The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity Essay

Throughout the ages, the Christian worldview has been one of the most popular and substantive religions in the world. There are many topics within the Christian worldview and have an impact on millions of lives today. From the strong belief in God and Jesus Christ, from the standpoints of human nature and restoration, to the benefits of the Christian faith as well as the influence on a Christian’s behavior. The Christian worldview has proven to be a successful religion when it comes to personal faith and worship. There is many key components within the Christian worldview that has been many topics within our world today.

O’Donovan dates Christendom’s end by the establishment of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States which prohibits making any law respecting an establishment of religion (1996:195). More realistically, Chapman says Christendom began ‘to meet its demise in modernity’, at least by the enlightenment, but more effectively ‘in the second half of the 20th Century’ (2015:160).

Christianity is one of the most influential religions on both ancient and modern Western society, with the religion based on the teachings of the prophet Jesus Christ who lived approximately between the years of 5 BC and 33 AD. It is claimed that Christ was the son of God whose spirit was embodied and sent to Earth as a human being to bring peace and prosperity to the less fortunate, and absolve the world of its sin. Jesus preached a doctrine of a supreme monotheistic god who ruled over the universe, as well as ethics and morals especially centred on the concept of faith and forgiveness. If one was to live their life in accordance to the Will of God and the teachings of Christ found in the written word of the Holy Bible, one would be absolved of their sin and ascend to the spiritual realm of God, known as Heaven, after their physical death.

The positive influence of Christianity is far reaching especially in the rich history and culture of Western Civilization despite a long standing ignorance or adamant denial of its contributions. The Bible itself is responsible for much of the language, literature, and fine arts we enjoy today as its artists and composers were heavily influenced by its writings. Paul Maier, in writing the forward to the book How Christianity Changed the World by Alvin J. Schmidt, says this about the profound impact Christianity has had on the development of Western Civilization:

Islam is the fastest growing religion, growing at a rate of 2.9% increase each year 20% of people claim to be a Muslim.(Consiltants)

Christianity is a religion that has been around for about 2000 years. This religion is based on the birth, teachings, life and death of Jesus Christ. In the early first century, it started to expand from Palestine to the rest of the world. A movement that began with Jesus and twelve Apostles has grown to approximately two billion people worldwide. In America, this religion started from the arrival of Christopher Columbus. Until recently, the religion expanded all over the Americas and was followed by the largest majority of its people. Although Christianity was followed by a lot of people in the Americas, increasingly Christianity faces many challenges and problems, including declining attendance, rise in atheism, religious alternatives,

In his book, Rah highlights cultural insensitivity of the Western white Evangelicalism and advocates for multiethnic and immigrant churches. He argues that the Evangelical churches have failed to embrace racial diversity or address the growth of the immigrant population. As the contemporary American society becomes more diverse and multicultural, the American church needs to move beyond its identity as Western and become truly multiethnic. Then, Rah goes after the church growth movement and American megachurches, arguing that they focus on marketing and mass production techniques instead of proclaiming the gospel. He boldly proclaims that "the church growth movement of the twentieth century reflects the cultural values of individualism, materialism, and racism" (2009, 107). He also criticizes the emergent church movement for remaining predominantly white and not acknowledging the non-white voices within Christianity. Ran encourages leaders to learn from multiethnic communities and the Immigrant Church in America.

In 1900 many assumed the twentieth century would be a Christian century because Western “Christian empires” ruled most of the world. What happened instead is that Christianity in the West declined dramatically, the empires collapsed, and Christianity’s center moved to Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific. (Logos) In the beginning of “The Unexpected Christian Century,” Sunquist is mentioning the fast paced overview of Christian missionary expansion, starting with the effort of the apostles described in Acts, describing the difference of the royal church and the transformation of “tribal Europe,” and ending with both Catholic and Protestant works of the late early modern period.

Many people believe that that the motivation of the Christian church is to radically “change the world”. However, through his book To Change The World, James Davison Hunter explains how this common believe is a misconception. Rather, he shows readers that, from a sociological perspective, while Christians thrive in many areas of life by reaching others individually, they fundamentally components of creating cultural change.

Another example of a current Christian culture could be the high school I went to. Many people at my high school were very apathetic towards Christ and the gospel. I found I was lapsing into apathy and complacency inside my small Christian bubble. My school focused more on rules and ethics instead of sharing the gospel and welcoming others to learn about the gospel. The salvation gospel was presented to students at my school, but the way it was presented did not come across as very affective. Many of the students at the school were very complacent in their faith and it was very easy to lapse into complacency.

Church buildings, musical instruments, ministers’ attire, choir robes, hymns, names of converts, schools and curriculums had Americans’ religious, cultural, and economic trademark. The Christianity that addressed issues of life in the American cultural context was transplanted in different parts of the world. Unlike the transition of the Hebraic-Christianity from the Jewish culture to the Gentile world in the first century, which developed its own unique theological, cultural, and leadership identity in a short period of time, the phenomenal growth of Christianity in the majority world has been largely influenced by the dominance of American Christianity. As the result, we have Christian faith that is not well anchored on local theology. And to most of the churches in the majority world, up until recently,

Firstly, Lyons points out that the “old” Christianity in Western civilization is fading and replaced by “next Christians”, which are Christians in our present and future generations who hold new notions and values from our secular and fast-changing world. The “Christian America” was dead as the industrial age brought us speed and progress. More and more Christians have a feeling that our faith is changing drastically. More and more worries about the loss of faith appear in our society, but Gabe, gives his determined answer: the next Christians do not abandon Gospel, but embrace it as they encounter our broken world, seeking restoration for our culture. The death of “old” Christianity must mean that the “new style” has been born.

Christianity is the largest faith group in the world today. The word Christianity came from “Christ,” which meant the “Anointed One” and the central point of

As Christians we are trying to re-invent our beliefs, faith and righteous living to fit in the modern world. We are trying to move with the tide, follow trends and changes. We are incorporating what is in the world into Christianity. Christians are trying to hold on to what God expects us to do and living righteously but it is getting harder as the world is changing.

One influential cult was based upon a mystical interpretation of Plato. Neo-Platonism was like a rational science that attempted to break down and describe every aspect of the divine essence and its relationship with the human soul. An Alexandrian Jew named Philo tried using Greek philosophy to interpret the Jewish scriptures. He wanted to unite the two traditions by suggesting that the Greek philosophers had been inspired by the same God who had revealed himself to the Jews.