It is a preposterous thought. Christianity without Christ? Really? However, think about it. It seems to be going that way. All kinds of heretics are now getting centre stage within Christianity. Liberals are pushing their brand of Christianity and evangelicals are becoming evanjellycals.
"What would things look like if Satan really took control of a city? Over half a century ago, Presbyterian minister Donald Grey Barnhouse offered his own scenario in his weekly sermon that was broadcast nationwide on CBS radio. Barnhouse speculated that if Satan took over Philadelphia, all of the bars would be closed, pornography banished, and pristine streets would be filled with tidy pedestrians who smiled at each other. There would be no swearing. The children would say, ‘Yes, sir’ and ‘No, Ma’am,’ and the churches would be full every Sunday ... where Christ is not preached.
“It is easy to become distracted from Christ as the only hope for sinners. Where everything is measured by our happiness rather than by God’s holiness, the sense of our being sinners becomes secondary, if not offensive. If we are good people who have lost our way but with the proper instructions and motivation can become a better person, we need a life coach, not a redeemer. We can still give assent to a high view of Christ and the centrality of his person and work, but in actual practice we are being distracted from ‘looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith’ (Heb. 12:2) A lot of the things that distract us from Christ these days are even good things. In order to push us off-point, all that Satan has to do is throw several spiritual fads, moral and spiritual crusades, and other ‘relevance’ operations into our field of vision. Focusing the conversation on us—our desires, needs, feelings, experience, activity, and aspirations—energizes us. At last, now we’re talking about something practical and relevant.” (Michael Horton, CHRISTLESS CHRISTIANITY: The Alternative Gospel of the American Church, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI, 2008, pp15-16)
