The church in the western world is in a state of extreme spiritual poverty. The distinction between the church and the world is so blurred that the beliefs, actions and behaviour of Christians is often indistinguishable from non-Christians.

Most Christians  do not realise how pathetic the church has become.  We have lost the battle in the market place of ideas. The time when New Zealand (where I live) and other western countries had a Christian world view/heritage is long gone. We now have a totally different, diverse, but definitely anti-Christian culture. The political and legal systems , education, the new media and entertainment industries are all controlled by people who are hostile to Christianinty. It is hard for Christians to understand, but we are living in a hostile world.

The only reason that there is not intense hostility between the Church and the World is that the Church is now so feeble. We are no longer a challenge to the world.  They are not threatened by us, because they see us as irrelevant. The church is now a weak and ineffective minority.   

We sometimes act as if we were still the dominant culture, but we usually end up looking foolish. Like a senile old man re-living the glories of the past, the world humours us; but behind our back it laughs.