Is the Holy Spirit Misleading You?

[Jehanne]

Steve,

You know that this is absolutely false; that religious fundamentalism is in decline and secularism is on the rise.  Geesh, a mere 400 years ago anyone who was an atheist would have had their tongue torn from their mouth and then would be dragged kicking and screaming to the town square to be burned alive at the stake.  And, so, yes, times have changed, and are changing!

No, you have to distinguish between what you would like to see and what really is happening. There are more and more Christians in the world every year and atheism remains stagnant. Pew projects 750,000,000 more Christians (not even counting other religions) by 2050 and just 30,000,000 more atheists. That's 25:1. 

Come on Jehanne--you need to do better getting your compelling message out there! You're slacking!

http://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/relig...2010-2050/
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/201...opulation/

Mark Twain once said, "There are lies, damned lies, and then there's statistics."  In Europe, Christianity is fast becoming a dead religion, and Biblical fundamentalism is a rarity.  Yes, in Africa and southeast Asia, Christianity is making inroads among the ignorant, poor and oppressed, but so is Islam.  In fact, Islam is growing, also, as the population grows!

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how much screaming do folks do after their tongues are ripped out ?

You can still very much moan and even articulate sounds from one's throat.  It's absolutely disgusting, but Christians, for centuries, recognized immolation at the stake as either resulting in the salvation of a sinner, repentant or otherwise, or at least preparing a damned soul for the fires of eternal Hell, an act of mercy that would prepare the damned for the "eternal fires".