About a hundred and fifty years ago, Matthew Arnold wrote a poem called “The Scholar-Gypsy.” In the poem, he says we are "Light half-believers of our casual creeds."
Today, many of us are only light-weight half-believers, and we are casual about our beliefs. In fact, we often twist around the texts on which our beliefs are based—to suit ourselves and to make our lives more comfortable. If we adjust our creeds, we don’t have to suffer from guilty conscience.
I believe that is one of the main reasons membership in mainline church denominations has been shrinking in recent years. This shrinkage takes place mostly in physically comfortable places like America and Europe.
According to statistics, the Christian church is growing fastest in third-world areas like Africa and in places where it is dangerous to be a Christian, such as in China.
What does that say about us?
Light Half-Believers
http://connectionsgodandtheworld.blogspot.com/2008/11/light-half-believers.html
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