True Discernment

from g3 ministries:

hen Christ was asked about the great commandment in the Law, he answered without hesitation: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Mt 22:37). True worship of God is centered in our affections for him. As Jonathan Edwards rightly observed, “True religion, in great part, consists in holy affections.” Indeed, a purely intellectualized worship is no worship at all.

This is one reason God has commanded that his people sing in corporate worship. Singing, Paul explains, allows believers to express their hearts to God, particularly thanksgiving (Col 3:16, Eph 5:19). The inspired songs of Scripture are filled with heart expression such as lament, contrition, thanksgiving, love, and praise.

However, the role of emotion and music in worship today has departed considerably from biblical precept and example. In fact, I would suggest that the relationship of emotion and music to worship in contemporary Christianity has shifted to such a significant degree that it hardly resembles what Scripture models.

The relationship of emotion and music to worship in contemporary Christianity has shifted to such a significant degree that it hardly resembles what Scripture models.

This reality is clearly evident with recent events like the faux revival at Asbury University, the global popularity of worship music of groups like Hillsong, or, frankly, the entire contemporary worship movement. It is almost impossible to engage in thoughtful, biblical conversation with contemporary Christians about worship, music, and emotion due to fundamental shifts that have come to characterize contemporary evangelicalism.

In each of these cases, intense emotional expression has come to define the essence of true relationship with God. “The students at Asbury are so passionate about God!” So we dare not question the validity of what’s happening. “I can feel God’s presence in that worship!” So why wouldn’t we promote that music? If the nature of true worship is love for God, why would we question whether these movements are biblical?

John MacArthur summarized the reason well in the recent Shepherd’s Conference Q&A session when he described what happened at Asbury as “chords over Christ.” “Shut off the music and see what happens,” he challenged.

MacArthur put his finger on the issue I have been identifying for many years: music has taken on an unprecedented and, indeed, unbiblical role in contemporary evangelical worship today, in which music is used to create what modern Christians assume to be “feelings of spirituality,” “the felt presence of God,” and “revival.” And because this function has become so intrenched in contemporary evangelicalism, to question the music, the feelings, or the experiences is to question the very work of God in many evangelicals’ minds.

No wonder I get so much hate mail.

Music has taken on an unbiblical role in contemporary evangelical worship today in which music is used to create what modern Christians assume to be “feelings of spirituality,” “the felt presence of God,” and “revival.”

Nothing More Than Feelings

Yet carefully defining the true nature of spiritual experience based upon the Word of God is critical. And, in particular, we need to recognize how modern notions of “emotion” are not the same thing as what the Bible calls praise, joy, or love.

The category of “emotion” is a relatively recent term, only entering common discourse about 200 years ago. Prior to that, people didn’t use the term, and consequently, they had a far more nuanced understanding of human sensibility.

Thomas Dixon traces the creation and evolution of this idea in his very helpful book, From Passions to Emotions. He demonstrates how the idea of emotion “is little more than a hundred years old. Darwin’s Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals (1872) and William James’ “What is an Emotion” (1884) are the first studies of the emotions using scientific methodology.”¹

The category of emotion, shaped as it was by Enlightenment rationalism and Darwinian evolution, is defined primarily by effects upon the body, what we might call “feelings.” Then, with this more recent category firmly entrenched in modern thought, Christians read biblical descriptions of worship and relationship with God and define such realities also primarily in terms of feelings. Consequently, exhilaration, euphoria, and other merely chemical affects upon the body have come to define Christian worship and spirituality for most Christians today.

However, the biblical concept of affection was something entirely different. The fruit of the Spirit, for example, are by definition affections not inherently defined by physical feelings. Since God is a Spirit and does not have a body like man, affections like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are fundamentally spiritual. Though each of these affections certainly may affect the body, they are not defined by physical feelings.

Furthermore, even the nature of how spiritual affections affect the body or what kinds of feelings may accompany them differ from the nature of physical feelings typically associated with worship in contemporary evangelicalism.

For example, Michael Brown recently tweeted the following:

Immediately you can see his assumption that the modern category of emotion is inherently an essential part of worship. And so I responded to his tweet by listing many passages that do, indeed, caution against unbridled physical feelings:

• Romans 12:3 – Think with sober judgment
• Gal 5:23 – The fruit of the Spirit is self-control.
• 1 Thess 5:6, 8 – Be sober.
• 1 Tim 2:9 – women should be self-controlled.
• 1 Tim 3:2 – An overseer is to be sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable.
• 1 Tim 3:8 – Deacons must be dignified.
• 1 Tim 3:11 – Deacon’s wives must be dignified and sober-minded.
• 2 Tim 1:7 – God gave us a spirit of self-control.
• 2 Tim 3:3 – The last days will be characterized by lack of self-control.
• 2 Tim 4:5 – Paul commands Timothy to be sober-minded.
• Titus 1:8 – An overseer should be self-controlled and disciplined.
• Titus 2:2-6 – Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women are to be reverent in behavior. Younger women and younger men are to be self-controlled.
• Titus 2:12 – Renounce ungodliness and worldy passions, but be self-controlled.
• 1 Peter 1:13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
• 1 Peter 4:7 – The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.
• 1 Peter 5:8 – Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
• 2 Peter 1:6 – Add to your faith self-control and steadfastness.

Unbridled emotion is actually a mark of spiritual immaturity, while true spiritual affections have more modest affects upon the body. Religious affections will be characterized, not by intense euphoria, but by what Jonathan Edwards calls “the lamb-like, dove-like spirit or temper of Jesus Christ.” Truly Spirit-formed religious affections, according to Edwards, “naturally beget and promote such a spirit of love, meekness, quietness, forgiveness, and mercy, as appeared in Christ.”²

Instead of cultivating true biblical religious affections, contemporary evangelicalism has become what a former professor of mine called a “glandular religion.”

Musical Manipulation

With the secular category of emotion thoroughly impacting Christian interpretation of worship and relationship with God, Christians in the nineteenth century began to look for means to cultivate the kinds of feelings they assumed to be essential characteristics of conversion, spiritual growth, and worship.

They found the perfect tool in pop music.

Charles Finney was among the first to urge those leading his revival services to use music to create “feelings of spirituality.” Believing it was the preacher’s responsibility to create the proper conditions for revival through raising excitement, a kind of music designed to quickly manufacture such excitement was the ideal stimulant.

And stimulant is exactly what that music is. Pop music is specifically designed to produce immediate gratification through direct stimulation of bodily feelings. After Finney, this kind of music began to replace the substantive hymnody of church history past that was carefully chosen to give expression to biblical religious affections.

Since the earliest days of the church, church leaders had cautioned against using music in worship that was simply designed to stir up feelings. Clement of Alexandria, for example, insisted,

But we must abominate extravagant music, which enervates men’s souls, and leads to changefulness—now mournful, and then licentious and voluptuous, and then frenzied and frantic.³

Rather, Clement argued that the church’s hymnody should employ “temperate harmonies.”⁴ In A New Song for an Old World, Calvin Stapert notes how uniform this understanding of music was among early pastors and theologians.

This emphasis was renewed during the Reformation. Martin Luther and other German reformers insisted that worship music embody reverence. For example, Johann Konrad Dannhauer required that music be “sacred, glowing with love, humble, dignified, the praise of God sung by the voice of men and instruments with becoming grace and majesty,” contrasted with “profane music, which is unspiritual, frivolous, proud, irreverent.”⁵ Likewise, Balthasar Meisner insisted,

Let all levity, and sensualism be absent [in worship music]. On the contrary, let gravity and a pious intent of the mind prevail, which does not contemplate and pursue bare harmony but devoutly fits and joins to it the inmost desires and affections. For unless a ready spirit is joined to the turns of the voice and a vigilant and fervent heart to the varied words, we weary God and ourselves in vain with that melody. For not our voice but our prayer, not musical chords but the heart, and a heart not clamoring but loving, sings in the ear of God.⁶

John Calvin, too, insisted that music used for worship fit its solemn purpose, having “weight” and “majesty” rather than being “light” or “frivolous.”⁷

These theologians understood the proper place and function of music in worship. They knew that biblically, emotion and singing come as a result of the Spirit’s work through the Word of God in a believer’s life, not as a cause of the Holy Spirit’s work. Calvin Stapert helpfully makes this point with reference to Ephesians 5:18–19 and Colossians 3:16:

“Spirit filling” does not come as the result of singing. Rather, “Spirit filling” comes first; singing is the response. . . . Clear as these passages are in declaring that Christian singing is a response to the Word of Christ and to being filled with the Spirit, it is hard to keep from turning the cause and effect around. Music, with it stimulating power, can too easily be seen as the cause and the “Spirit filling” as the effect.⁸

“Such a reading of the passages,” Stapert argues, “gives song an undue epicletic function and turns it into a means of beguiling the Holy Spirit.” He argues that such a “magical epicletic function” characterized pagan worship music, not Christian.⁹

In other words, in Scripture, it is Christ over chords. True spiritual affections are created within us by allowing the Word of Christ to richly dwell within us; singing then helps us to express those affections that were created by the Spirit of Christ filling us with the Word of Christ.

Singing then helps us to express those affections that were created by the Spirit of Christ filling us with the Word of Christ.

The Pentecostalization of Evangelical Worship

The evangelical expectation of intense feelings manufactured by music as the essence of spirituality was only exacerbated by Pentecostalism in the twentieth century. Charismatic theologians argue that the Holy Spirit’s primary work in worship is that of making God’s presence known in observable, tangible ways such that worshipers can truly encounter God. This theology places a high emphasis and expectation in worship upon physical expressiveness and intensity, resulting in what is sometimes called a “Praise and Worship” theology of worship. The goal, in this theology, is to experience the presence of God in worship, but praise is considered the means through which Christians do so.

This change in theology of worship led to a new understanding of worship music perhaps best described by Ruth Ann Ashton’s 1993 God’s Presence through Music,¹⁰ raising the matter of musical style to a level of significance that Lim and Ruth describe as “musical sacramentality,” where music is now considered a primary means through which “God’s presence could be encountered in worship.”¹¹

Musically Manufactured Emotion is No Work of God

We must be careful to define spiritual affections biblically and put music in its proper place. Otherwise, we risk worshiping chords instead of Christ.

The use of music to manufacture “feelings of spirituality” is exactly why Hillsong and the whole contemporary worship music movement are so popular—take away the music, and you eliminate the “feelings of spirituality.” In fact, the Hillsong documentary that came out last year made this very point:

The use of music to manufacture “revival” is what drove the events at Asbury—take away the music, and you eliminate the “revival.” Since when is a bunch of college kids swaying to music for multiple consecutive days revival?

MacArthur was right: in most of evangelicalism today, it is chords over Christ.

True religion does consist in the religious affections, and music is a wonderful gift from God that helps to give expression to the affections created by the Spirit through his Word.

But we must be careful to define spiritual affections biblically and put music in its proper place. Otherwise, we risk worshiping chords instead of Christ.

from pjmedia:

On Monday, 28-year-old Audrey Elizabeth Hale, a biological woman who identified as transgender, murdered six people, including three children, at The Covenant School, a private Christian grade school in Tennessee.

This deadly attack was carried out the same week as a planned “Day of Vengeance” by transgender activists later this week.

The website of the Trans Radical Activist Network (TRAN), declares, “Like the Stonewall Riots the gays and lesbians were experiencing what the trans community is facing now. This cycle of hate needs to end in fact it must. Allies, siblings we need you now more than ever. ‘I was a radical revolutionist. I still am a revolutionist…I am glad I was in the Stonewall Riot. I remember when someone threw a Molotov cocktail, I thought, ‘My god, the revolution is here. The revolution is finally here?’ —Sylvia Rivera.”

Currently, there is no known connection between the shooter and the group. On Monday, Nashville Chief of Police John Drake was asked whether Hale identifying as transgender played a role in her targeting the school, and he would not confirm this but indicated that it was a working theory and said it would be discussed at a later date.

The primary Day of Vengeance event is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday at the Supreme Court in D.C., with additional events planned for March 31. LGBTQ activists specifically targeted Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was previously the target of an assassination attempt by a far-left activist last year.

The group purports to seek revenge for what they term “trans genocide,” a conspiracy theory that claims that transgender people are systemically targeted with violence. However, an examination of FBI statistics by the Daily Wire shows no proof to corroborate this claim. In 2021, only two of the 271 recorded hate crimes against transgender individuals resulted in murder. These figures are substantially lower than those of other groups and insufficient to substantiate allegations of “trans genocide.”

According to its website, the organization’s National Recruitment Director is Bo Belotti, 22. Belotti, a biological female who identifies as a man, was profiled by her alma mater, Virginia Commonwealth University, in December.

“[She] co-founded a statewide activist collective for trans people and served as a campaign manager for a city council candidate, a field organizer for Planned Parenthood’s political action committee, and a field organizer for Terry McAuliffe in his gubernatorial run. In addition, [she] was a fellow for Del. Elizabeth Guzman and interned with former Del. Joshua Cole before being promoted to a legislative aide for Cole.”

Belotti boasted of her efforts in helping to craft HB145, which mandated the development of model transgender policies for public schools. The resulting guidelines encouraged schools to conceal the gender transition of children from their parents.

There is currently no indication that the planned “Day of Vengeance” has been canceled. However, in the wake of Monday’s shooting, various social media accounts connected to the group have been made private.

from DISNTR:

Recently, an alleged scandal has emerged which is gaining significant media attention. Australian Parliament member, Andrew Wilkie, has made serious allegations against the leaders of Hillsong Church, namely Brian Houston and Phil Dooley, accusing them of engaging in fraudulent activities such as money laundering and tax evasion. Wilkie has backed up his allegations with financial records and board papers, claiming that they provide evidence of Hillsong’s wrongdoings.

“Deputy speaker last year, a whistleblower provided me with financial records and board papers that show Hillsong is breaking numerous laws in Australia and around the world relating to fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion,” Wilkie told the speaker in the video clip provided below.

“For example, this document shows how, in 2021, four members of the Houston family and their friends enjoyed at a three-day luxury retreat in Cancun, Mexico, using $150,000 of church money. And these documents show former leader Brian Houston treating private jets like Ubers again or with church money.”

The evidence presented by Wilkie allegedly suggests that Hillsong Church has paid American televangelists, such as Joyce Meyer and T.D. Jakes, tens, even hundreds of thousands of dollars in honorariums for their engagements with the church.

“For example,” Wilkie said, “US Pastor Joyce Meyer enjoyed honorariums of $160,000, $133,000 100,030, $2,000. And US. Pastor T. D. Jakes received $71,000 and $120,000 with a staggering $77,000 worth of airfares to and from Australia thrown in.”

Further, some pastors received “curious payments” suggesting that Brian Houston may have used some of the money to illegally pay off “external pastors,” including US megachurch pastor of Church of the Highlands, Chris Hodges, who was selected to investigate allegations of Houston in a 2019 sexual misconduct scandal involving a female parishioner.

“There’s also the curious payments of $10,000 each to Paul de Jong and Chris Hodges, the external pastors who investigated allegations of Brian Houston Houston’s 2019 sexual misconduct in a Sydney hotel room involving a female parishioner.”

Furthermore, the financial records allegedly indicate that Hillsong Church earns $80 million more in Australian annual income than it publicly reports.

Wilkie has also highlighted that Hillsong’s Community Venues company funded the purchase of Festival Hall in Melbourne using a $15.7 million loan. The loan is unlikely to ever be repaid and is ineligible for tax-deductible church donations. The financial documents allegedly reveal that church funds were used to pay for luxury retreats, private jet trips, and shopping sprees that would “embarrass a Kardashian.”

These serious allegations against Hillsong Church and its leaders have sparked controversy in Australia, with many calling for further investigation to determine the validity of these claims. These well-known megachurch prosperity hucksters have always been known to be charlatans who feast off the menial incomes of their millions of followers, but if these allegations turn out to be true, there needs to be serious accountability.

from protestia:

Last year an anonymous group of wealthy donors launched a 100 million dollar campaign for Jesus- the largest of its kind- with the “He Gets Us” thesis being plastered across TV and social media, aimed to attract cultural Christians and pagans to consider the man Jesus, and the way he relates to humankind. 

While that campaign promotion is monstrously huge in and of itself, unheard of for the Christian space, that investment is increasing tenfold. Jason Vanderground, President of the marketing firm managing the campaign, says that far from stopping at $100 million dollars, that number is expected to reach over $1 billion by 2025, and that’s just the first phase. He Gets Us is appearing in this year’s Superbowl, with the one ad buy costing nearly $20 million dollars. 

The videos, featuring moving black and white images playing under stirring music, were funded by the Servant Christian Foundation, a group whose donors remain anonymous. Marketing firm Haven conceptualized and crafted the non-denomination campaign, and popular ministry partner Gloo, which uses data to help Churches grow and develop receivables, supported the campaign, ensuring partners have the ability to respond to all upcoming inquiries.

Predictably, their campaign was woke, focusing on how Jesus was a marginalized immigrant refugee who was bullied for his empathy. Some examples:

Have you ever experienced frustration? Sorrow? Temptation? So has Jesus. Jesus understood what life was like for people in his day — especially for the marginalized. He was drawn to those on the fringes because he was one too: An immigrant. Homeless. Arrested. Bullied. Through it all, Jesus welcomed outcasts, stood up for women, hung out with troublemakers, even befriended enemies. He did it because of his radical love, empathy, and acceptance for all of us.

and

Jesus invited all to participate in the love, but not everyone was interested. The powerful and the wealthy were often threatened by Jesus’ movement because it always resisted systems of oppression. After all, many benefited from oppressing the poor, the sick, women, and even certain races that Jesus embraced throughout his activism. So, they didn’t just reject his invitation; they killed him for it.

ed flags everywhere.

In an article by Natasha Crain, she lists 7 things the campaign gets wrong with elaboration afterwards

• The fact that Jesus “gets us,” stripped from the context of His identity, is meaningless.
• Jesus is presented as an example, not a Savior.
• The campaign’s stated goal is about inspiration, not a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
• The campaign reinforces the problematic idea that Jesus’s followers have Jesus all wrong.
• The campaign reinforces what culture wants to believe about Jesus while leaving out what culture doesn’t want to believe.
• The campaign characterizes the so-called culture war in terms of secular social justice rather than underlying worldview differences.
• The next steps offered by He Gets Us could lead someone far away from truth rather than toward it.

from winepress news:

President Joe Biden’s wife Jill also made an appearance and speech.

Last night the annual Grammy awards ceremony was broadcast to U.S. audiences and abroad, awarding performing artists and groups for their music. The event however caused a ruckus online after two performing artists heavily glorified Satan and things associated with Satanism.

According to the official Grammy website, ‘Sam Smith and Kim Petras took the 65th GRAMMY Awards to the body shop with a transgressive performance of their smash collaboration “Unholy,”‘ the awarding body described.

“Unholy” was released in September of last year and ascended to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, thus propelling Smith and Petras to become the first publicly non-binary and trans artists to achieve such a feat.

Surrounded by long-haired acolytes in identical red sheaths, Smith kicked off the performance in an outfit of latex and a devil-horned top hat before Petras made her grand entrance in a giant cage guarded by a trio of she-devils.

“Mummy don’t know daddy’s getting hot/ At the body shop, doin’ something unholy,” the duo belted in hellish harmony as a wall of fire erupted on stage behind Petras’ personal prison.

Later that night the duo received a Grammy, where Petras took the opportunity to thank the many other transgender performers that paved the way for people such as themselves.

I want to thank all the incredible transgender legends before me who kicked these doors open for me so I could be here tonight.
Sam graciously wanted me to accept this award because I’m the first transgender woman to win this award.
I don’t think I could be here without Madonna.

According to Variety Petras said backstage her performance was supposedly inspired by her not being accepted by religion.

I think a lot of people, honestly, have kind of labeled what I stand for and what Sam stands for as religiously not cool, and I personally grew up wondering about religion and wanting to be a part of it but slowly realizing it didn’t want me to be a part of it.

So it’s a take on not being able to choose religion. And not being able to live the way that people might want you to live, because as a trans person I’m already not kind of wanted in religion. So we were doing a take on that and I was kind of hellkeeper Kim.

At the end of the performance the broadcast cut away to commercial, but before it did, the Grammy’s mentioned that one of the show’s sponsors for the night was the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.

read the full article here

The cancellation news is here.

from Christian Headlines:

The conservative Christian group One Million Moms has launched a petition urging Disney to cancel its FXX animated sitcom series Little Demon. The show features a mother who was impregnated by Satan and gives birth to an Antichrist daughter.

The show, rated TV-MA, features graphic violence, nudity and satanic imagery. One Million Moms, which has petitioned against other controversial shows, is urging parents to sign their latest petition calling for Disney to cancel Little Demon.

According to Deadline, “Among other shenanigans, the comedy … shows Laura [the mother] nude with no pixelation. She strips down in the first episode to perform a ritual, while there are multiple instances of nudity throughout the series.”

“Thirteen years after being impregnated by Satan, a reluctant mother and her Antichrist daughter attempt to live an ordinary life,” Disney describes the show, according to The Christian Post.

In the petition, One Million Moms quotes the series creator Seth Kirschner, who allegedly told reporters, “We are going to keep going for it until we are told no.”

“Let us be sure they are told, ‘No!’ quickly!” the group contends.

“We must do so because Disney is introducing viewers, including children who might stumble across this series, to a world of demons, witches, and sorcery,” the petition says. “Along with the demonic content of this series, the minds of younger viewers will also be inundated with secular worldviews that reflect the current culture.”

One Million Moms also warns that the previews and commercials “include such horrific content that it is difficult for families who watch FXX to avoid its evil subject matter completely.”

“It is evident that Disney is trying ‘to portray witchcraft as a positive tool to fight evil.’ The first episode is more than enough for most Christian families to realize that Little Demon is an extremely dangerous series,” the organization stresses in the petition. “Titled “First Blood,” this initial episode of the premiere season is currently streaming.”

One Million Moms concluded the petition by urging Disney to “cancel this demonic show, Little Demon, immediately.”

As of this writing, over 20,000 people have signed the petition.

“Young Americans are now less likely to become or remain Christian….”

Christianity has remained at the forefront of the nation’s political and social conversations for centuries — but new research shows that could be changing. 

A new report by Pew Research Center and the General Social Survey published on Tuesday found that the large numbers of people in the U.S who practice Christianity are declining. The religion’s demographic has been dwindling since the 1990s, the report said, as many adults transition to an identity of atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular.” 

In the early ’90s, about 90% of people in the U.S. identified as Christians, the report said. In 2020, Christians accounted for about 64% of the U.S. population, including children. Meanwhile, those who are not affiliated with a religion has grown from 16% in 2007 to 30% in 2020, according to the research. All other religions, including Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism, accounted for about 6% in 2020. 

As recently as the early 1990s, about 90% of U.S. adults identified as Christians. In 2007 the share was at 78%. Today, that number is down to 64%. Since 2007, the share of adults who identify as religious “nones” has grown from 16% to 29%. 6/ https://t.co/BELUlKdCdu pic.twitter.com/WbBRTcf93v— Pew Research Center (@pewresearch) September 13, 2022

Pew and GSS paired up to analyze how those numbers could change if the Christian decline accelerates or stops, and how other demographic trends, including migration and rates of birth and death, would influence the outcomes. The researchers only looked at religious identity, rather than religious beliefs and practices. 

Four potential scenarios were considered: a stable rate of people moving in and out of Christianity; an increasing share of Christians leaving their religion as a decreasing number of people with no religious affiliation switching in; the same as the former but with no more than 50% of Christians switching their identity; and a scenario in which no person changes their religion.

“Depending on the future of religious switching, people who identify as atheist, agnostic or ‘nothing in particular’ could become America’s largest (non)religious group within our lifetime,” Pew researcher Stephanie Kramer tweeted.

In all of the scenarios, even if nobody switches their religious affiliation in the coming decades, the number of religiously unaffiliated people is hypothesized to approach or exceed the number of Christians by 2070, the report found. 

None of the models considers Christianity numbers increasing, researchers said, as they are based on “dynamics currently shaping the religious landscape.” Dramatic events, such as armed conflicts, social movements, or rising authoritarianism could trigger social and religious upheavals, they added.

A scenario of steady switching – which would mostly happen among young people between the ages of 15 and 29 – could result in Christians losing their majority ranking in 2070, although the demographic would still be the largest U.S. religious group. 

“If switching among young Americans continued at recent rates, Christians would decline as a share of the population by a few percentage points per decade, dipping below 50% by 2060,” the report says. 

A decade later, in 2070, Christians would make up 46% of the U.S. as the number of those who are secular rises to 41%, researchers said. 

If leaving Christianity becomes more popular, but no more than 50% of the demographic leaves the institution, the religion would again lose its rank as the majority – and as the largest group – at 39%. Instead, those who who do not identify with a religion would become the largest religious group, accounting for 48% of those in the U.S. 

The report found that if the number of Christians disaffiliate by the time they turn 30 rises with every generation, and there is no limit imposed to how many people would leave, Christianity would lose its majority status by 2045 – in 23 years. In 2070, 52% of people in the U.S. would have no religious affiliation, while just 35% would be Christian under this scenario. 

There’s only one scenario in which Christians would retain their religious majority through 2070 – one in which no person changes their religion after 2020. 

“But even in that hypothetical situation, the religious makeup of the U.S. population would continue to shift gradually,” the report says, “primarily as a result of Christians being older than other groups, on average, and the unaffiliated being younger, with a larger share of their population of childbearing age.” 

If that happens, Christianity would decline by 10% by 2070. But as Pew noted, this situation “is not realistic.” 

“Switching has not ended and there is no reason to think it will come to an abrupt stop,” researchers said. “…Still, if fewer future young adults switch from Christianity to no affiliation, or if movement in the opposite direction increases, the future religious landscape might resemble the results of this projection.” 

The most likely scenario to occur, if recent generational trends continue, researchers said, is No. 2 – when Christianity declines but at a cap of no more than 50% leaving. 

Related Article: World Economic Forum Calls For Merging of Human and AI Intel to Censor ‘Hate Speech’ & ‘Misinformation’

from Alt.Market:

“I concluded that globalists do indeed have a religion, and their root belief system according to the evidence is Luciferianism.“

Why do globalists have a deep rooted obsession with Artificial Intelligence (AI)? What is it about the fervent quest for an autonomous digitized brain that sends them into fits of ecstasy? Is it all about what AI can do for them and their agenda, or, is there also a darker “occult” element to the concept that is so appealing?

The World Economic Forum, an organization dedicated to the globalist “Great Reset” agenda, the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the “Shared Economy,” dedicates a large portion of every annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland to discussion on AI and the expansion of its influence over daily life.

The United Nations holds extensive policy sessions on AI and has been spending a considerable amount of energy to establish “ethics rules” for the development and use of Artificial Intelligence. At the core of the UN’s efforts is the assertion that only the UN is qualified to dictate and control AI technologies; for the good of all mankind, of course. AI governance is slated to go into full effect by 2030 according to the UN’s own white papers (All globalist institutions have set 2030 as the target date for all of their projects).

Another lesser known but substantial organization is the World Government Summit held every year in Dubai. These summits are attended by many national leaders and representatives as well as corporate CEOs and celebrities. The primary subjects of focus at the WGS are usually climate change propaganda, centralization of the global economy, Transhumanism and AI.

Most of the public discussions on AI revolve around positive narratives; we are meant to be convinced on the many great advancements that AI technology will provide. Some of the “advantages” include transhumanist health modifications, computer implants in the body or brain, and even nanobots which may one day be advanced enough to change our very cells. In other words, in order to benefit from AI we must become less human and more machine.

Other supposed benefits require a vast array of new systems (some of them are being built now) that would allow algorithms to monitor every facet of our lives. Globalists often refer to these systems as the “internet of things” – Every appliance you own, the car you drive, every computer, every cell phone, every surveillance camera, every stop light, everything would be centralized into a single AI network within a city, and each city would be connected in a great spider’s web to a national AI database.

The Internet of Things is regularly mentioned in conjunction with climate change governance and carbon restrictions. The purpose is crystal clear – Governments and corporate elites want the ability to monitor every watt of energy you use everyday. This kind of full spectrum information makes it easier to dictate our decisions and our access to goods and services. They would have total control of anyone living within these “Smart Cities.” Your entire life, every second, would be watched and scrutinized.

But how could this be made possible? Millions upon millions of people living day-to-day; that’s a LOT of data to sift through to find anyone not following the rules. This is one of the reasons why the globalists are salivating over AI technologies – It’s the only tool available to collect and delineate mass data collection in real time.

Already, there are efforts to use AI systems to predict crime before it happens (pre-crime). These experiments are rather overhyped as they don’t actually predict specific crimes or identify specific criminals. Rather, they use statistical analysis to predict which areas of a city certain crimes are most likely to occur. You don’t need AI for this, any cop that’s worked in a city long enough can tell you when and where certain crimes are most likely to happen.

Hilariously, AI algorithms have recently been accused of “racial bias” when it comes to the areas they select for predictive crime, because often these areas tend to be in predominantly black neighborhoods and the most predicted criminals tend to be young black men. So, the computers have been accused of racial profiling just as many cops are accused of racial profiling.

Just another classic contradiction of the political left: They love the idea of climate change restrictions, transhumanism, and even AI surveillance when it suits them, but a computer does not care about your feelings and it doesn’t care about social taboos. It only cares about the numbers.

And this is where we get into the greater dangers inherent in AI. Imagine a world micro-managed by a cold dead algorithm that views you as only one of two things: A resource or a threat.

Prediction of pre-crime is nonsense; algorithms monitor habits and patterns and human beings tend to break patterns abruptly. People are affected by crisis events in different ways that are impossible to portend. There are far too many variables and there will never be a system that is able to predict the future, but that’s not going to stop the globalists from trying to force the issue.

AI governance is an inevitability according to globalist institutions – They claim that one day Artificial Intelligence will be used to govern whole societies and dole out punishment based on scientifically efficient models. They act as if this is just the natural path of mankind and one we cannot avoid, but in reality it is a self-fulfilling prophesy. It’s not necessarily meant to happen, it is being engineered to happen.

AI proponents argue that the algorithms cannot act with the same bias that humans do, therefore, they would be the best possible judges of human behavior. Every decision from production to distribution to healthcare to schooling to law and order would be managed by AI as a means to achieve ultimate “equity.”

As noted above, they’ve already run into the road block of statistical probability and the fact that even if AI is left to autonomously make decisions devoid of emotion, millions of people will still see those decisions as biased. And, in some ways they would be right.

The most logical decision is not always the most moral decision. Furthermore, an AI is programmed by its creator and can be engineered to make decisions with the creator’s biases in mind. Who gets to program the AI? Who gets to dictate its coding? Global elitists?

And here is where we get to the more “spiritual” element of the AI issue in relation to the globalists.

A couple years back I wrote an article titled ‘Luciferianism: A Secular Look At A Destructive Globalist Belief System.’ My goal in that piece was to outline the large amount of evidence that globalists are in fact a kind of cult of organized psychopaths (people without empathy that take joy in destruction for the sake of personal gain). I concluded that globalists do indeed have a religion, and their root belief system according to the evidence is Luciferianism.

Yes, I’m sure there will be naysayers out there that will scoff at this notion, but the facts are undeniable. There is a distinct occult element to globalism, and Luciferianism pops up consistently as the root philosophy. I think I broke this down rather effectively in the article and I won’t rehash all the evidence here; people are welcome to read it if they wish.

I wrote from a secular standpoint because Luciferianism is an inherently destructive ideology even when viewed outside of the lens of Christian belief. Beyond that, there are psychological elements that need to be addressed that Christianity often ignores. Luciferian philosophy is tailor made for narcissistic and sociopathic people. The root of the cult is about “special” human beings that are not hindered by the boundaries of conscience, morals or ethics. Lack of empathy is seen as an advantage to progress and the ultimate goal of Luciferianism is godhood – A person becoming like a god, whether through being worshiped by others, the power of influence or by technological methods of extending life and abilities.

But what does this have to do with AI?

I believe that globalists view AI with such reverence because they think it is a new form of life, or an ultimate form of life – A life that they are creating (as gods create life). And, if you think about it symbolically, this new “life” is actually made in the image of its creators: It has no empathy, no remorse, no guilt, no love. For lack of a better word, it is soulless, much like globalist psychopaths are soulless.

If we are to look at AI in religious terms for a moment – AI is a kind of antithesis to the figure of Christ. Christ represents an all-knowing form of ultimate love and ultimate self sacrifice according to Christian doctrine. I don’t think there is a word for what AI ultimately represents. The only term that seems to fit is “Antichrist”: The all seeing eye. A rulership of a super-intelligence devoid of humanity.

To be clear, I DO NOT believe in end-of-the-world concepts portrayed by those that adhere to more popular interpretations of Revelations. I think the world changes. I think empires rise and fall and this can often be seen as the “end of the world” when it’s really just the end of an epoch. That said, I wholeheartedly believe in the existence of evil; evil being defined as willfully deceitful or destructive actions for purely personal or organizational benefit, such as murder or enslavement. Evil does indeed exist and is an observable element of human life.

There are also traits of humanity that lead to good, that prevent us from self destruction when we listen to them. Conscience, reason, wisdom and often faith can provide a shield against evil actions for the majority of us. If we didn’t have these pillars within our psyches we would have annihilated ourselves long ago. But, there are some who do not have conscience, that do not have empathy and they despise these traits as “limiting.”

AI is being designed by these kinds of people. And maybe they won’t cause the “end of the world” in terms we commonly understand (or in biblical terms), but over time they could take away everything that makes humanity worthy of the world. In a way, this would be an Apocalypse. It would be a living nightmare run by psychopathic people using sociopathic artificial intelligence, actively encouraging and enabling the masses to abandon their human bodies to become digital monstrosities and technological chimera.

If successful, it really would be the ultimate defilement of nature, or of God’s design if that is what you believe in. The pursuit of godhood is not worth it for most of us, but for the globalists it is the dream of an age, and they will do ANYTHING to achieve it.

from zerohedge:

Would leftists actually target a Christian school church service with a sexualized drag show?  Of course they would.  

Students at Manhattan’s Grace Church High School say they were supposed to attend Wednesday church services on April 27th, 2021 when they were greeted with a surprise substitution show featuring a dancing drag queen in orange go-go boots called “Brita Filter” (the symbolism of the stage name is unknown).  The event was sponsored by “Spectrum,” the school’s LGBT support club and members of the school faculty.

The students allege they felt pressured to participate and had to pretend they enjoyed the event.  Some Spectrum club members tapped teens on the shoulders and ordered them to stand for the show, while others handed out pride stickers and stated “Take one or you’re homophobic.”  Other kids got involved in the show and began twerking in the chapel.

After the dancing was over, Brita discussed being “pansexual.”

Said one student, “It’s notable that this person consistently called themselves fabulous and talented and beautiful. Not just once or twice, but over and over this person reassured themselves that way…”

The inherent narcissism of the pride movement is easily observed.  

The school website details their pride related programs and Brita Filter’s performance. 

Beyond the obvious affront to Christian doctrine, the trend of sexualized drag performances for kids sponsored by schools has become an epidemic.  Numerous schools over the past year have been caught secretly hosting drag queen shows without asking parents for permission.  The wider media exposure of these events has been met with attacks from leftists, claiming that there is no sexualization agenda in schools.       

The gaslighting has been rampant and the goal behind trans indoctrination and school drag shows is openly admitted:  It’s about political activism and normalization.

On TikTok, Brita bragged about the event:

“I literally went to church to teach the children today…A Catholic High School here in NYC invited me to their Pride Chapel. Visibility matters and I’m so honored to have had the chance to talk to you about my work as a LGBTQ+ Drag Queen Activist.”

Grace Church Schools plan to introduce pride events to younger middle schoolers as well, with lessons on the “history of the pride flag” and what it symbolizes. 

What many Christian Prophecy Teachers and Prophecy followers do not understand is that the Anti-Christ system IS being set up, and it will all be ready and functioning when the “Man of Sin”, the Anti-Christ emerges.

What is also not understood or accepted is that Israel will be tied into that Anti-Christ system before the “Man of Sin” is revealed!

Israel has had the most draconian of COVID restrictions, vaccination programs, and lock-downs, now it is going to be one of the most Draconian in moving from paper currency or cash to a digital currency!

from themedialine:

ash deals exceeding 6,000 NIS ($1,700) will be illegal, as part of the effort to fight against money laundering and criminal activity; the law will exempt charitable institutions and trade with West Bank Palestinians

A new law is set take effect in Israel starting August 1 that will ban payments of large sums of money in cash and bank checks. The goal of the reform, according to a statement issued by Israel’s Tax Authority, is to fight organized crime, money laundering and tax noncompliance.

Under the new law, any payment to a business above 6,000 NIS ($1,700) must be made using alternative methods, such as a digital transfer or a debit card. Trading between private citizens who are not listed as business owners will be limited to 15,000 NIS ($4,360) in cash. In both cases, deals exceeding these sums can include a cash payment worth up to 10% of the total value of the deal. This is another step in Israel’s fight against the use of cash. Previously, cash up to the amount of 11,000 NIS ($3,200) could be used in business deals.

“We want the public to reduce the use of cash money,” Adv. Tamar Bracha, who is in charge of executing the law on behalf of Israel’s Tax Authority, told The Media Line. “The goal is to reduce cash fluidity in the market, mainly because crime organizations tend to rely on cash. By limiting the use of it, criminal activity is much harder to carry out.”

For that to happen, there must be less cash in the market.

Attorney Uri Goldman, an expert in tax civil and criminal law, and money laundering who represented clients in an appeal against the cash law in 2018, claims the main problem with the law is that it is simply not efficient.

“We were in the discussions about the bill. The data we brought showed that since the first phase of the law was in effect, the amount of cash on the market only increased. So clearly, something’s not working,” Goldman told The Media Line.

Goldman also explained the downside of the law. “When the bill passed there were over a million citizens without bank accounts in Israel. The law would prevent them from conducting any business and would, practically, turn 10% of the population into criminals,” he said.

There are some exemptions to the new law: charitable institutions, which are most common in ultra-Orthodox society; and trade with Palestinians from the West Bank, who are not citizens of Israel. In the case of the latter, deals including large amounts of cash will be allowed, yet they will require a detailed report to Israel’s Tax Authority.

Bracha says these exceptions are limited in time and are meant to help institutions and populations that have no other alternative, by giving them time to change their payments methods.

Goldman does not think this will help. “I don’t think anyone will find a solution,” he said. “This part of the law basically promises Palestinians from the West Bank and ultra-Orthodox Jews a way out. It’s unfair to the rest of the people, and I’m doubtful it will change in the future.”

The law, originally proposed in 2015, was initially approved in 2018. In its original form it included an article banning the private holding of large sums of cash money, and limiting the permitted sum to 50,000 NIS ($14,500). While this article did not pass at the time, Israel’s Finance Ministry intends to bring it to a vote in the country’s parliament again after the upcoming elections.

According to the Tax Authority, several other countries have parallel laws, and they have proven to be effective. Critics, however, think at least one aspect must change for the law to work.

“They should permit people, at least once, to declare all the cash money they have and put it in the bank. Otherwise, the cash might not be used like before, but it’s still out there, going around. If they find the legal way to do this, it could start a change,” Goldman said of the idea that he noted was suggested in the preliminary discussions about the law but was never approved.