Our youth are abandoning the church in torrents. The secularists argue that our Gospel is hate speech. Hillary Clinton was recently emboldened enough to assert that our religious arguments against LGBT issues are “not unlike the justification offered for violent practices towards women like honor killings, widow burning, or female genital mutilation.” http://mannsword.blogspot.com/2011/12/hillarys-hate-speech.html.
We are routinely called “sexist,” “racist” and “homophobic.” The church now seems to be held in such contempt, that its enemies now feel confident enough to challenge its tax-exempt status and to impose secular standards upon worship and speech and even to discriminate against churches by preventing them from renting space in public schools.
In contrast to these dismal assessments, a recent Barna.org study found that:
• Three-quarters of Americans believe that churches are a positive factor in their communities. Just 1 out of 20 adults believe that the influence of churches is negative. http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/549-barna-reveals-top-trends-for-2011
It seems evident that the churches are doing more good than the media and the schools are ready to admit. Besides, the church’s light isn’t shining brighter because it is found in the midst of a dark society. Another recently published study found that,
• The United States now ranks the highest in terms of charity in a massive global survey that put the nation in fifth place in 2010, according to CAFAmerica [CAFAmerica.org]…According to those surveyed, two out of three Americans said they donated money to charity (65 percent), more than two out of five volunteered their time (43 percent) and roughly three out of four helped a stranger (73 percent).
Perhaps the church and its influence might even take some credit there?
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