Dr Paul Allen

Andrew T Walker Given the state of our culture, what I’m about to say may sound incredibly counterintuitive—maybe even bordering on the absurd. Nonetheless, I am left with the conviction that at this present cultural moment, there has never been a better time to be a social conservative. Given the advanced state of moral debauchery in mainstream American institutions, how could I possibly say something like that? I can say that because truth finds a way to reassert itself when we learn what is false. And what is most patently false about the time we live is the belief that we can continue to sustain ourselves walking the same hollowed-out pathway that we’re currently continuing down. It’s impossible. When we look at the declining marriage rates, the rise of what we call the “loneliness epidemic,” the transgender madness transgressing the very limitations of reason and nature, the increase in suicidal ideation, and preborn human beings discarded as “medical waste,” we see the reality....

We hear a lot these days about dechurching, deconstruction, and decline. Church attendance in America is dropping. Is this a crisis or merely a correction? Is it more of a problem or an opportunity? What can we expect for the future of the American church landscape? I’m not a prophet or the son of a prophet (Amos 7:14), but I was asked recently to speak to some church leaders about that question. Here are six answers I proposed. 1. The church’s future is certain.  Amid much hand-wringing and prognostication, we must start with one absolutely sure truth: the church has a future. Our Lord Jesus Christ said so: “I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). Because Jesus promised he will build his church, we should have profound optimism about the future. Yes, your local church (or mine) may fold, split, or shrink. Individual churches and denominations will rise and fall. But the church as a whol...

There is no more urgent question for Christians than this: What’s wrong with the church and how can its life and ministry be renewed? Virtually everyone agrees something is radically wrong with the church. Inside, there’s more polarization and conflict than ever, leading all sides to agree the church is in deep trouble. Outside, journalists, sociologists, and all other observers bemoan or celebrate the church’s decline numerically, institutionally, and in influence. We must find a new way forward—to spiritual, theological, and institutional renewal—until the Christian church is thriving again, until it’s growing by appealing to and reaching people with truth and serving and changing people with love. The best method for understanding the way forward is to begin by recounting the story of the American church’s decline. Last Flourishing The American church after World War II seemed strong and flourishing. In 1952, a record 75 percent of Americans said religion was “very important” in the...

If appreciating some of the ideas in St. Augustine’s ‘Confessions’ was enough to make you a Christian,” a friend said to me some years ago, “then I’d be a Christian. But a personal God? The miracles? I can’t get there yet.” Whenever I write about the decline of organized religion in America, I get a lot of emails expressing some version of this sentiment. Sometimes it’s couched in the form of regretful unbelief: I’d happily go back to church, except for one small detail — we all know there is no God. Sometimes it’s a friendly challenge: OK, smart guy, what should I read to convince me that you’re right about the sky fairy? So this is an essay for those readers — a suggested blueprint for thinking your way into religious belief. But maybe not the blueprint you expect. Many highly educated people who hover on the doorway of a church or synagogue are like my Augustine-reading friend. They relate to religion on a communal or philosophical level. They want to pass on a clear ethical inherit...