In a year when reports are leaving China that Christianity is growing like wildfire and presses are working 24 hours a day to print Bibles, attitudes in the western world, and particularly in the UK to The Saviour have hardened considerably.Not so long ago, atheism would cast doubts on the faith and was a reasoned exercise. I have been constantly astonished in recent months how virulent are the attacks, not generally on religion, but on Christianity very specifically. This is a most aggressive atheism.
It is ironic that the self same leftists [and they nearly always are of the left] continue to act as apologists for Islam. Some paradox!
The attacks have come on TV, Radio, TV letters pages, newspapers and messageboards. I have never seen its like. For the first time a party political leader has admitted to his atheism. Books on atheism have been cynically promoted via the media and have enjoyed enormous success in spite of their Mickey Mouse logic.
There is a growing determination that children will go through school without ever gaining sufficient information to make an informed choice on the religious tradition of their nation.
[At a time when nationhood is threatened by the liberal left, europhiles and Bilderbergers - you can only see this as an integrated and cohesive attack on faith.]
Persecution, suppression of Christian ideals and starvation of publicity has increased exponentially in the last year or two. It can only get worse. Too many churches are moribund or going through the motions and afraid to offend or sound politically incorrect.
I shall wish all my readers a Happy New Year. But speaking logically rather than prophetically, I have to say that I believe it can only get worse.
There is little eagerness for God; apathetic attitudes and too little evidence of churches demonstrating the power of God's Holy Spirit. The enemy moves on apace.
God bless China - as I feel that missionaries from that country will be coming here soon in large numbers.
