Reaching a Consequential Decision: Leave the Church

[lees1975]

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2024/11/reaching-consequential-decision-leave.html

Part of the problem, when it comes to these issues, is that conservative Evangelicals are angry, hostile people when it comes to these specific issues. From their perspective, the visibility of LGBTQ persons in the culture is a reminder to them of the failure of their evangelistic efforts to "bring revival to America." Their numbers are dropping like a stone in a well, their churches are graying rapidly and emptying out and what that means is that the revenue stream that is exploited by what we used to call televangelists, the "corporate Christianity" of the media and book publishing businesses and big names with million dollar ministries like the Falwells, Pat Robertson, Franklin Graham, James Dobson, is drying up.

But the point is that the Constitution gives all Americans freedom of conscience. LGBTQ persons are a small percentage of the population, and they're not "taking over." Nor is their presence in society something that has the potential to bring God's judgment on this country. That would be something that a conservative Evangelical, reading and studying their Bible in its cultural, historical and theological context, should be able to discern. America was never offered a "covenant" by God to exist as a theocracy in the same way as ancient Israel. In fact, the Christian gospel is the only "covenant" that exists in biblical theology in the present age, and that's an individual covenant, not one offered to nations or countries. So any judgment, for those who accept those terms, is individual, not corporate.

Several years ago, right in the middle of a sermon, when the GOP elephant was starting to stampede its way in, I nudged my wife and said, "I'm done, let's go." When we got to the car she thanked me for making that move, and said she couldn't have taken another second of it. We'd been members of that church for five years, were good contributors, regular volunteers and active members. They practiced "loving your neighbor" so well, that weeks went by without a phone call, or even a postcard inquiring about our whereabouts. The offering envelopes came, as usual, a reflection, perhaps, of their true values.

While 81% of white Evangelicals voted for Trump once again this year, that percentage represents an actual drop in total number, as near as I can figure, about 8 million fewer votes. Looking at membership figures reported by Evangelical denominations, and non-denominational churches in the US over the same decade, most of those people can be accounted for. The Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Evangelical denomination in the United States, has dropped 20% of its membership since its peak in 2006, with more than 2.5 million of those occurring in the years since 2016, according to their annual reports. In just one year, prior to COVID 19, that number was close to 450,000.

So here's a suggestion for anyone reading this who still belongs to an Evangelical church who may be part of that 19% of white Evangelicals that didn't vote for Trump.

Leave. And let them know why you're leaving. Don't leave any doubt.

It will liberate you in ways you didn't know were possible.

[cksmithy]

1. My father voted and supported for adlai Stevenson

in 1952 and 1956, (a liberal Democrat), by 1968 he supported and voted for George Wallace. All due to a religion that said African Americans or black people were inferior. Today, Fox news, and all right wing tv is the new religion.

[Karadeniz]

2. Signal press. articles are so well thought out and based on knowledge...

[pansypoo53219]

3. my mom lwft the deaf church she had been going for years. bible study might be out to cause MAGAT shit.

[Zorro]

4. They've spent decades railing about the coming of the AntiChrist

and then they go out and vote for him.