News Reports Show Great Contrast in Religious Advance and Decline
FROM all over the world come reports of churches in deep trouble. Clergymen and laymen are abandoning the churches in growing numbers, deep discord exists in many church systems. Does this reflect adversely on the Bible or on Christianity? No, for there is clear evidence that the Bible has not lost its power and that Christianity does work when really practiced. Reports thus show great contrast.
WITNESSES PROCLAIM “ALL NATIONS SOON TO COLLIDE WITH GOD”
On June 30 a series of “Divine Name” District Assemblies of Jehovah’s Witnesses began. Of keen interest is the public talk, “When All Nations Collide, Head On, with God.” The speaker at New York’s Yankee Stadium, N. H. Knorr, president of the Watch Tower Society, declared that all nations of the world will very shortly collide, head on, with God. Why is that collision inevitable? Because the nations have opposed God’s will, he explained. The point at issue is world domination. The nations want this for themselves. God has given that right to the kingdom of his Son Jesus Christ. So the nations are on a collision course with God. The speaker asked: “Will any humans be able to survive the collision?” He showed from God’s Word, the Bible, that only those who side with God will avoid that fatal collision, and warned: “Do not walk with the nations in a course contrary to God to that unavoidable collision ahead.” He noted that God has promised to those who do side with him everlasting life in perfect health and happiness in a never-fading paradise on earth. This stirring information has already been heard by audiences at twelve of the forty-five assemblies to be held in the United States and Canada this year. At those twelve assemblies so far, the combined attendance for the public talk was 212,217. Many other assemblies are being held in other countries throughout the world.
There is a sharp contrast between the increasing numbers of persons associating with the Christian witnesses of Jehovah and the decline in so many churches of Christendom. What accounts for this? The persons associating with the Witnesses say the answer lies in the faith-strengthening Biblical information they are receiving concerning God’s purposes.
“CHURCHES IGNORE CHRIST’S TEACHING”
That was the headline of an article by Charles King, writing in the Ottawa, Canada, “Citizen.” He expressed continual amazement over the “depressing inability of the churches to come to grips with the concept that all men are brothers.” This is evidenced by the fact that people of the same religion, those called “Christian” as well as “pagan,” kill one another in wartime. King noted the religious disturbances, often violent and bloody, going on in Northern Ireland, East Bengal, South Vietnam, the Middle East and southern Africa. He quoted the Bible’s teaching at 1 John 4:16-21, which says: “God is love . . . If anyone makes the statement: ‘I love God,’ and yet is hating his brother, he is a liar. . . . the one who loves God should be loving his brother also.” This the churches are not doing.
CHURCH APPROVES ABORTIONS
At a general synod in Michigan, the United Church of Christ approved abortions. It called for the repealing of all prohibitions against abortions performed by physicians. Yet, God’s Word shows that such taking of human life is murder. The scope of what this church now approves can be seen by what is happening in New York city alone. Abortion was legalized there on July 1, 1970. In the year since then, 165,000 abortions have been performed. By June 1971 the number had risen so rapidly that 950 abortions were being performed for every 1,000 live births. It is expected that the total will soar yet higher in the next year. This wholesale slaughter is what the United Church of Christ now sanctions.
BISHOP RESIGNS
Bishop Bernard Kelly of Providence, Rhode Island, stunned Catholics by resigning from the Catholic priesthood. He said that he took the step because of an “abiding sense of frustration” with the attitudes and policies of American bishops. Asked which event contributed most to his decision, he said it was the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in Detroit. He was grieved that the bishops reaffirmed the “status quo” in the church and had ignored recommendations for change by priests. Kelly’s resignation, Catholic officials said, could have a serious effect on priests and those studying for the priesthood. He is the second American bishop to resign, the first being James Shannon of St. Paul-Minneapolis in 1959.
MORE CLERGYMEN THINKING OF QUITTING
The number of clergymen quitting is likely to grow. A Gallup poll taken in the United States revealed that 43 percent of Jewish rabbis, 32 percent of Protestant ministers, and 23 percent of Catholic priests are seriously considering leaving religious life. The poll also noted a growing disinterest in religion by church members, they being more concerned now about materialistic pursuits.
DECLINE CONTINUES
The 1971 Official Catholic Directory for the United States reports the continued decline of Catholic religious bodies during 1970. According to its figures, which differ only slightly from those of other Catholic sources, a net decline of 7,286 nuns was experienced from 1969 to 1970, leaving 153,645. That total is over 26,000 fewer than were reported in the 1965 directory. Also the decline in seminary enrollment grows more severe, as a drop of 3,256 from the 1969 figure was recorded. This leaves 25,710 seminary students, a striking decline from the 48,992 reported in the 1965 directory. The total number of priests fell by 1,031, leaving 58,161. Many expect this figure to drop sharply in the immediate future due to the huge decline in seminary enrollment and the growing number of priests who are quitting. The number of Catholic educational institutions declined by 529, including 51 seminaries.
SUNDAY-SCHOOL ATTENDANCE SINKING
Canadian church officials reveal sharp losses in the number of children attending Sunday school. The United Church of Canada said that eight years ago it had an enrollment of 757,388 in Sunday school. By 1969 enrollment had dropped to 425,467, and in 1970 it fell to 369,959. The Anglican Church had 186,000 in 1967, but only 150,300 in 1969. The Presbyterians recorded 102,730 in 1967, but 89,373 in 1969. And 1970 and 1971 are expected to be lower yet. The chief reason cited is the loss of interest in religion by parents.
IRISH YOUTH SHUNNING PRIESTHOOD
The Limerick “Weekly Echo” reported that Ireland’s youth has become disinterested in the priesthood. The 1971 Irish Catholic Directory showed a decline of 39 percent in ordinations for the priesthood between 1965 and 1970. The number of seminary students declined 45 percent from 1960 to 1970. The newspaper noted: “It can be seen that the falling rate of vocations in Ireland is part of a world wide phenomenon.”
However, while this is taking place in the major religions of Christendom all over the world, Jehovah’s witnesses are experiencing the largest growth in their history. They have baptized over 500,000 persons in the past four years, and before baptism all of these had completed a prescribed course of Bible study and were able to explain what they believe.