“Christianity in America Won’t Survive Another Decade!”

How would you react if you read the above statement in a Christian magazine?  Would you be alarmed?  Intrigued?  Or would you think it’s all just a load of bull???

I’ve noticed that for many years now, evangelicals have been fond of using alarm and urgency in order to motivate believers to action and (they hope) those outside the church to repentance and faith.  From the Left Behind series’ depiction of the Rapture to evangelism strategies that ask “If you were to die tonight, do you know where you’d go???”, from outrage at cultural entities like MTV, South Park, and Marilyn Manson, to painting the gay marriage agenda as responsible for the breakdown of the American family, evangelical Christians love to shock their listeners into action.  Sometimes, of course, such outrage and alarm is Biblical and right.  Often, however, Christians can be guilty of using the worst kinds of manipulation in order to reach the worthy ends of faith and righteousness.  Case in point: the first line of this post.

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