Vast swathes of our country do not know the gospel – we know that. The Bible Society report ‘Pass It On’ in 2014 showed that 54% of parents thought the Hunger Games plot could be in the Bible , and there is no reason to think things have improved.
Many share the atheism of public figures such as Ricky Gervais, who proclaims loudly – there is no God. His message is clear – you can be religious, live as you like, but none of it is real – there are no spiritual realities. These situations are not new. Ignorance and unbelief have existed from generation to generation. However, we are facing new expressions of unbelief as the culture wars impact the church.
The 19th century saw the gospel being attacked through the rise of liberal German theologians and the development of higher criticism. George Eliot famously renounced the Calvinism of her youth. Her novels contain both accusations about hypocrisy in the church and alternate beliefs in living a life of love without the need for religion. At that time, the church faced the challenge of humanism and liberalism. Throughout the 20th century, Christians defended the Bible’s authority; they stood up against those who denied the miraculous. They developed a confident apologetic for proclaiming the truth of the resurrection. They pointed to our creator as the source of all goodness and morality. Today we have the same challenge in a new guise, and it comes when many are feeling weary. What does the 21st century demand of us?
What should you look for in a church?
It is the season when supermarkets and Ikea are filled with young adults and their parents doing ‘the university shop’. …