Major problems Facing Christianity Essay

All ground religions face unprecedented measure in the 21st century. The ch allenges ar divers(prenominal) and do not throw away easy solutions. The modern existence has look inton an uniting of globose place systems and a similar confluence of socio-political ideologies and philosophies because of advances in breeding technology and the increased mobility make possible by modern twenty-four hours technology. It is feasible to find a hold still forative of all the world study religions in each country.This has meant that the observance of each religion is no drawn-out a mystical matter left for the convents and monasteries, notwithstanding has go champion that can be easily and readily scrutinized and compared with alternatives which by the way do not kick in to be religious. In considering these challenges, those that affect Christianity can represent to a fair degree the struggles the another(prenominal)s are facing and can hand over a platform for the discu ssion of these forces. Christianity is by design an expansionist religion. savior sent out his disciples with the express command to evangelize all the nations.It is so the core duty of every Christian to spread the reliance. Globalization is plausibly the most significant force affecting world religions, both component part and limiting the. round(prenominal) technological changes took place in the closing half(a) of the 20th century epitomized by the rise of the internet symbolizes the rise of the global village. Substantial changes include increasing ease of commercial travel by jets and high-speed trains, efficient telephone systems and powerful radios, the television desex and a very efficient and diversified print and electronic media.The world has enjoyed many benefits because of these and indeed, even Christianity has had powerful tools to take its contentedness across the world. Many a televangelist and bible teachers go on air in quotidian or weekly broadcasts, some with a global audience. Taped gists are downloadable from the internet as podcasts. Even if it is not possible to get the message in real clipping, it remains available for anyone to get it and settle or listen to it at their convenience.As commercial empires work grown into multinationals, so cast efficient oral communication networks, which now ensure the timely delivery of CDs and DVDs, magazines and newspapers to a global audience. However, these means for dispersion of information have not been available to just the Christian enterprise, they have to a fault available to other establishments that have competing interests, usually commercial, and at times ideological that have employed them to good effect. A Christian ceremonial occasion television is not only watching popular televangelists preach the gospel, but at the comfortable press of a remote button, can watch virtually anything else.These options do not always complement the message perceive but at times e ven go against the Christian value system. A Christian therefore is under immense pressure to aline to the prevailing worldview, as he does not live in a shielded Christian community, but rather in an information razzmatazz for which he has to sift through consistently, if he is to retain and spread the Christian message. As cleverness (2000) puts it, Even if each tradition stays avowedly to its own message, it will have to operate in a setting of this federal world civilization. Secularization, which is a force to reckon with, has made it more(prenominal) than difficult to proselytize.Faith is regarded as a own(prenominal) issue and accordingly attempts to discuss faith in non-Christian settings with the hope of making disciples have become an uncomfortable, if not offensive undertaking. Decisions about what faith to ascribe to are made personally and increasingly, privately. After all, isnt Christianity just one of the options? As Smart (2000) explains, Making religion a private matter can also lead to a religions becoming just a minor element in a total fabric of lively. Smart (2000) adds, Just as a person belongs to the golf club, so that person may join a church.New age thinking has also made its blow on Christianity. Christianity claims exclusivity of access to salvation, and an exclusive personal God. One of the key new age values is tolerance to all religious teachings and belief systems. Christianity therefore finds itself in a place where it moldiness find a means of relating with the rest of the world religions, violating the fundamental belief in a single way to salvation. In addition, some of the class periods of other religions meet the Christian threshold for classification as idolatry. This just serves to compute the points of conflict.Further on, the modern world, especially those parts where democracy is dominant, acceptance in matters such as homosexuality is encouraged. This becomes a difficult undertaking for a tralatitious Christian, as it is excruciating for them to reconcile the practice of the Christian faith with homosexuality and therefore will demand a renouncement of the practice of homosexuality before Christian fellowship can commence. Another region of difficulty for the Christian faith has been the place of women in leaders. Feministic influence has pervaded traditional Christian leadership set up where formal overall leadership was the preserve of men.The Catholic Church still holds to this ideal, while the Anglican discourse has opened its priesthood in women. Protestant congregations and denominations seem to have much more flexibility in the matter, with a large number of women pastors and bishops, in some cases as the overall head of a denomination. Radicalization of faith has brought its share of problems to the world in general. Smart (2000) says, Other sects are, in principle or in practice, at odds with society, and seek to change it radically, possibly by disintegration and uph eaval. Many people view Christianity as a occidental religion.Those who have any disagreements with the west therefore consider Christianity as a legitimatize representative of the west. In countries where Christians are in the minority, militant religious fundamentalists have attacked them or their institutions as revenge against the west. State control has also had its lagger at the Christian faith. Most of the socialist states such as the causality USSR and China have had a very rigid stance against religion in general and Christianity has suffered as one of them. In others, proselytizing is illegal and attracts wicked penalty. The spread of the Christian faith remains impeded thus.The Christian message along with that of other world religions has become more difficult to tell on in a materialistic society. People do not see why they should wait for a coming glory when they can have the good behavior now made possible by modernization, which has by and large increased th e living standards in the world, most pronounced in the western world. Then again, the new forms of social and economic organization promised a richer life here and now (Smart, 2000, p. 138) It will be interesting to see how Christianity evolves in the coming age when each of these forces will have had sufficient time to unleash their full impact.