I found this image on Wikipedia this week, another one regarding religion and the world that simply astounded me this week. Click the image for a full-size view…

Source: Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Christianity_percentage_by_country.png

It’s possible a group of friends will embark soon in a brief discussion regarding the history of Christianity. In preparation for the study, I’ve compiled a few online resources, a list of suggested topics, and some questions.

If you’d like to see the entire list, just view the entire article 🙂
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About the time our original 13 states adopted their new constitution, in 1787, Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2000 years prior:

“A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government.”

Follow up:

A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.” “The average age of the worlds greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:

1. From bondage to spiritual faith;
2. From spiritual faith to great courage;
3. From courage to liberty;
4. From liberty to abundance;
5. From abundance to complacency;
6. From complacency to apathy;
7. From apathy to dependence;
8. From dependence back into bondage “

Professor Joseph Olson of Hamline University School of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota, points out some interesting facts concerning the 2000 Presidential election:

Population of counties won by:
Gore: 127 million;
Bush: 143 million;

Square miles of land won by:
Gore: 580,000;
Bush: 2,427,000

States won by:
Gore: 19
Bush: 29

Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by: Gore: 13.2
Bush: 2.1

Professor Olson adds: “In aggregate, the map of the territory Bush won was mostly the land owned by the tax-paying citizens of this great country. Gore’s territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in government-owned tenements living off government welfare…”

Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the “complacency & apathy” phase of Professor Tyler’s definition of democracy, with some 40 percent of the nation’s population already having reached the “governmental dependency” phase.

Pass this along to help everyone realize just how much is at stake, knowing that apathy is the greatest danger to our freedom.

I feel compelled to write this…I’m embarrassed and ashamed of many of my Christian brothers. For months I’ve been hearing repetitions of a rumors that Willow Creek released a pretty major statement of “repentance”…that it feels the seeker sensitivity movement was an incorrect view of church, and that they’ve since changed the way they’re doing church. News that would be headline-worthy…IF were really true. That’s where the shame comes in. I am taken back at the number of times I’ve heard this rumor recalled by friends and “church people”. So many have been willing to share the news, but none had any reputable source to back their claim. Why share something if you are not sure it’s true? Willow Creek is a very well know association with a reputation of integrity…so why didn’t anyone think the rumor deserved research? (Hang on everyone, this is destined to be a long entry)
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Danger on the Inside: Satan’s Scheme for Breaking Down the Church

As my father put it so well, Satan is the wolf in sheep’s clothing. He’s not primarily working against the church from outside, he’s working his way through the church from within. He’s not the one lurking around some dark corner…he’s the one whispering in your ear. He’s the elder, the deacon, or the associate pastor, who has placed their desires into the assets of the church or the prestige of a new position, rather than in the soul of the church and the community it encompasses. He’s rarely the one you’ll be able to identify at first glace…and he is out to make friends with the sheep before he manipulates them into his trap. Read the rest of this entry »