journal reported that a 21 percent decline in ad pages could soon drop Newsweek circulation by another 500,000 to 1 million readers. In February, the magazine said it would probably drop to 1.9 million by this July and 1.5 million readers by January 2010.

Columnist L. Brent Bozell may have found the reason for Newsweek's plunging sales, "One has to wonder whether Newsweek's financial gurus really think it's a smart business strategy to greet the Easter season with funerals for ‘Christian America,’ and greet the Christmas season by making the ‘religious case for gay marriage?’ (That's not to mention all the reverent Obama worship in between.)"

CNN has seen even larger declines. Its viewership has plunged from 3 million to around 1 million. A lot of those eyeballs have switched over to watching Fox News.

I'm not hearing these two liberal media outlets crying about the death of journalism. I read one report by a head honcho at CNN who said he was happy with the network's numbers, and he described the 66 percent plunge as just a natural cycle of viewership.

The liberal media is trying to foster the idea that Christianity is no longer part of the mainstream. Their aim is to damage the Church's ability to work against the immorality sweeping over the land. They particularly seek to discredit the politically conservative influence that believers exert in matters such as abortion, pornography, and gay rights.

Many Christian leaders are buying the idea that their "antiquated notions" need to adjust to a new reality. Rather than standing up for truth, they often gravitate towards the stance that promises them the most favorable press coverage.

I was stunned to hear Rick Warren back-pedaling big time over his support for Proposition 8 - a California ballot that changed the state Constitution to restrict the definition of marriage to opposite-sex couples. Here is what he said on Larry King's program, "I am not an anti-gay or anti-gay-marriage activist. I never have been, never will be. During the whole Proposition 8 thing, I never once went to a meeting, never once issued a statement, never-never once even gave an endorsement in the two years Prop 8 was going." This remark baffled me, "I wrote to all my gay friends--the leaders that I knew--and actually apologized to them."

The new Rick Warren was probably apologizing for a statement made by the old Rick Warren of just a few months ago, "Let me just say this really clearly. We support Proposition 8. And if you believe what the Bible says about marriage, you need to support Proposition 8" (Rick Warren in an Oct. 23 video to church members).

I have some very good news for the folks in the liberal media. The day is soon coming when the percentage of true believing Christians in America (the most troublesome variety) will drop by a tremendous amount. It won't be a decline of 50%, 60%, or even 70%. At the rapture, 100% of believer will turn up missing. And best of all, the decline won't take 19 years to happen, it will occur in a blink of an eye.

Unfortunately, the respite won't last very long. When millions of people realize they missed the rapture and come to faith in Christ, the liberal media will quickly find itself confronted with a group of Christians with a profound level of dedication.