What does the world want? People desire justice, a morality of some flavor. They thrill over a righteous cause. They need something to believe in that is true in a higher sense, bigger than oneself. They also want their problems solved. They want the practical and even luxurious accouterments of life. This is cause enough for some, though there is an added danger when base desire aligns with the pretension of righteousness.
Faith is a comfort. More than that, studies show that practitioners suffer less from stress and depression, tend to be more optimistic and have a greater sense of purpose. Benefits carry over into the physical realm, purportedly being linked to things like lower blood pressure and better immune response.
The world is grappling with progressive social values, novel problems created by technological advancement and AI, and myriad conflicts around the globe. Many believe this is causing more people to turn to faith. Reports have indicated that church attendance in the US is up, particularly among young men. Older data from Pew Research shows that Christians declined as a percentage of the global population between 2010 and 2020, despite increasing by an estimated 121 million adherents. This number was slightly exceeded by Hinduism but was less than half of the increase seen in Islam.
Europe saw the largest decline in religious affiliation. Reports indicate this is particularly true of western Europe, while eastern countries have held steady. Interestingly, growth centers for Christianity have shifted to nations in Africa and South America, places where the largest overall population growth is also taking place. Even India and China report rising numbers, despite resistance to or even outright repression of Christian practice. Perhaps research that catches up to the present day will paint a different picture in the US and Europe as well. Many of the issues that have driven more recent growth have transpired during the last five years.
The question is, is a general turning to faith or religion enough? There are some positive aspects that are obvious: Limitations on abortion, emphasis on the family unit, a return to traditional values, straightening out the nonsense surrounding “gender dysphoria” from the classroom to the Supreme Court and everywhere in between. Enshrining standards that align with God always produces good results. These are the automatic blessings of natural law.
However, religion does not necessarily align with God’s expressed will. This creates a new problem. Consider the many admonitions in scripture. Jesus quoted Isaiah, telling the religious of His day, “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:8-9 NKJV). False religion, or substituting our own ideas for God’s word is not pleasing to Him.
Moses similarly warned Israel before his death, “…evil will befall you in the latter days, because you will do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger through the work of your hands” (Deuteronomy 31:29). This is exactly the situation that will exist prior to Christ’s return. Revelation describes this false religious system as being “full of names of blasphemy” and riding upon the beast, a depiction of the world ruling power of the end time (Revelation 17). The religion is characterized as a woman, a harlot. Compare this to the church, the sum total of true worshipers, portrayed as the “bride of Christ” in 2 Corinthians 11:2, Ephesians 5:32 and Revelation 19:7. The contrast is obvious.
Christ had strong words for those who would engage in vain worship: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:21-23). These people will have actually preached in Christ’s name, but in a way that is contrary to His word and to God’s law.
In the end time, the world will worship the beast power, an individual and a system that is contrary to God. Yet, they will be directed to do so by a false prophet, an influential religious system (Revelation 13). In this context, can we view the world becoming more religious as a positive development? Not unless it is founded on the true word of God, the Bible, rather than “the commandments of men” Christ warned against.
The trend can only turn out positive if it is founded on scripture. Otherwise, it may provide some temporary social reprise, but will ultimately slide towards a type of worship that is an utter abomination in God’s eyes. During Christ’s ministry, His strongest words were against those who pretended to be religious while twisting God’s word to their own purposes.
A minister in the United Methodist Church recently announced from the pulpit that he was transitioning, claiming it was supported by the bishop, their doctrine and scripture. The first two maybe, but scripture!? Absolutely not! Still, such tortured logic is embraced by many large churches. It is utter hypocrisy. It is remaking God in the image of man’s twisted desires. It is changing evil for good, and good for evil (Isaiah 5:20).
“By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:2-3).
God is not interested in pageantry or pretense. He is not interested in the rationale behind every dark desire of man. He has seen it all before. He wants to know if you will obey. He wants know if you truly love Him and follow Him. And if you do, the only way is His way. Everything else is fake religion.
