Christianity's Loss or Seclarism's Gain?

Newsweek's cover story this week is entitled "The End of Christianity"

The article itself is not really about the end of Christianity in America. That was simply an attention grab. It's more about Christianity losing ground and prestige to the modern Secular Progressive ideology.

Now, my contention would be that this isn't a move from dark to light, from superstition to science. I find activist Atheism itself to be a comprehensive religion itself. It has dogmas, morals, and an eschatology. Simply through science and education, mankind will be able to build for itself a better and more "just" society, if only the unenlightened and uninitiated wouldn't interfere. If American Christianity is in decline, it's because of the evangelistic model of modern atheism which may simply be a Christian heresy.

Only within the Christian West has pluralism been tried and sustained. In the Islamic world, religious minorities were to be contained within a certain sphere. In the far East, cultures were more or less homogeneous and closed to outside interference. Only in the West, where Christianity has directly led to democratization and expansion of personal freedoms has atheism been given a chance to prosper.

In practice, what has the Secular Progressive ideology embraced? "Social justice," radical egalitarianism, extreme environmentalism, extension of rights to the animal world, and sexual liberation have all been causes directly aligned with atheistic,secular forces. Tangentially, every one of these ideologies has a basis in Christianity, but stripped of traditional "God-inspired" context. God, then, has been replaced with scientific order (extending of course into the social sphere), and salvation has been replaced with the utopian just and harmonious society.

Are we headed for post-Christianity? Europe seems much further down that road. However, heresies have also waxed and waned throughout history as well. An orthodox understanding of Christianity, even from the wilderness, has always and can always come back from virtual death.

-Steve K.

Atheists File Suit Against Inauguration

"We're hoping to stop prayer and religious rituals at governmental functions, especially at the inauguration," Barker told FOX News Radio.
"The inauguration is not a religious event. It is a secular event of a secular country that includes all Americans, including those of us who are not Christians, including those of us who are not believers," he continued.
...
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is the same group that fought to have atheist displays next to holiday displays, most notably in Washington state this year.
He said if Obama wants to hold a private religious ceremony, that would be more appropriate than having religious figures up on stage at his swearing in ceremony.
Peter Sprigg, vice president for policy at the Family Research Council, said it's Obama's decision whether to include a prayer, not the government's.

full article

Well they never seem to get tired of this.

Question: Was America founded as a non-theistic state? Or was it founded as a state where presumably religious people were allowed the freedom to practice religion without a "state Church?" There's clergy on the Declaration of Independence. The Continental Congress opened with a prayer. There's a difference between a secular state and Secularism.

Dinesh D'souza- Salvo Mag

What do you think has caused atheists to move from a desire to be tolerated to a desire to make religion—especially Christianity—disappear?

For a number of decades, the atheists had embraced what might be called "the secularization thesis," which maintains that the world is automatically becoming more secular. In other words, they believed that as society becomes more modern, educated, technological, and scientific, it will naturally become less religious. The atheist expectation was that religion is a product of the ignorance of the childhood of man.

Interestingly, the world has not met this expectation. As the last century ended, the atheists looked around the world and said, "Wait a minute. The world isn't becoming more secular; it's becoming even more religious." After all, there are revivals occurring in a number of religions, including Hinduism and Islam. And many people don't realize this, but Christianity is actually the fastest growing religion in the world.

full interview here

I've been reading Dinesh D'souza for at least 8 years now; it's interesting to note his work was originally more political and social than theological.

After seeing his debate with Peter Singer at Princeton on Wednesday I have come to the conclusion that atheism can reasonably try to prove that morality is a vestige of evolution or rather a evolutionary strategy. What I haven't been shown is that, given that, what's the incentive to be good offered by Dawkins, Hitchens, and the rest of the bunch?

Having said that, if atheism ever succeeded in completely eliminating religion from society, what will be the next step? Will we be a civilization of bright, clean, scientific citizens? If there are no consequences to any of our actions in the eternal, then anything that can be justified as a means to an end will be justified. How many millions of dead in the atheistic communist regimes have given us a glimpse of that?

-Steve K.

Atheists Put Condescending Sign by Christmas Display

An atheist group has unveiled an anti-religion placard in the state Capitol, joining a Christian Nativity scene and "holiday tree" on display during December.
The atheists' sign was installed Monday by Washington members of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a national group based in Madison, Wis.

With a nod to the winter solstice - the year's shortest day, occurring in late December - the placard reads, in part, "There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds."

article

Get it? Atheists really...really don't believe in God...so they put up a smug, condescending sign.

A Christmas tree is a traditional symbol for the celebration of the birth of Christ. A menorah is a traditional symbol for the triumph of Judas Maccabee.

If the atheists really wanted equal time...they would have put up some traditional symbol for atheism...like...a slouching missing link statue...or a giant empty circle symbolizing how cold and empty existence is. That would make their point valid by actually showing a parallel image of atheist belief and heritage. But no, they pretty much just have to ruin festivity's for everyone else.

-Steve K.