- Op-ed piece by the Internet Monk that started it all: The Coming Collapse of Evangelicalism
- Christianity Today response by Senior Editor at CT, Mark Galli: On the Lasting Evangelical Survival
- R. Scott Clark’s response to the CT article: The Survival of Evangelicalism
- TeamPyro response by Phil Johnson: Evangelicalism Down the Drain?
- Reformation21 response by Sean Lucas: Coming Evangelical Collapse
- Aomin.org response by James White: The Coming Evangelical Collapse
- Internet Monk follow-up: The Coming Evangelical Collapse: A Statistical Review by Michael Bell
- Reformation21 response by Rick Phillips: Evangelical Collapse Revealed by Studies of Parenting
While there is a plethora of bad news that continues coming out concerning the economy, and the fog of economic uncertainty (and in some cases dire certainty) continues to creep in amongst communities all over the country, something we believers need to make sure we’re doing is responding to these trials in a way that glorifies God. And using this as an opportunity to share the Gospel to those who don’t know Him.
Though things may certainly not get as bad as many of the top economists and investment advisers in the country are saying it will get, certainly people are already being impacted by job losses, monetary loss, all kinds of loss. Yet, it is in these very times that God’s power shines its brightest in our lives. The Gospel works great power in weakness. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
Why has the economy collapsed? The real, fundamental issue? “When you really get down to it, it’s the lack of ethics, the lack of morality that’s seeped into our society in the last decade that has largely brought us to this point.” – Eric Hovde.
Just like James White in his analysis, I find it ironic they have Hitchens on for his commentary on this issue. Oddly enough, I agree with Hitchens’ analysis, one of the few things I agree with him on. I just have to wonder what else he would say, as a sort of qualification to this.
(Excerpt from a Jonathan Edwards sermon entitled The Excellency of Christ)
Christ, as he is God, is infinitely great and high above all. He is higher than the kings of the earth; for he is King of kings, and Lord of lords. He is higher than the heavens, and higher than the highest angels of heaven. So great is he, that all men, all kings and princes, are as worms of the dust before him; all nations are as the drop of the bucket, and the light dust of the balance; yea, and angels themselves are as nothing before him. He is so high, that he is infinitely above any need of us; above our reach, that we cannot be profitable to him; and above our conceptions, that we cannot comprehend him. Prov. 30:4 “What is his name, and what is his Son’s name, if thou canst tell?” Our understandings, if we stretch them never so far, cannot reach up to his divine glory. Job 11:8 “It is high as heaven, what canst thou do?” Christ is the Creator and great Possessor of heaven and earth. He is sovereign Lord of all. He rules over the whole universe, and doth whatsoever pleaseth him. His knowledge is without bound. His wisdom is perfect, and what none can circumvent. His power is infinite, and none can resist Him. His riches are immense and inexhaustible. His majesty is infinitely awful.
This was a talk Mark Dever gave at the T4G conference this past year that is relevant to many discussions, postings and conversations I’ve been having lately with many different people in person and on the internet. To sum this whole thing up, Dever says at the beginning of this talk, “People try to improve the Gospel. But in improving the Gospel they end up losing it.”
Improving the Gospel (MP3) – Mark Dever
And while this is a legitimate concern I share in seeing the quick descent of much of evangelicalism, we who would criticize those we see as doing some of the very things Dever speaks of must be careful how we 1) come across to those we are in disagreement with, 2) how we say things, 3) that we don’t let such a concern distract us from the cause of the Gospel itself by being absorbed in finger pointing, 4) use wisdom when approaching these situations, and finally 5) think carefully before you hit the send button about what you’re saying and how you’re saying it (Ben Davis).
These two three four five six radio programs on This American Life do an excellent job of giving an on-the-street perspective from the Wall Street investors to the lenders all the way down to the individual home-buyers and finally the results of the recession in everyday life. In addition, there is a very good explanation of how banks work and why they are becoming insolvent. If you haven’t dug in to understand how we have gotten into this mess, you must listen to these programs. Excellent journalism.
- The Giant Pool of Money (MP3) – 05.09.2008
- Another Frightening Show About the Economy (MP3) – 10.03.2008
- Bad Bank (MP3) – 02.27.2009
- Scenes From a Recession (MP3) – 03.27.2009
- The Watchmen (MP3) – 06.05.2009
- Return To The Giant Pool of Money – 09.25.2009
More in-depth economic analysis can be found here:
- http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/
- http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/
- http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/
- http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/
(Update: 9.28.2009 – Though they don’t come to this conclusion in these shows, after much investigation and personal reflection on the events of the last two years, I have come to the conclusion that the Federal Reserve is ultimately at fault for meddling in markets, making money super cheap to obtain, and promoting an environment of pure moral hazard. Certainly, all those who took the bait, everyone from lenders, to consumers, to those on Wall Street, are all responsible in some manner. But ultimate responsibility for the over-arching cause of the crisis is the reckless policy decisions of our central bank over the last 30 years, starting with Paul Volcker (as I understand it), who is oddly one of Obama’s economic advisor’s. It is unfathomable to me that the same people who promoted reckless macro-economic policies are supposed to be the same people to get us out of this mess … by spending us even further in the hole. Unbelievable. And contrary to the assumption that “no one saw this coming,” think again … watch below.)