Thur«., Sept 23, 1976 SANDY (Ore.) POST - 21
The s o u l-s e a rc h e rs
Religion today: Revival? Renewal? Rejection?
«EXks is tke Ju st in a m ie s oj m-deptt stones
about <eiigioh and tte xefigious in £ a s t uM uituomat and
uWoxtteast Ciacfcawas counties.
Story
by Helen Hanson
Post
photos
hy Sue Lafky
What am I? Why am I here?
here am I going1 ”
These questions arise when
i individual realizes that he is
t im mortal and there is a
a son to die.
The answers range from
here's one time around and
iis" through reincarnation or
i few more opportunities todo
right” to “ you were made by
ixl, to serve Him on earth and
heaven ”
F ro m Assembly of God
rough Seventh-day Adventist,
>me 15 church bodies meet in
ie Post circulation area This
im ber does not include Bible
udies or prayer groups which
round.
These church congregations
inge from less than 20 to some
-veral hundred persons who
icet together regularly.
According
to
the
ncyclopedia Britannica Book
f the y e a r, there were
25,504,750 adherents of the
;oman C ath olic, Eastern
•rthodos
and
Protestant
eligions in North America in
976 This figure represented an
urease of 1,365,750 For the
ame period, membership in
he
C hristian
churches
hrnughout the world declined
iy 80,041,050.
The demonstrations and riots
4 the Sixties, social unrest and
he war In Vietnam were
■oupled with rejection of old
ine churches by youth.
Substituted
were
In
vestigation of mysticism, the
iccult and mind-expanding
religions. From Baha'i to Zen,
the number of followers in
America has passed the million
mark
Since the World Missionary
Conference in Edinburgh in
1010, an ecumenical movement
has been growing within the
Christian community.
The
W orld
Council of
Churches was formed In 1048
with 144 denominations par
ticipating. By the mid-Sixties,
this group represented almost
50
m illio n
m em bers
of
Christian churches, chiefly
Protestant and Orthodox. The
movement
is
based
on
Christian unity, both spiritual
and corporate.
Critics of the ecumenicul
movement charge that it is an
amalgamation of all religious
denominations
into
one
gigantic organization.
They also term the ec-
numenical movement as "new
theology” which departs from
the doctrines of historic
Christianity and replaces the
gospel of the Bible with a social
gospel of problem-solving in the
world.
Cutting
across
the
denominational lines is another
world movement In the early
1960s an a rtic le in L ife
Magazine written by D r John
MacKay of Union Theological
Seminary and of the World
Council of Churches described
what he termed a "third
force”
em erging
in
Christendom
Thia force he described was
neither Protestant nor Catholic
but coming from their church
m em bers,
it
was
neo-
Pentecostal
Pentecostal groups basically
belive in the manifestations of
the Holy Spirit as described by
Paul in I Corinthians, chapter
12. Speaking in tongues,
prophecy, healing of the sick
and divine revelation are the
Pentecostal hallmarks.
The Bible is taken literally as
the inspired word of God, and
believers refer to being "born-
again
C h ris tia n s "
to
acknowledge a commitment to
Jesus Chkist.
It is the Joining of the neo-
Pentecostals
from
the
P r e s b y te r ia n ,
C a th o lic ,
Episcopal, Baptist, Methodist
and
other
tra d itio n a l
denom inations
w ith
Pen
tecostals from the churches
they found in the early part of
this century that D r MacKay
recognized as a third force
among Christians.
It was Pope John who told
Catholics "Renew your won
ders in our time, as though for a
new Pentecost " and it was in
the late 1960s the Roman
Catholics associated with Notre
D am e
U n iv e rs ity
began
speaking in tongues.
The Jesus Movement which
also emerged among young
people in the Sixties sent them
first into religious communes
and then with long hair and
bare feet Into churches where
the teaching was from the Bible
without dilution.
Many of the various religious
beliefs, with the obvious ex
ception
of Judaism
are
represented by churches,
meetings and gatherings of
adherents of area churches
Many of them will be discussed
in the Post in the coming
weeks
Some churches a re ex
periencing revival, others are
seeking methods to keep the
membership they have on their
rolls. New assemblies of
believers are forming and
meeting wherever they can find
space.
O ther
churches
a re
revamping their Sunday school
form at in an effort to attract
second generation members
who no longer attend. Gospel
rock, more socials, a minister
which draws people to one in Christendom?
for youth and representation on from three Sunday morning church or is the attraction in
What’s going on in the
the governing body of the services together for an
religious community? The Post
what the pastor teaches?
church are methods tried to evening meeting
Is there revival and renewal will try to find out.
Is there a personality cult
keep young people coming to
church.
Missing in membership in
m any
churches
a re
parishioners between the mid
teens and late twenties
One mountain area church is
meeting in the living room of a
home until a church home can
be found. There are also
several church related camp
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necessity of holding services at
Today thru Saturday Sapt 2 5 ,1 9 7 6
the old Gresham fairgrounds to
Cidar Sbed
bring all of its churchgoers
FredMeyer
Nutrition Centers
C a m p Fire o rg a n iz e s
The M t Hood Council Camp
Fire is developing a file for
youth of agencies and service
organizations
interested
in
enlisting young people as
volunteers in agency efforts.
To Choose a Gas
Pump . . . Instead
of a Tree
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