Well folks, another Christmas is in the books!
Christmas 2K16 is officially behind us. The eggnog has been consumed. Gifts gifted. Food coma endured. And for those brave souls who took on a real tree this year, its pine needles are officially all over the floor and will be mysteriously appearing in random crevices for the next 4 months.

Ever since I was of “appropriate age,” my family has always gone to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. It is one of my favorite memories and traditions. The caroling at 11pm. The candles. The trumpets. For the past, say, 15+ years, we have been going, and every year, we’d always get there right at 11:00, throwing elbows, and staking out our pew, as it is always standing room only. And don’t even bother coming at 11:15…because there will be no parking and you’re guaranteed to be standing – two deep – in the back.

But over the past couple years, I’ve noticed that each Christmas, we don’t have to arrive quite as early. And the full-court-press/box-out/battle-to-the-death to get and save a pew has ever so gradually deescalated.
Until this year.
When the church was half empty.
Half empty.
For Midnight Mass. Christmas Eve.
There wasn’t a snow storm. The zombie apocalypse hasn’t happened….unless of course, I am terribly mistaken about that one..

But where the heck was everyone?
And I couldn’t help but ask myself, as I looked around and saw several dozen teenage boys counting the ceiling tiles, looking as though they wanted to die…is our faith on life support?
Are we experiencing the decline of faith and church as we know it?
Is Christianity dead?
And that friends, is not the type of thought pattern you want to be mulling over while in church, literally celebrating the birth of Christ.
As with everything in life, looking in the mirror is a hard thing to do. Facing the truth, acknowledging and accepting it…is an exercise in extreme humility, to say the least.
But let’s call it how it is…we are experiencing a decline in Christianity. Look it up. Pew studies. People identifying as Christian. Church attendance. Prayer. Christians actively living their faith are going down. Especially in Gen X’ers and Millennials.
And that. Is scary.
Leafing through the church bulletin after mass, I was almost in a fog. Nevermind the fact that it was nearing 2am and I had just come off a 7am flight from NYC the day before…but my mind was just swirling after witnessing the stagnant, lifeless state of my once vibrant and spiritually ablaze childhood parish. So I was numbly flipping through the pages.
And there was something that caught my eye.
There was, of course, a big “welcome” section in the front. Offering Christmas greetings to parishioners, out-of-towners, guests, non-Christians joining us, etc. All nice. Great.
And then there was the line, “We are your church family and are here for you!”
And I hate to admit this, but I’ve got to be honest….that really rubbed me the wrong way. It felt painfully disingenuous.
There’s a stereotype about “church people.” And I for one, hate even giving the time of day to negative stereotypes about people. Because they’re always hurtful and typically untrue.
But desperate times…
There is a decline in our faith, and it’s time to not mince words and take a cold, hard look in the mirror. Because like it or not, we are the face of the church.
But the stereotype is that “church people” are incredibly “judgey” people. That they prance around all hoity-toity and look down on “non-church people” and scoff at their “heathen ways.”

And we, as the face of the church, what are we going to do about that?
How are we going to fix that?
Because I can attest to the fact that that stereotype is, for the most part, false.
But the commonly accepted (albeit misconceived) notion is that church is a boring, out-of-touch institution that is full of either judgy snobs, dowdy/orthopedic-shoe-wearing shut-ins, or “Jesus-freaks.”
And people don’t want anything to do with that.
So they just don’t come.
And I want to pause here for a second. I know this is only one factor. There are a lot of other issues – people having different priorities, having other interests, adopting “spirituality” while leaving behind “religion.” Not to mention the church’s often unpopular stances on hot button social issues, such as abortion and the sanctity of marriage, etc. This stereotype is only one contributing factor.
But you and I…we have a personal responsibility.

We have a job to do: and that is to change that stereotype. Turn people’s minds around. Change their hearts to be open to Christ and open to faith.
Is Christianity dead?
Only if we let it.
You can’t give away what you don’t personally have.
And if I want to share Christ’s love and have it be attractive and inviting to another person, I need to have it in my heart myself. I need to have His love be overflowing in my own life, so as to attract another person to Him. And attract them back to church.

The pathetic church attendance on Christmas Eve…I partially blame myself. Because I ask myself…how am I personally fighting to set the record straight on how a “church person” looks and acts.
Because I’m going to be honest…(and I hate to admit it)…but I don’t really wear my faith outspokenly on my sleeve, for fear of being labeled a “church person.”

And I am filled with such shame typing that out, but it’s true. I don’t want to be labeled as “weird” or “out of touch” … so I keep my faith private. Let that be a personal part of my life that is between me and God.
But I realize now, that I am part of the problem.
My faith can’t be hidden. I can’t just be a silent by-stander as my church is red lining, in desperate need of rebranding and resuscitation.

Christianity is not dead. It is alive in our hearts. In our homes. In our prayers. But that is not enough.
I’m going to go out on a limb. For God. Invite someone to church with me.
Because at the end of the day, if Jesus can stretch out His arms and die on a limb for me, I can go out on one, for Him.
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Thank you for sharing this. It is a message that more need to hear. The Church is not dead. Christianity is not dead. But (!) both are ill. Both are suffering from severe apathy. Many have turned away from the church and many have turned away form God but the good news is that Jesus has not turned away from them. He still waits with open arms:
Come, ye sinners, poor and needy,
Weak and wounded, sick and sore;
Jesus ready stands to save you,
Full of pity, love and power.
We are the Church. The Church is not a building, it is the Body of Christ who worship together and go out into the world on a mission. The mission is to share His pity, love and power with all who would come to Him. We are His hands and feet and we are His heart and Spirit in the world. With His eyes we can look compassion onto the poor in spirit… we can bring them the blessing of knowing Jesus.
You are the Church and you have a mission. You can not keep your light under a bushel. ( Matthew 5:14–15, Mark 4:21–25 and Luke 8:16–18.) You (Yes, you!!!) are to be salt and light in this world. Jesus has no hands but yours, he has no feet but yours. You are His voice and His compassion in the world. His light is to be revealed not concealed. He did not come just for you but He came for all.
God Bless.
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Hi oogata, thank you so much for this powerful and thoughtful response. Both are ill, that’s a really interesting way to put it. Yeah, we need to be proactive and reawaken the passion. And amen tot that: Jesus IS waiting with open arms. Yes! We are the church- let’s let that light shine. Hugs to you xox
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A great post. Christianity and all other religions are under threat from secularism and I think that you are right that Christians such as yourself need to speak out more. Also I was very influenced by doing the Evangelical Alpha Course which aims to reconnect people with Christianity. I didn’t become a Christian as I decided that 12 Step fellowships were enough for me and my recovery but I am very friendly towards Christianity and think it is the best religion in the world in terms of the social good it does. I’m not so keen on Catholicism because of their stance on women priests but I believe it is evangelical protestant movements that are growing globally more than Catholicism at the moment. 🙂
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Great post! I agree. Jesus is worth us taking risks and telling more people about what he did. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
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Thanks so much Lisa, I really appreciate your kind words. God is good! Hugs and love xox
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Reblogged this on The Progressive Christian Blog and commented:
some thoughts on why Christianity must be kept alive and robust for future generations…..
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Thanks for the reblog! Hugs and love xox
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Love it, written very well.
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Thanks so much. Glad you enjoyed it. Hugs and love xox
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EYE AM THE SECOND COMING
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Your observations reminded me of a “Thought for the Week” I recently shared in a congregation’s newsletter after reading articles of more & more Christians being martyred around the globe: “Why are my Christian brothers and sisters around the world willing to die for Christ when the ‘Christians’ around me are not even willing to live for Him?” What you shared were descriptions of what has been deemed the “Post-Christian” era. It is also one of the reasons why I started my blog.
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Thank you so much for your thoughtful response. That’s so true-people die for the faith. Oh to be so bold. Thanks for sharing your powerful perspective. Hugs and love xox
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Take care of yourself [[hug]]
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❤😘❤😘❤😘
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Loved your post! it’s sad but so true in so many ways and you are so right to say that only we can change the world’s perception of “the church”. And it begins with one of the most important commandments – LOVE. Love your neighbour as yourself, therefore you need to love yourself first, so you can love the world the way God intended it to be loved. Only by loving the unlovable can we demonstrate that Christianity is a relationship, not a religion. It’s a way of life, not an ideology, it is deeper than any theology … it is so much more. And once you love people the way the Father intended it becomes very difficult to judge and exclude them. Sending so many blessings for an awesome read!
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Thank you so much for this thoughtful response! Yes LOVE! So important and needed right now! Thanks for stopping by xox
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I really enjoyed reading your thoughts. Christians are taking it on the chin lately, and are being labeled elitist, deluded, narrow-minded, judgmental, and behind the times. Suddenly, it’s against the rules to say the name of Jesus out loud in school when His is the only Name that gives us life. We’re being executed by ISIS en mass when we admit we are Christians. We are, of course, suffering for His sake as he predicted. Here’s one huge difference between Christianity and Islam: We want to introduce the whole world to the love and the life of Jesus Christ, to encourage people to believe that the crucifixion was real; that Christ died for our sins; that no amount of animal sacrifice or “good works” can possibly erase our sin and make us righteous. Without the power of Jesus in our lives, we remain in bondage to the flesh, to self, to strongholds. Islamic extremists truly belief it is the will of Allah to physically conquer the whole planet, establishing a giant caliphate, murdering anyone who will not convert. The infidels must be pushed out of Islamic territories. The Quran contains at least 109 verses that call Muslims to war with non-believers for the sake of Islamic rule. Some are quite graphic, with commands to chop off heads and fingers and kill infidels wherever they may be hiding. Muslims who do not join the fight are called ‘hypocrites’ and warned that Allah will send them to Hell if they do not join the slaughter. Quran 4:95 criticizes “peaceful” Muslims who do not join in the violence, letting them know that they are less worthy in Allah’s eyes. It also demolishes the modern myth that “Jihad” doesn’t mean holy war in the Quran, but rather a spiritual struggle. Quran 8:12 states, “I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them.” To me, Islam is a religion of exclusion, not Christianity. Christians leave the fate of man up to God, not to Christians. Islam preaches hate from the pulpit. I find it less embarrassing to be a Christian. Jesus Christ was sent to Earth as the sin solution. Jehovah does not tell us to go out and chop off the heads and fingertips of those who choose not to believe in Him. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No man can come to the Father except through Him.
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Thanks for this thoughtful reflection. I appreciate you sharing this perspective. We are definitely living in an unprecedented time in a lot of ways. All we can do is pray for peace 🙂 Hugs and love xox
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Thank you for this profound, wise, and honest blog. God bless you with joy and success in 2017 and beyond. Let’s pray that all the readers of this marvelous blog take it to heart: may we all go out on a limb to share Jesus just as He went out on the limb for us. God bless.
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Hi Stephanie! oh wow, thank you so much for this thoughtful response! I’m so glad you enjoyed the read! 🙂 gosh, I am touched by your kind words. Yes! Let’s pray for both of our ministries 🙂 big hugs to you xox
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Very true post! We can’t be afraid to speak about who we love which is Jesus ! I have also been kind of quiet about my faith and excused that with being too busy but that is not an acceptable excuse at all. So, I in particular need to work on that and speak up more. However, yes, I am a Jesus Geek or what some would like to prefer as Jesus “Freak”. Regardless, as long as we stand for Jesus, he will stand with us!
God bless you!
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Thank you so much! What a kind reflection. you’re right, we need to stand up for Jesus, because He stood up for us 🙂 Thanks for stopping by! big hugs xo
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Good Afternoon again. I’d like to take time to address some of your points in our blog sometime in the next few months, if I may. Christmas was the time when we were excluded from our parish by the assistant priest; while I agree with the thrust of your argument, that each of us has a personal responsibility, if the pastors do not have the ‘smell of the sheep’ about them the community is severely compromised from the outset.
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Hey Will, thank you for sharing this perspective. Those are some really interesting thoughts. Definitely some great food for thought! Hugs and love xox
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Thank you for your thoughts. I appreciated your last line. “Because at the end of the day, if Jesus can stretch out His arms and die on a limb for me, I can go out on one, for Him.” I also thank you for regularly reading my Good Morning messages. We will continue to so what we can to share God’s good news, and seek to let people know that our Lord has a good life He wants them to share.
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oh thanks for your kind words. Yes, He gave it all, so I can give a little for Him 🙂 you’re so welcome! God is good! hugs xo
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I do not think it is dead. I think we need to come off the sugar coated version of what it truly is. Nowadays all we want to hear about are the good things that are to come. But that is hard to convince anyone of when they look around and do not see much good. The angels and the peacefulness of heaven are all we will talk about. We won’t speak on the horrible death of the Founder of Christianity nor that of many others over the last two thousands it took to build the church. We have become too self-righteous and too luke-warm. We won’t speak on the fact there is a real spiritual enemy out to destroy the church. Like secular world we pretend the dark forces doesn’t exist. We have forsaken Christianity. It has not forsaken us.
Must Jesus bear the cross alone,
and all the world go free?
No, there’s a cross for everyone,
and there’s a cross for me.
We, today cringe at these words above. We aren’t willing to bear a cross, we want everything to be goody-goody gumdrops 24/7 and when it isn’t we are not willing plow through things as the early Christians did. If we aren’t willing to do anything out of our comfort zone, then how do we expect the world to believe we truly believe this Man is the Son of God?
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Thank you so much for this powerful perspective. You’re right. We are called to carry our cross with Jesus. That is so powerful. Thanks for giving us this awesome nugget of insight to mull over today. Hugs and love xox
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This was really very good. Perhaps the problem is reading the same book for 2000 years losses it’s mystery. There are only so many ways to read the book and by now people think that they have it covered and just watch a TV bible story instead of going to church. Perhaps it isn’t about a book and that gets lost in church sermons that try to stick with just the book. What was the real point of the writing. The writers were ancient poets and many of the poems were written hundreds of years after the fact. They aren’t literal transcripts of conversations. A group of men voted on what went in the bible and several poems were not included. How can anyone vote on whether God said something or not? Its the overall meaning of the collection of stories that would seem most important and I don’t get that feeling from all of the churches I have been to. Give it some thought, love your work.
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Thank you so much for this thoughtful response. I think to a lot of people, faith feels like it’s not needed or that it’s out of touch. We must seek to have people have true encounters in Christ, through our conversations, through how we treat others and acts of service. Thanks for th thought provoking comment. Hugs and love xox
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There is a question I often ask people. ” If God was down at the street corner would you rush to greet Him or would you run the other way.” I believe so many have poor faith and have behaved poorly and would be ashamed or even afraid to face God. This is not such an easy question to answer, but we should all consider the question from time to time.
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That is such a great question to ask yourself. Thanks again for sharing. Xox
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Thanks for the Like on my post, A Silent Christian Speaks – Part One. Your post, Is Christianity Dead? also resonated with me. We use different words and a different style, but we both are trumpeting a similar message. May God bless, guide and protect you as you continue to witness for Him. Keep up the great work!
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You’re so welcome Dennis! I’m glad it resonated with you:) thanks for stopping by! Hugs and love xox
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Loved this! Yet I am one who was raised Catholic but no longer attends church. I also no longer consider myself a Chtistian but a discipline of Christ. Why? Because of the attitude many Christians have of pointing out other people’s wrongs and judging them when they themselves are sinners. The simplest command Jesus gave was “love one another.” Not seeing much of that in today’s world. However it is one I am trying to live by when dealing with others, even those I choose to walk away from. I would love to find a church which is based in this, even if that means leaving my roots of Catholicism behind. I will say, despite not having a place to worship and celebrate with others, my spirituality has deepened in leaps and bounds. Without God and His grace, I would not be where I am today or who I am today.
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Hey again Annie! Thanks so much for sharing this. Loving one another is definitely definitely important. Especially in our interactions with others, because we may be the only Gospel they ever encounter. His grace really is amazing. Hugs to you xox x
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The subject of this post is one of the greatest challenges for the Church in our culture. Local bodies of believers have cloistered together into ‘spiritual country clubs.’ Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent building and maintaining great facilities across this country. We want to draw people into the building so our ‘hired guns,’ the vocational staff can win them over. Jesus made it clear in His Seminal Sermon to His followers – The Sermon on the Mount – that we are to be His witnesses to our culture, and to be salt and light in our communities. “Let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven,” We must take back the marketplace. The assembly of believers is for us to recoop, get spiritually fed and worship our God..Many of us beyond age 40 probably have some warm memories of worship services as children. Unfortunately, the Church was being lulled to sleep by the momentum of spirituality from past generations. I believe God will lay the fall of our culture at the feet of the Church in the US. BUT . . . the Church thrives under persecution. It will never die! Thank you for your honesty in addressing your internal struggle, one that I can certainly relate to.
And, by the way, thanks for liking my post!
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Hey there! Thanks so much for your thoughtful reply. You’re right it is definitely a challenge. And you’re right, we are called to be His witnesses. Let let that light shine. Thanks for stopping by. Hugs and love xox .
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Well said! No one puts the light of Jesus out of us but us! So always be the light!
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Amen! Let’s be the light! Thanks for stopping by! big hugs xox
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Wonderfully put! Thank you!
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thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed the piece. hugs xo
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Thank you for this post. I hadn’t read it prior to my most recent post but they seem to dovetail nicely with one another.
The body of Christ and the buildings themselves are, in my opinion, both on life support. There are too many attending church who only want the ‘feel good’ part of Christianity. They don’t want to discuss the issue of demonic forces or the rise of evil in the world.
I don’t know where you stand with all of that but I do know that the threat is real and Jesus spoke of this in His revelation to John.
We are living in desperate times and we need to wake up before it’s too late.
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Thanks Joe! You’re right, we need to wake up and be Christ’s hands and feet in the world. big hugs xox
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Just reading this blog. After watching Right to Life March today, I think we can have great faith, there were many young people and they were very enthusiastic about saving the unborn. Also, my church was full this year, 4 PM on Sat. afternoon. There was a short children’s play 15 min. before, the priest sat with the kids down front before the sermon and talked about their gift of love to Jesus. It was beautiful to see. God always wins, we just have to witness to His love.
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Wow what a powerful thing. You’re right-God always wins. We need to boast His love. Big hugs to you xox
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I just reread this today. I realized that I neglected to comment the 1st time that I read it. Thank you for sharing your honest thoughts on the state of Christianity. As a member of the fast growing Evangelical Non denomination church, I have a slightly different perspective. That said, I agree, our courage in sharing our personal Christian walk with our friends & coworkers is key. I find that sharing the Gospel with my clients can be exhilarating. I picture Jesus cheering every time we share the Gospel or just bless someone.
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Hi James! Oh gosh thank you so much for taking the time to read this a second time! Oh yes! I bet He’s cheering through a megaphone:) haha thanks for stopping by! Hugs and love xox
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[…] answer Caralyn, Is Christianity Dead?, we can take comfort in the words of Jesus. Millennials are fleeing the […]
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Thank you for the link up! Hugs and love xox
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“There is a decline in our faith, and it’s time to not mince words and take a cold, hard look in the mirror. Because like it or not, we are the face of the church.
But the stereotype is that “church people” are incredibly “judgey” people. That they prance around all hoity-toity and look down on “non-church people” and scoff at their “heathen ways.””
This is everything! I, too, don’t always wear my Christianity on my sleeve for fear of being a judgy church person…one of those people. Absolutely striving to change that. I’m sharing this post!
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Thank you so much for your kind response. Yes! Me too! We can work on it together:) big hugs xox
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I always keep myself open to be used by the Trinity. I never push or preach my beliefs of the Trinity to others unless I’m called to do so. At least, that is His will and righteousness of me at this point in my life. Same with my career as an actor…I do my acting until He calls me to another assignment. I no longer follow religion; rather, I follow Christ on a daily basis; and, for me, this is much more challenging than following the rules of the Catholic Church — for me, the Trinity knows it is best for me to leave the Catholic Church at least for this part of my life. He might call me back to the Catholic Church, but I doubt it; because, I have a deeper and more mature relationship with Him since I left the Catholic Church.
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Oh wow! I didn’t know you were an actor! That’s so awesome! And what a great perspective to have on that. You’re right – go where He leads in your career! 🙂 and thank you for sharing that – im glad you have a deeper connection with Him. Hugs and love xox
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I was happy to learn you act, as well — especially, as a child. I hope to see you on-set one day. I’m happy you’re exploring and writing about your experiences with Him. I realize you’ve been through some very challenging experiences; and, it is great to read you positive attitude and your faith in Him.
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Aw thanks again:) me too! Wouldn’t that be wild! 🙂 xox
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Thank you for your like – now I see that you are one of those who practice as they preach. There should definetly be more people like you out there… The fact is, that heathens can be just as judgmental as any other religion!
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Ohgosh what a kind thing to say! Thank you so much! Glad you stopped by. Hugs and love xox
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Reblogged this on truethoughtsofateenagegirl and commented:
Is Christianity dead? Only if we let it be. This is a great post by ‘beautybeyondbones’ ❤
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Thank you so much for the reblog and the kind words! big hugs xox
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[…] One of Agnellus’ friends, who writes as Beauty Beyond Bones, was moved on Boxing Day to ask, Is Christianity Dead? […]
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[…] respond to BBB’s blog, ‘Is Christianity Dead?’ which you’ll find re-blogged here. In the next few days I’ll follow Doug with some reflections on particular points raised by […]
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Thanks for the reblog! Hugs and love xox
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I enjoyed looking at your blog and reading some of your posts. thanks for visiting mine.
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No prob, Nancy. thanks! glad you stopped by! hugs xo
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I don’t combat on This topic , I will hair say , if you seek God dearly with great enthusiasim you will find him , you must be resilient ….
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Yes! we must be resilient and seek Him! xx
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This was a really great post I’ve sent it to my whole family!
Many Blessings, Grace.
https://myblessingbygrace.com/blog/
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Oh my gosh, Grace, wow! thank you so much! I am honored that you would pass this along to your loved ones! you are so wonderful! thank you!! hugs xo
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You’re welcome! 🙂
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🙂 🙂 🙂 xoxo 🙂 🙂 🙂
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This post was absolutely amazing. I constantly struggle with hiding my faith for fear that people will think I’m one of those “church people” that you described. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people out there that fit the stereotype and I don’t want people to categorize me as soon as they find out that I am a Christian. This was very encouraging to me and makes me want to be more open about my faith. Everyone who knows me knows that I’m a Christian but I’m definitely not as bold as others. If God isn’t ashamed to love us, why should we be ashamed to show the world that we love Him?
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Thanks so much for this thoughtful reflection. so glad it resonated with you. You’re so right, we should feel free to express our love for Jesus 🙂 thanks for stopping by! big hugs xo
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Caralyn…excellent post.
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Thanks Barton. I really appreciate it. Hugs and love xox
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I happened on this because you showed up as liking one of my posts last year when I wrote under ChristianParanormal. That like still shows up even though I deleted the site. And this article caught my eye. You raise uncomfortable points, and that’s why I like it. You’ve made me think about some things. I’m grateful. Peace.
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Hi Michael, thanks so much for this reflection. I’m so glad it made you think 🙂 Hugs and love xox
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Christianity will never be dead because Jesus is forever alive and it is he that is the head of the church. We being the bricks of such a great building, have a role to play in bringing the love of God to others. We are the body of the church of God. If we don’t share the love of Jesus, who will? God hated the sin, never the sinner. It’s not up to us to judge. Our duty is to love.. . . .
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Thanks for this awesome response. you are so right! we are the body of Christ! and it is definitely our duty to love! thanks for stopping by! big hugs xx
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[…] do it by letting God shine through […]
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[…] do it by letting God shine through […]
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thanks again x
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Amen! This has been weighing on my heart heavily this past month or two. As someone who is trying to minister to others in my life, I have to make sure that I can give advise and direction without being a pharisee. Thank you for this great post and your courage!
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Thanks so much Maddy. Yeah I feel ya there! Hugs and love xox
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Thank you for this post, I feel you and may we stand strong as ambassadors for Christ and His church :). Have a blessed Holy Week!
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thank you so much Teresa! same to you! you’re on a reading roll tonight 🙂 thanks for stopping by! Hugs and love xox
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You have just liked one of my blog posts so I thought hey let’s go to see what she likes to talk about. Even though we are not from the same faith, I fully agree with you. We need to be the lights that will attract others to the Gospel.
I live in a country where religion isn’t as public as in United States ; you can have your religion but it’s a private matter. But I try as much as I can to let people know of my faith. I make them ask me questions, and every time some core values are at stake in a situation I never hesitate to let them know what I think as a believer, without trying to impose my view on others. And I must say that people are interested in that kind of behavior. Because even though they might not share all your views, they appreciate that you have values and you stand by them. This is so rare nowadays …
I think we must show our light is attract others, without trying to rule their lives, but showing and testifying how God changed our life. He changed mine in a so profound way that I cannot stay silent about it.
Thanks for your like on my post and for this post.
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Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on this Yann. Yes let’s show our light! Hugs and love xox
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I once told a Christian friend about my struggles with my new marriage. Being married to a foreigner, we had more first-year troubles than just the normal differences between newlyweds. We were from different lands, spoke different languages. Seeking advice, my Christian friend said smugly “Well…you know…we (referring to her and her husband) don’t ever fight…because you know, we attended pre-marital classes, so we never fight.” And that was all she said. No help. No advice. No compassion for my tears. Nothing. Just snub judgment. I didn’t speak to her much after that.
Another example-when I was in college, a girl had talked to one of my Christian friends and then came to me. She said-“you know my boyfriend and I live together and I just wanted advice but all she kept saying was ‘no, you shouldn’t be living together’ and that’s it, but that just doesn’t apply to my situation. I can’t just move out. I have nowhere to go. What should I do?” I can’t remember anymore what exactly she needed help with or what advice I gave, but the main thing she was looking for was just a friend to talk with.
Christians need to remember that people are human beings, precious people with hearts and minds and souls. None of us makes perfect decisions all the time. Sometimes we are sinful. Sometimes we don’t realize. Sometimes we get into situations we can’t get out of.
My point is that Christians need to give grace and love first, then judge later, if it is righteous judgment of course at the right time. We should seek wisdom and love above all else. My husband and I have been married more than ten years. We have two kids and he is the love of the life. “Pre-marital counseling” was not a possibility for us, as we lived in different countries, among other things. But I knew 100% that he was my godly husband. A little wise advice and a caring friend would have helped me survive our first year of marriage a little bit better.
Thanks for this post. I love your website! You are beautiful!
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Thank you so much, Ana for sharing your heart in this thoughtful response. So many important points. You’re right – grace and love. Hugs and love xox
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When it comes to church attendance, probably should look at countries that aren’t predominantly Christian. For instance here in Dubai, the churches see the highest numbers in attendance only twice a year. I bet you can guess when those times are…
When you read the bible and the stories of the amazing things done by the apostles, you wonder if that is even all possible. Christianity was this tiny flame and it was being carefully nurtured and spread just to keep it alive.
However since its explosion into the mainstream arena, I feel that most are Christians for namesake. Either they’re born into a Christian family or convert for the sake of marriage, etc.
People like you, Caralyn, keep the fire alive. Christianity isn’t dead. Christians are…
Most have lost the identity and don’t even understand that power that lives inside of them.
If you have the Holy Spirit inside of you, there is so much in you. Every word that you speak has power. Every action that you do has power.
In the words of Spiderman, “With great power comes great responsibility.”
God gave his church the Holy Spirit, and all the church has done so far, is to ignore his voice, focus on traditions, vain arguments and denominational quarrels.
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Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts about this. Yes, we must call on the HS to be our guide! Hugs and love xox
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Good word, Missy! Thank you for being bold enough to share this. Keep it up!
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Great article. My two cents Christianity is not dead, its us Christians who are, good thing is we can resurrect.
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Thank you so much! I really appreciate that. And amen to that! Hugs and love xox
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