#20366: — 03/29  at  12:15 PM
The good pastor forgot to include "reality-based" in his insult.

#20380: — 03/29  at  01:57 PM
I think the USA despite appearances is seeing the shift to a totally secular society which it must have to survive as an entity of any significance in the coming centuries.

The flailing and wailing of creationists is simply a loud revolt of a group who sees their worldview as less and less pertinent to 'real' life. It doesn't mean religion won't have value, but just that it's value won't be supreme.

Creationists I'm afraid will always be around in one form or another, people tend to be lazy in the ways of science.

#20394: — 03/29  at  04:43 PM
Ben wrote:

Evangelism is a dying, wounded animal.

Maybe so, but Pentecostalism is way up, all around the world. Being such an authoritarian chuch means it's pretty united in its dogma, in a way that evangelicals aren't. So we have a strongly young-earth, anti-evolution, anti-gay, branch of Christianity that wants to fight for what it believes in.

I'm not too familiar with the US situation, but I think most of the 'evanglists' that rant about evolution come under what I'd consider charismatic faiths. Even if the evangelical impulse is fading (it's not - Africa, Asia and South America are attracting missions like it was the 19th century), charismatics are going to be a force to be reckoned with for a long time.

I wish I could offer some consolation for this, but my own dealings with Penties haven't been too fruitful. They will hear what they want to hear, their truth is better than ours, and their extremely strong sense of community/persecution keeps them damn sure of themselves.

And US - please stop exporting your faith. It's bad enough you gave us Rev. Wigglesworth 150 years ago. Now I have to hear about how the devil coming for poor little born-agains.