The Christian world is changing significantly, according to this article at the Philadelphia Inquirer:

In 1960, there were an estimated 50 million evangelical Christians in the West, and 25 million in the rest of the world; today, there are an estimated 75 million in the West, and 325 million in the rest of the world (representing about 20 percent of the two billion Christians worldwide), according to Robert Kilgore, chairman of the board of the missionary organization Christar.

The point of the article is that even though Christianity flowered and spread in Europe and North America, it is now fading in the West and taking root in Asia, Africa, and South America. A few years back I recall reading about an American who was touring some of Europe's more famous cathedrals. During one of these tours, the guide rather proudly pointed out that Europe's cathedrals and churches are empty now because Europeans are abandoning Christianity for paganism. Just as the rise of the Christian church squeezed out paganism a millennium ago, explained the guide, the pagans are now exacting their terrible revenge.

Although I'm not very surprised by this development - history tells us we should expect sweeping changes of this sort as the centuries pass - it is rather shocking to see it happening before our very eyes. Some people lament the fact that the West is not the cultural center of Christianity anymore, but I don't see why the kingdom of God is better off with a Western flavor than with an African or an Asian one. It seems that if we look at the West with the image this article paints in our mind, we would have to say that the Enlightenment has been (thus far) a success, as western civilization has increasingly abandoned traditional religions for secularism and, in some cases, the new paganism of New Age beliefs.

The article also paints a picture of a future clash of civilizations as growing Christian and Islamic populations may come into conflict. There is a lot of hubbub today about the clash of radical Islam with democratic secular societies, but it is very possible that one of the most pressing international issues of the next few centuries will be this clash of religions, with the Islam-democracy battle fading into the background as secular societies diminish.

As far as the spread of the kingdom of God is concerned, consider this from the article:

The new evangelicals are more exuberant in their worship services; put more faith in spiritual healing, prophecy and visions; and read the Bible more literally than many of their Western cousins.

Why is this? I think we have to admit that the most successful missionaries over the past decades have been our charismatic and pentecostal brothers and sisters, and the third world in some sense is following the Third Wave. But why are they more successful, exactly? There are probably multiple reasons, but I think the main reason is also the simplest: they stress the powerful working of the Holy Spirit more than, say, Southern Baptists. Since it's something they focus on, God seems to work in greater power in their ministries. Evangelicals in the Reformed tradition are quick to point out the deficiencies in some Charismatic theology (particularly the "health and wealth" gospel, which has many adherents in Africa, for example). Many of these complaints are legitimate. However, I think most evangelicals would be surprised at how traditionally orthodox many of these Christians in the rest of the world are. They believe in the Trinity, and in the virgin birth, and in justification by faith, and in the infallibility of Scripture, and all of that. But they add to this an emphasis on healing and the power of the Spirit.

One final point: there are commentators on the far left who see Christianity - especially any brand of the church that seeks to proselytize others - as a sort of western imperialism that evangelizes other nations and cultures only as a way of gaining power over them. The work of missionaries is seen as primarily a political or a racist enterprise. I have heard Christianity referred to as the "white man's religion." Well, not any more. Western "whites" have largely forsaken the gospel that was once such an important feature of their cultural life. They have abandoned the riches of God for the man-centered refuse of this present world. Is it any wonder that God would then choose to glorify Himself in other parts of the world? When all is said and done, there will probably be only a small sliver of whiteness in the vast sea of faces that stands before the throne of God, and that's a good thing too.

[HT: Smart Christian]