Nearly 2,000 years ago, in the midst of the grossest paganism, Christianity began. The Christian religion was radically different from the predominant culture, and its adherents were zealous evangelists of change. Christians were so different and so aggressive that, by the middle of the first century, they were accused of having "turned the world upside down." (Acts 17:6)

But today paganism threatens the religion that once shook its very foundations. The language of Scripture resounds with a constant message of change. It urges Christianity's disciples to repent, rebuke, and reform. It admonishes them: "Do not love the world or the things in the world...for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father but of the world." (1 John 2:15-16) Over the centuries, however, in his quest to make Christian service palatable to the unbelieving, mankind has diluted, and sometimes lost, that message.

As an accommodation, so-called Christian worship blended in the trees and eggs and stars the pagans held festivals to worship. And so today we see many of the ancient pagan rituals, superstitions, legends, and quasi-magical rites incorporated in "Christian" worship.

Lost is the first-century teaching and belief that Christians are "strangers and pilgrims" in this world and that it is the mission of the New Testament church to change the world, not vice versa. In our country, the religion of Christ has been molded, modified, and modernized by a culture that has moved away from Biblical authority and toward humanistic self-worship. Not surprisingly, there has emerged a "culture of disbelief."

The past few decades have seen the publication of a host of books calling upon churches to change more quickly and more radically to meet the demands of the cultural "marketplace." So we see churches that talk less and less about sin, repentance, and salvation and more about financial enrichment, recreational fellowship, and provision of a broad array of social services. Entertaining puppets replace serious preaching. Comic books replace Sunday school textbooks. Priests and preachers are photographed "blessing" dogs and cats. Pulpits are political platforms for a plethora of popular poppycock.

As our culture has supported the human "rights" to fornicate, adulterate, divorce, sodomize, and abort fetal life, many churches either have remained quiet for fear of losing flock, or joined the cultural revolution by affording these sins church sanction. Behind this paganization of Christianity lies a terrible misunderstanding of both culture and the church.

Culture is the typical thinking and morality of a given people, at a given time. In Biblical terms, it is the world from which Christians are called. The church is, in fact, the "ekklesia" or called out of the world. Scripture constantly contrasts the gospel, which the church is to preach, with the wisdom of this world.

True Christianity has always been antagonistic to current culture. The Christian church's mission is to illuminate, expose, challenge, and offer a different vision. It has often had an improving effect on various cultures, but it has never accommodated contemporary belief systems.

Paganized Christianity is not new. As we can see in Scripture passages such as 1 John 4:1-6, it began before the first century ended. But the blatancy of such accommodation is reaching new heights as many denominations market church services the way McDonalds does Big Macs. Target groups of baby-boomers, singles, students, and seniors are polled and pumped by clever, clerical pitchmen who seem more intent on saving their sizeable ministries than saving souls.

Modern church buildings reflect this direction, as sanctuaries become the little room down the hall from the gyms, schools, day-care centers, and theaters. It used to be common to hear preachers draw parallels between the Roman culture, with its decadent public circuses, and the evils of modem culture. But such parallels are rarely heard these days because the preacher has just introduced his new "clowns for Christ" ministry amid thunderous clapping from a crowd that gives thumbs up to the modem myth that entertainment and worship are one and the same.