William G. Justice

Seven Deadly Sins of Dying Churches William G. Justice

The church insists that Christians are people who have been "converted," "regenerated," "born anew," and set free from the habitual practice of sin. Whereas the church should be expected to positively influence society, the degenerating North American society is clearly influencing the church. Since Christians have been taught to love one another, we want to believe that we live by a higher moral-ethical code than non-Christians. But something's wrong. Among the pieces of evidence: the divorce rate of 50% among the general population in the U. S. is even higher in the church. Seventy-five percent of all family sexual abuse occurs in "religious" homes. Ninety-seven percent of all persons confined to our prisons claim to be religious on the day they are first confined. Some of the major Christian bodies in the USA are already dying. While the population grows, church attendance declines. The author attempts to reduce the "reasons" that many churches have lost their life-transforming influence on their members to seven deadly sins. The author believes that churches must repent from these sins if it is to do more than merely survive, and if it is to conduct Christ's redemptive ministry to the world.