The End of Christian America

[Neil]

Martinus, I wish so much you were an arab in whatever country I'm deploying next.

Don't worry.  You'll be an arab in whatever country you're deploying next.

[Barrister]

Strictly speaking southern baptists are not evangelicals, IIRC.

Based on what?

How about this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Association_of_Evangelicals

Southern Baptists are not a member.

Now lets not go too far down this road, as Southern Baptists are a pretty conservative Christian bunch and have much in common with Evangelicals.  Pentacostals and Mormons are also fairly conservative and growing and are not Evangelicals.

And by the way, don't confuse the term evangelism with the Evangelical Christianity.   Many/all Christian faiths, including Baptists and Catholics, engage in evangelism.

[Neil]

Strictly speaking southern baptists are not evangelicals, IIRC.

Based on what?

How about this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Association_of_Evangelicals

Southern Baptists are not a member.

Now lets not go too far down this road, as Southern Baptists are a pretty conservative Christian bunch and have much in common with Evangelicals.  Pentacostals and Mormons are also fairly conservative and growing and are not Evangelicals.

And by the way, don't confuse the term evangelism with the Evangelical Christianity.   Many/all Christian faiths, including Baptists and Catholics, engage in evangelism.

And West Germany wasn't a democracy, as it wasn't part of the Democratic German Republic.

[Sheilbh]

It's not really so odd, given that many Christians believe that their god sent everybody to hell for millions of years before Jesus came along.

Well, yes, but if they were virtuous pagans born at the wrong time or sincerely unable to believe then they're only in the first circle of hell and it's not all bad there.  I mean they're missing out on God, but who needs God when you're room-mates with Homer?

[Neil]

It's not really so odd, given that many Christians believe that their god sent everybody to hell for millions of years before Jesus came along.

Well, yes, but if they were virtuous pagans born at the wrong time or sincerely unable to believe then they're only in the first circle of hell and it's not all bad there.  I mean they're missing out on God, but who needs God when you're room-mates with Homer?

See, Catholicism isn't that bad.  Their willingness to compromise every one of their principles in an effort to be accepted is commendable.  That's why I don't get all the bitching about condoms and abortion from the Church.

[ulmont]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Association_of_Evangelicals

Southern Baptists are not a member.

Now lets not go too far down this road, as Southern Baptists are a pretty conservative Christian bunch and have much in common with Evangelicals.  Pentacostals and Mormons are also fairly conservative and growing and are not Evangelicals.

I thought Pentecostals were also Evangelicals?  There are no less than 4 "Pentecostal" churches on your National Association of Evangelicals list, and also see:

Latino Pentecostal Identity - Evangelical Faith, Self and Society

http://www.amazon.com/Latino-Pentecostal-Identity-Evangelical-Society/dp/0231127332

[MadImmortalMan]

What we have here is a failure to communicate. 

Beeb is using the term "Evangelicals", meaning the organization(s). ulmont is using the lower-case-e evangelicals, ie--the adjective. The adjective came into the political lexicon as describing the NAE member churches IIRC. Now, it's used to describe anyone with more belief than Dawkins.

[ulmont]

Beeb is using the term "Evangelicals", meaning the organization(s). ulmont is using the lower-case-e evangelicals, ie--the adjective.

There were still 4 Pentecostal churches in Beeb's organizational list...

[grumbler]

Martinus, I wish so much you were an arab in whatever country I'm deploying next.

Don't worry.  You'll be an arab in whatever country you're deploying next.

[Crazy_Ivan80]

  Today there are more active Christians in China than in Europe (and the number appears to be growing rapidly),

Christianity is even on the rise in a number of arab countries. Algeria for example has seen a boom (heh) in it's numbers of christians. And mostly young people at that too. Only question is how long they'll remain christian and wether or not they can expand their numbers further.

[Martinus]

The evangelicals can grow all they like in the third world, so long as their numbers continue to collapse in the first world.  The numbers of Southern Baptists are down a little, and that's a start.

Strictly speaking southern baptists are not evangelicals, IIRC.

They're definitely protestants.

Both you and Martinus are men.

That doesn't mean you're gay however.

True, but 'man' isn't a synonym for 'gay'.

Is it a: homonym?

[Grey Fox]

Would Martinus be less a whiny bitch if he wasn't gay?

[Valmy]

See, Catholicism isn't that bad.  Their willingness to compromise every one of their principles in an effort to be accepted is commendable.  That's why I don't get all the bitching about condoms and abortion from the Church.

The Church wants to increase the number of Catholics.

[Neil]

See, Catholicism isn't that bad.  Their willingness to compromise every one of their principles in an effort to be accepted is commendable.  That's why I don't get all the bitching about condoms and abortion from the Church.

The Church wants to increase the number of Catholics.

Then again, I guess it depends on who the Church is going for.  To increase their flock in North America, they need to say 'Yay condoms!'.  On the other hand, Africans hate condoms.

[Martinus]

See, Catholicism isn't that bad.  Their willingness to compromise every one of their principles in an effort to be accepted is commendable.  That's why I don't get all the bitching about condoms and abortion from the Church.

The Church wants to increase the number of Catholics.

Well, I am not sure it works. In the West, it scares off probably more people than it causes to be born, grow up AND stay Catholic.

In Africa I am not sure about the exact numbers, but I wouldn't say that having twice as many followers, but all of them dying of AIDS, is better.