In Part 1 I theorized why many Christians are not watching what is going on. I posited that Christians are not watching what is going on because they are too wrapped up in their daily lives, they are terrified by Bible prophecy, and they have the attitude that they do not have to worry about watching events because they feel they will be removed before the tribulation. In this blog entry I’ll give you my view on why some Christians may be departing from the faith.
Before I give some reasons why some Christians may be departing from the faith I want to remind people that we should not be surprised that Christians are departing from the faith since the Bible says it is supposed to happen near the End Times:
- 1Ti 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
- 1Ti 4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
- 1Ti 4:3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
Perhaps the main reason why Christians may be departing from the faith is that there are a lot of gateways to alternative religious practices. For instance, Harry Potter is a popular book series and movie franchise that appeals to many children and young adults. Impressionable people often seek to act like the main characters in the books/movies. I have personally seen a Harry Potter book at Sam’s Club that teaches kids about how they can practice real magic and cast real spells so they can be like the characters in the Harry Potter series. An item like this book could easily turn an impressionable Christian into someone who is a practitioner of the occult as they seek to be like the characters in the Harry Potter series.
Another reason why Christians may be departing from faith is that they believe that there are several paths that lead to God. Sometimes it is hard for Christians to accept that a vast majority of people are unlikely going to Heaven because they do not believe in Jesus Christ. The anguish for some Christians may be so great that they begin to believe that there must be several paths to God in order to make themselves feel better about the eventual fate of non-Christians. With this mindset people may turn to alternative religions which adhere to religious practices that appeal to them more than Christianity.
A third reason why Christians may be departing from the faith is that they are turned off by the televangelists and mega-church leaders who are exploiting their followers in order to live an extravagant lifestyle. I list this as a reason because I had my own personal experience with this.
- A few months ago I tried to post a link to one of my research reports I wrote on Reddit. Before investigating my background a person who saw the link wrote a half page tirade against me claiming that I was exploiting people’s fears and wanted people’s money. I explained to the individual that he/she was completely wrong. I managed to clear my name, but the person commented to me that they had a very hard time to reading anything from a Christian person because they see televangelists living hypocritical, extravagant lifestyles.
A fourth reason why many Christians may be departing from the faith is that they may feel that Christianity is outdated or feel the need to adhere to something more “modern”.
- I remember watching a series on the Third Reich and the Occult where the narrator commented that many Europeans dropped their Christian beliefs and turned to alternative spiritual practices (like the occult) during the early twentieth century when there was great social upheaval in Western Europe.
- The New Age Movement has an effective title because its title implies that its religious/spiritual practices are geared towards the future-for a New Age.
There are probably many more reasons why many Christians are departing from the faith. The four items I listed are the major reasons that stick out in my mind. I’m sure people are not going to agree with me on every reason or have more, but this is my opinion. If you want to object to anything I wrote or want to share your own thoughts please leave a comment.
