Many of us remember the recent spate of newspaper articles with titles such as Divorce Rates Up in Evangelical Stronghold. Clever reporters analyzed the divorce rates in Oklahoma and two other "Bible belt" states and found them to be slightly higher than the national average. This finding was then correlated with the relatively large number of conservative Evangelical Christians that live in those states.
I found this tactic to be both condescending and demeaning to conservative Christians. No reporter would have dared to analyze the social problems of other regions of America and correlate those social problems with the ethnic groups that live there. No other racial or religious minority would have their presence publicly portrayed as having a negative impact on society.
The reason for social problems in various regions is always correlated to social conditions such as poverty, family breakdown and poor education. Never are social problems even implicitly blamed on the simple presence of a minority group. Conservative Christians are the only group so publicly humiliated by the mainstream media. Public entertainment also tends to portray Christians in a negative way. This is the socially accepted form of bigotry in postmodern America.
You can imagine the outcry if media people did a story on how the large numbers of a particular racial or immigrant ethnic group in a city correlated with a high rate of violent crime in that city.
Bible believing Christians are a small minority even in the Bible belt. I lived almost ten years of my adult life in central Florida which is definitely Bible belt territory. I can verify firsthand that Bible believing Christians are just a small minority. Even if we Christians do have some bad statistics on a few issues our small numbers would have a minimal impact on the state as a whole.
Christian churches and organizations reach out to the poor and needy. Hurting people are drawn to us. Ex-cons, mental patients, street people, the homeless and recovering alcoholics come to us for help and join our churches. Some sincerely convert but others just wear the Christian label and live conflicted and compromising lives. This, in large measure, is what accounts for our bad statistics on a few social issues.
There is no basis for negative stereotyping of conservative Evangelical Christians.
The Bible is scientifically accurate! Find the evidence at www.icr.org.
Steps to salvation:
Jesus said "Ye must be born again." (John 3:7)
- Believe that God created you and loves you and sent the Messiah (Messiah is Hebrew for Christ) to redeem you.
- Believe that Jesus the Messiah came in fulfillment of over 300 Bible prophecies to die for you to take upon Himself the penalty for your sins. (Isaiah 53:5-6, John 6:29, Romans 4:5, First Peter 3:18)
- Turn from sin and call on the name of Jesus to receive forgiveness. (Romans 10:13)
- Receive Jesus as Savior and experience the new birth. (John 1:12, Acts 2:38)
- Follow Him as Lord. (John 14:21)
"Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13)
To receive the salvation that Jesus purchased for us at the terrible cost of His suffering and death on our behalf I invite you to pray this simple prayer:
"Dear heavenly Father, I thank you for sending Jesus, the promised Messiah, to die for my sins. I admit that I am a sinner and I ask for your forgiveness on the basis of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I ask you to fill me with your Holy Spirit to empower me to serve you under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, Amen."
If you prayed that prayer in the humble sincerity of your heart then you have received everlasting life, which includes power to live right in this life and entrance into heaven in the afterlife!
Bill Nugent, Overcomer Ministries of West Harrison, New York, USA
(C) 2010 William P. Nugent, permission granted to email or republish if credit given
Read Bill Nugent's award winning Christian book, Lawful or Legalistic: How New Testament Believers Must Understand Old Testament Laws. For more information and to order click here.
Return to the Defending the Faith Archive
DEFENDING THE FAITH
APOLOGETIC ARTICLES
Bill Nugent currently writes a series of articles called "Defending the Faith" which, as the title suggests, defend the Christian faith from the many attacks leveled against it in our postmodern world.
The articles deal with such topics as evolution, UFOs, cults, modern/postmodern philosophy, liberal theology and popular culture. At the end of each article is an invitation to receive Christ as Savior and Lord. These articles are sent out over the Internet to several opt-in email lists. People who receive these articles are encouraged to resend them to their own lists and in this way reach their own unsaved relatives and friends with the Gospel.
All Defending the Faith articles are © 2009 William P. Nugent, permission is granted to email or republish if credit given.
To receive these articles which are sent out once per month fill in your email address below and click the SUBMIT button.
|
