The end of an era.

Many Christians, today, do not want to admit that what we are seeing in this world, is the end of a very long era.
I was reading a wonderful Wall Street Journal Op-Ed piece by famed member of the Four Horsemen, Daniel Dennett. You can read the article here.
Dennett's main point was, I think, that as we get more and more intelligent and have more access to information and news and ideas, we are less likely to believe in the supernatural. People will not turn to God if they believe he is irrelevant.
But, likewise, if something horrible happens, he says, like a real world wide catastrophe, you will see a drastic rise in religion and religious participation.

For me, I rejoice in the knowledge that people are falling away. If you have time someday, go to r/exChristian on Reddit. Read a few of the posts on the first few pages. There are tons of young people saying on this subreddit that they are no longer able to delude themselves into buying their parent's beliefs, and they are falling away. And, even in the face of harming family relationships, these young people are deciding that being honest and truthful is better than lying to themselves and others.

The reality is, for Christians, that, as long as they try to continue to sway people back, but don't really live according to their own avowed beliefs, things will continue to go sour. I know many people who only attend church because they believe that it's the right thing to do, or because that's all they've ever done.

But, there are also those who are Christians, but who do not go about bashing folks on the head with it. They may or may not attend church. They may or may not even acknowledge their own faith to others. These people, whether they know it or not, are the next stage of Christianity. And hopefully, they will find it in their own hearts to continue on this road of silent observation.

Sadly, though, as with anything, as something dies, it becomes more violent, more radical. The death throes of organized religion are upon us. But, as we get closer, the people who are irrationally dependent on their 'faith' will be more vocal; will go to new and horrid lengths to bring out the worst in their religion.

We, the rest of us, must watch for these people. We must handle ourselves carefully. But we must not live in fear. We must be willing to help those who are leaving get where they need to go and we must be patient with those whose lives are being ruled by fear. As we watch the end of the era of Religion, I hope that what we see are people getting the help they need from the more viable belief systems.