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• Christianity will die out in 40 years
• Why Christian leaders are failing Scotland
• Italian Atheist Sues Priest Over Jesus' Existence.
• Is God Dead In Europe?
• Blessed Are The Neds
• Same Sex Marriages Arrive In Scotland
• Britons Branded Cocaine Kings of Europe
• One in Three Clergy Believe in Damnation
• Bible to be Banned From Student Halls
• Faith in God Declining Faster Than Church Visits
• Is Christianity Facing a Slow, Inevitable Death?
• Kirk Membership: a 'Catastrophic' Record Low
• The True Meaning to Life
• Churches Act to Keep Their Flocks
• Scots Losing Their Religion
• Converting a Nation of Agnostics
• University Scraps Prayers at Graduation
• Scots Death by Drink Rate Fastest in Europe

“Why Christian leaders are failing Scotland”
To Christians, Easter is a far more significant event than Christmas.  Yet this holiday weekend, you won’t see many signs of religious celebration.  To most Scots, the most memorable thing is that it is a long weekend off work.  Why is this?  Simple:  it is because Scots are fast losing interest in Christianity.  The church may have helped to shape the nation, but people have become disconnected from it to the extent that they do not even know the rudiments of their own religion.  An unholy alliance of secular liberals, impassive civil servants, trendy Left-wing politicians and the media has conspired to create a society, in which Christianity is constantly mocked and derided,
The churches also have to share a large part of the responsibility for what is happening here in Scotland.  I don’t think most Scots are antagonistic towards religion.  They just don’t see what it has to offer them.  It’s easy to see their point.  Instead of strong sermons with a solid spiritual and moral message, many churches flim-flam around with wooly theology, ‘alternative’ worship and half-baked teaching.  The few churches which are gaining ground are largely the evangelical ones, where worship is joyful, the Bible is understood and there is a strong sense of moral formation.  Ironically, the attraction of the churches’ teaching should be huge.  People are fed up with the uncertainties and cynicism of a secular age.  They have been exposed to other religions such as Islam and admire the moral strength which they display.  Even the recent interest in books such as The Da Vinci Code shows there is a real interest in the life of the historical Jesus.

In this season of resurrection, perhaps Scotland’s Christian leaders might like to think about bringing new life back into their churches.  Or the legacy of an empty tomb will be empty pews and empty morals.  And then what sort of a nation will we be then?

(The Daily Mail, Friday, April 14, 2006)