In nuclear physics, critical mass is “the smallest mass of fissionable material that will sustain a nuclear chain reaction at a constant level.” In a moral sense, critical mass is the “amount or level needed for a specific result or a new action to occur.” So, in case you missed it, the entirety of Western civilization is in the midst of a philosophical and moral chain reaction that is arguably more deadly than any nuclear explosion. It began during the Enlightenment, also called the Age of Reason (1650s to the 1780s), in which cultural and intellectual forces in Western Europe emphasized reason, analysis and individualism rather than traditional lines of authority. It challenged the authority of institutions that were deeply rooted in society, especially the Catholic Church; there was much talk of ways to reform society with toleration, science and skepticism. A century later, biological Darwinism laid the groundwork for the denial of creation as Genesis reveals it. So, if God did not create us and we are the product of random chance, then we are answerable to no one but ourselves and God’s law is irrelevant. As it was in antiquity so it is today; every man does that which is right in his own eyes. Judges 17:6. Most believe they are the captain of their own ship and the master of their own destiny. With the dawning of the 1960’s we began to drown in drugs and the sexual “revolution.” We saturated our minds with a new genre of music that was a big part of changing the philosophy of life for an entire generation. Eventually, it all became mainstream through the medium of television and we’ve been “slouching toward Gomorrah” ever since. Some are just now waking up to the reality that one reaps what one sows. All along the way, much of the professed church has kept in step with the ever changing worldviews and mores of the world around it. Accommodation has been the watchword under the guise of being “relevant.”
The result of this capitulation to the culture is that “…people with no religious affiliation are now America's second-largest "religious" group, outnumbering Catholics and mainline Protestants. Mainline denominations have experienced a net loss of more than four percent of their population share, while Catholics have lost nearly 11 percent. This according to the Pew Research Center, which has just released its latest U.S. Religious Landscape Study, scrutinizing the ways religion has changed in America over the last seven years. Evangelicals are doing better but the landscape is not terrific for us either. More and more young adults consider the church to be irrelevant and lump us all together in one great stew of banality and foolishness. No doubt this opinion is bolstered by the unbiblical “prosperity gospel” preached by so many televangelists who rake in fortunes sent in by undiscerning and even desperate viewers. Just channel surf some night when you can’t sleep and you’ll find plenty of them. That is not to say that all those engaged in religious broadcasting are charlatans and hucksters. I think you know the types I’m referring to on the television. Jesus predicted: many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? Matthew 7:22.
Preaching, exorcising mighty works of ministry—isn’t that proof of one's spiritual condition? Well, maybe not. Jesus warned, Then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness (v. 23). If he does not "know" us personally—if we do not have a true, saving relationship with him—our religious words and actions are actually "lawlessness" according to Jesus. Human words cannot change human hearts. You and I can do nothing eternal, spiritual or God-glorifying unless his Spirit works in and through us. Jesus seeks "disciples," fully-committed followers, not just church members. He seeks those who submit daily to the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18), who study Scripture and seek to live biblically. They impact their culture more powerfully than any survey can measure. The church in the West is inundated with nominalism where an hour on Sunday is good enough (and not a minute more). We love our comforts and our idols are legion. Our society now calls “good, evil and evil, good.” The world we once thought we knew has been turned on its head. Who will speak the truth in love and be willing to suffer the consequences? Who will refuse to compromise biblical truth even if it costs them dearly? And who will see the fruit of the Spirit in you and me so that we might be part of the solution instead of part of the problem? It should come as no surprise that the vast majority of America doesn’t look anything like Madison yet every change-agent for Christ counts. God bless you as you seek His glory and honor in and through your life.