Amidst increased talk, these days, of the decline of Christianity in its several forms, and the decreasing number of people who attend churches of every tradition, there is a lot of hand-wringing going on, as well as a lot of sensationalistic grasps at supposed solutions, and not a few naive head-buried-in-the-sand reactions. What I have begun to do this year is take note of books, articles, and sermons I come across that cogently speak into our present situation and most realistically point us towards a future in which the Church will not only survive, but flourish.
But I repeat: the Church will survive and flourish. This says nothing whatsoever of our cultures, countries, or other secular establishments or traditions.
This page will serve as a hub, linking to individual blog posts that I will write as I continue to explore this subject. What follows are a few lists that (God willing) will slowly grow and become links as I process and write.
Identifying the Problems Plaguing the Church
- The Plague of Juvenilization
- The Plague of Individualism
- The Plague of Relativism
- The Plague of Cultural Accommodation (both societal and nationalistic)
- The Plague of Isolation
- The Plague of Neo-Paganism
False Promises and Misplaced Hopes
- Liberal Product Re-branding (such as the Emergent Movement)
- Conservative Product Re-branding (such as the Ordinariate)
Pathways of Survival and Flourishing
- The Basics of Gospel Proclamation (such as in The Hammer of God)
- The Testimony of History (such as in A Canticle for Liebowitz)
- Robust Spirituality (such as championed by Martin Thornton)
- The pursuit of Christian virtue over the long haul
- The Benedict Option (such as written about here and here)
For Further Reading: http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/christian-pessimism-christian-realism/
Leorningcnihtes boc 