The year 2007 was a year in which Christians had to up their guard amid increasingly frequent and vehement challenges. Whether it was defending against atheism, Mormonism, negative stereotypes, or liberal agendas, believers across the nation found themselves needing more to stand up for what they believe. The following is a list of the top 10 trends and events of 2007 that marked the year:
1. Rise of Militant Atheism, Apologetics
Atheism has nearly always been with us in one form or another, but the atheists we’ve been hearing the most from lately – chiefly Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris – are a new breed, as prominent conservative Chuck Colson noted earlier this year. Unlike the old-school humanists, the new atheists – or anti-theists, as some of them prefer to be called – don’t want to just deny the existence of God, they want to wipe religion off the map.
As New York Times bestselling author Dinesh D'Souza explained, part of the reason why society is seeing an emboldened atheism is that a lot of these outspoken atheists were hoping religion would disappear as society became more modern and developed.
"Religion was seen as more of an ancient form of belief that would go away as science progressed and as we all became more successful, educated and affluent," said D'Souza in an interview this year with The Christian Post.
"But this has not happened,” he continued. “And, in fact, religion is booming in countries around the world," including the most modernized ones such as India and China.
"So the atheist in a way is getting a little more desperate," D'Souza believes.
“The time for polite debate is over,” declared Associated Press Religion Writer Rachel Zoll in a report this year.
“Militant, atheist writers are making an all-out assault on religious faith and reaching the top of the best-seller list, a sign of widespread resentment over the influence of religion in the world among nonbelievers,” she wrote.
Richard Mouw, president of Fuller Theological Seminary, a prominent evangelical school in Pasadena, Calif., said the books' success reflect a new vehemence in the atheist critique.
"I don't believe in conspiracy theories," Mouw said, according to AP, "but it's almost like they all had a meeting and said, 'Let's counterattack.'"
The louder voice that has emerged among atheists has not, however, gone unchallenged.
"There's a phenomenon going on right now," said prominent apologist Lee Strobel at this year's National Conference on Christian Apologetics, according to The Charlotte Observer. "In response to this proliferation of attacks on Christianity that we're seeing in best-selling books and on the Internet, there's a new hunger in the church for apologetics – that is, defending the faith."
North American Mission Board (NAMB), the Southern Baptist Convention's domestic mission agency, for example, announced this year its plan to certify as many as 500 new apologetics instructors, charging them to defend the truth and credibility of the Christian faith.
Furthermore, more apologists and even laypeople are facing prominent atheists head-on through resources, live debates, and online forums.
More than a month after atheists began to blaspheme the existence of God on the popular YouTube network, Christians began turning the tables and taking up the challenge to stand up to their faith in Jesus Christ publicly.
Comments
Jalyn,
True a sin is a sin, and true Christians are not doing enough to reach out to non-Christians. Nonetheless, sin must be repented of if you are to become a Christian. If homosexuals want to become Christians then they must repent and change of their previous sinful lifestyles.
leisuresuitbruce,
Heresy is when you propose an idea that is against accepted doctrine in a religious system. There is no such equivalent in atheism. For that matter, we are not so concerned about what atheists say or do against us. To be criticized or attacked for the faith in Christ adds to our reward in heaven. However, we are concerned about the souls being lost because of militant atheisms rantings.
hthalijr,
Mormonism is not Christianity, it proposes new Scriptures apart from any tradition and entirely centered on one man who believed himself to be a treasure hunter and who was a part of the free masons, and flip flopped on polygamy. There has been not a single real piece of evidence to support the outlandish claims of the Book of Mormon anyways, and it supports doctrine which clearly contradicts proven Scripture.
As far as homosexuality goes, it is unethical to change someone to that extent. People do not need to be forced into that situation, because that will cause severe emotional problems. The child or teenager, will have it set in their mind that something is wrong with them. Does it not say in the bible to love one another? The church, in general, has strayed so far away from other very important issues. Too often in church do I hear about problems with homosexuals, but rarely do i hear anything about the Great Commission! In God's eyes a sin is a sin, he does not judge one sin more harshly than others. So seriously people, lets try to focus on other really important issues.
Oh and by the way, I am gay, and I love the Lord with all my heart!
"I don't believe in conspiracy theories," Mouw said, according to AP, "but it's almost like they all had a meeting and said, 'Let's counterattack.'"
Perfectly said. Theists have been attacking the unchurched for centuries. But don't worry we promise not to imprison, torture, or execute you for heresy.
With respect to crossfire's first link:
http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Brochures/What_is_Mormon_Doctrine.pdf
As for the second link: it proves my point. Why read the debate, when the Christian Post will provide a Reader's Digest version and declare the winner? Again, decide for yourself at http://blog.beliefnet.com/blogalogue/mormondebate/
Finally, another excerpt from the Book of Mormon: words which the resurrected Jesus Christ said to about 2,500 men, women and children, as he appeared somewhere in this continent after his ascension:
"Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world."
(3 Nephi 11:14 http://scriptures.lds.org/en/3_ne/11/14#14 )
Tracy Hall Jr
hthalljr'gmail'com
How about the increasing persecution of Christians around the world?
A couple of links to go along with hthalljr's:
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20071125/30217.htm
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20070712/28420.htm
Why am I not surprised that The Christian Post quotes Mohleer's "conclusions" alone and fails even to name his opponent, Orson Scott Card? For those who want to think for themselves and read both sides of the debate, here's the link:
http://blog.beliefnet.com/blogalogue/mormondebate/
As for myself, the words of Nephi in the Book of Mormon, epitomize my faith in Jesus Christ:
"I glory in plainness; I glory in truth; I glory in my Jesus, for he hath redeemed my soul from hell."
(2 Nephi 33:6 http://scriptures.lds.org/en/2_ne/33/6#6 )
Tracy Hall Jr
hthalljr'gmail'com