Part 2: The attack on the Christian faith, Judaeo-Christian values and aspects of Western civilisation (Different views of Utopia)
Different views of Utopia requiring common objective
It's helpful to understand that the individuals and groups within the progressive elite have different visions of Utopia (their idea of the perfect society) and the New World Order. Nevertheless, they all realise that in order to achieve their objectives, they must destroy Christianity, Judaeo-Christian beliefs and values, together with some of the accepted tenets, freedoms and practices of Western civilisation.
Some within this elite knowingly follow a Luciferian agenda, but not all. Some believe that they operate from the highest of motives and are confident in their own benevolence, virtue, worldview, belief system and ‘higher knowledge.'
Such arrogance however always breeds extremism, and already a form of totalitarianism is beginning to emerge. They will stop at nothing to achieve their aims, including resorting to demonically inspired strategies, media propaganda and Orwellian methods.
In their delusion of grandeur and rejection of God, they genuinely believe that they know what’s best for everyone else. Therefore to them, any loss of freedom to individuals or particular religious groups, is a necessary price to pay for what they see as the ultimate common good. Forms of repression are therefore acceptable, in their view, in order to damage and weaken opponents.
The demoralisation of the Church
Tragically, the success of this movement in the last half century is in part due to the demoralisation of the institution which should have been defending our faith and culture - the Church. The liberal Church faction within the progressive elite in the 60s declared that 'God is Dead'.
In October 1965 Time magazine stirred up a tempest with a cover story called 'Christian Atheism: The 'God Is Dead' Movement'. The article considered the problems faced by liberal theologians in making God relevant to an increasingly secular society. Sounds familiar? See the series of articles on the Emerging Church.
The then Bishop of Woolwich John Robinson's book 'Honest to God', printed in 1963, was a product of its time: traditions were being questioned and orthodoxy was being challenged. 1963 marked the beginning of declining Church attendance and widespread religious indifference and it was this trend to which Robinson and like-minded theologians were seeking to respond.
They launched what was dubbed the 'Death of God Movement.' The popular success of his book elevated Robinson to its leadership. The movement actually took its name from the title of Gabriel Vahanian's book The Death of God: The Culture of Our Post-Christian Era (1961). The movement, just like the liberal wing of the Emerging Church today, sought to reinterpret fundamental Christian doctrines and to 'make God real for the modern, scientific and secular age'.
Over the past 50 years or so, the Church has become intimidated by a steady stream of anti-Christian left-wing vitriol and marginalisation, by both secular, religious liberal elites and pagan progressives. It feels like the ground beneath us has shifted and our traditional points of reference (authority of the Bible, exclusivity of Christ, biblical worldview) have been challenged to the n'th degree, including by some in the Church.
Our response as a Church to this intimidation has varied. Instead of standing firm in the faith some have lost their nerve and with it their conviction. They've retreated from the public square and been intimidated into silence. Others have decided to compromise the message of the Gospel in order to find acceptance and to be seen as relevant and progressive; many seek the world's approval by engaging in umpteen humanistic social action and environmental programmes - saving the planet rather than lost souls.
It's no exaggeration to say that in recent times Christian confidence in the West has been shaken. We've undergone a painful paradigm shift both in how the world views us, but more importantly how we view ourselves.
The Church fails to provide prophetic leadership
As a result, we've failed in our calling to provide prophetic leadership to national leaders who remain devoid of answers and jettison their only real hope of finding any. Without a return to the God of the Bible and his worldview the nations will continue in a process of decline. The Church meanwhile can no longer, in the main, be thought of as a prophetic counter-culture movement.
As Judaeo-Christian values are ousted, even penalised, in the West, being part of a vibrant community of faith, focused on the soon coming of Jesus, recognising the trends unfolding in society, and committed to biblical orthodoxy, is not a luxury but a necessity, and we urge our readers to consider whether they have like-minded fellow travellers as they negotiate an increasingly anti-Christian and hostile world.
We would recommend the following books
The World Turned Upside Down: Melanie Phillips
Great Britain Has Fallen!: Wale Babatunde
When A Nation Forgets God: Erwin W Lutzer
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In Part 3 of this series we discuss the inevitable result for Christians opposed to mankind's Utopian dream (their idea of the perfect society) the New World Order.
It's helpful to understand that the individuals and groups within the progressive elite have different visions of Utopia (their idea of the perfect society) and the New World Order. Nevertheless, they all realise that in order to achieve their objectives, they must destroy Christianity . . .