Dana Mathewson

Dr. Michael Brown (www.askdrbrown.org) is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program. His latest book is

Saving a Sick America: A Prescription for Moral and Cultural Transformation. He's a frequent contributor to Townhall.

And he writes:
Actually, It’s the Religious Left That’s Dying

No sooner had the Nashville Statement [guys, don't ask me what this is] on biblical sexuality been issued then we began

to hear a common refrain from the left. "This is another sign that the religious right is dying! This statement represents the

last gasp of the old, antiquated guard! It’s time to say good bye and good riddance! Let’s welcome the new thing the Spirit is

doing!”

In reality, it is the religious left that is dying, while those who uphold Scripture are seeing blessing and increase

around the globe. Before I back up this statement, here’s what some "progressive” Christian leaders are saying.

Writing for the Huffington Post, seminary professor Greg Lancaster scornfully claims, "Their public audience shrinking,

their public presence waning, and their credibility shot to hell, the Christian right needs attention.”

His article is titled, "The Nashville Statement and the Decline of the Religious Right,” and he concludes with this

salvo: "In the end we’re stuck with a meaningless document. It adds nothing to the conversation that hasn’t been said. If

anything, its fake compassion increases the agony of LGBT Christians. All that’s accomplished by this document is a little

press for the religious leaders who signed it, a whiff of air time for the disenfranchised. The Statement underscores the

obvious: in the age of Trump, the Christian Right has lost its moral authority. These guys — they’re almost all men – may be

have a spiffy website, but nobody’s listening.”

[...]

It is certainly true that many evangelicals, me included, are deeply concerned about the moral and spiritual condition

of our nation. And it is certainly true that we are heavily burdened for the many young people who have dropped out of church

and consider themselves "nones” – having no religious affiliation.

But, as has been demonstrated time and time again, it is the so-called progressive churches that are "leaking” and the

liberal denominations that are fading. This is true in America as well as around the world. And since the so-called progressive

Christians have pointed to numbers, let’s take a more careful look.

Out of the 100 largest churches in America, how many are conservative? The vast majority, at the least. The same with

the fastest growing churches and the fastest growing denominations. Almost all of them hold to conservative biblical values,

even if they are "progressive” and chic and cutting-edge in other ways. Almost all of them would affirm the basic tenets of the

Nashville Statement, at least in private.

Out of the most rapidly shrinking denominations, how many are liberal? Almost all of them? Which seminaries are

bleeding the most, conservative or liberal? Take a guess. And how about major youth gatherings – yes, youth gatherings – for

prayer and worship and teaching? Which events draw the biggest crowds? If you said "conservative” you’d be right again.

Just trying to whet your appetite for the whole thing, which is here:

https://townhall.com/columnists/michaelbrown/2017/09/06/actually-its-the-religious-left-thats-dying-n2377770

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