Navigation
The Rational Response Squad is a group of atheist activists who impact society by changing the way we view god belief. This site is a haven for those who are pushing back against the norm, and a place for believers of gods to have their beliefs exposed as false should they want to try their hand at confronting us. Buy any item on AMAZON, and we'll use the small commission to help improve critical thinking. Buy a Laptop -- Apple |
Growth of SBC stagnates: it's not universal |
Copyright Rational Response Squad 2006-2024.
|
My former Christian sect (and largest protestant group in the U.S.), the Southern Baptist convention, is reporting decreases in the number of baptisms: a stagnation of growth.
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20070608/27873_Southern_Baptists_Meeting_Shows_Tension.htm
Among other things they had a big controversy over speaking in tongues, and there's resistance to the new culture of progressive Baptist churches who are concerned about "liberal" things like the environment.
They lost a lot of their liberal members (including my hero Jimmy Carter) a few years ago when they wrote into their charter the commitment to bible inerrancy. This to me appears to be a sign of a crumbling institution that is unable to adapt to changes in culture.
If the truth and wonderfulness of this message is so immediately obvious, why would such an institution *ever* experience a decline in membership? If the Baptist version of the Good News of Jesus were absolutely true and valid, it should just keep getting bigger. This looks every day more like a human institution that--like the Catholic church--will either have to adapt to changes in its membership, or become another minor/defunct sect.
"After Jesus was born, the Old Testament basically became a way for Bible publishers to keep their word count up." -Stephen Colbert