PLANO, Texas (WordNews.org) June 25, 2013 – Josh McDowell is not an alarmist.
And yet the author of 138 books, including “More than a Carpenter” and “Evidence that Demands a Verdict,” is concerned about the direction America is headed in.
In an exclusive interview with WordNews.org, the best-selling Christian author and iconic apologist, said the Internet has impacted the Church – big ‘C’—in ways it was not prepared for.
But the constant barrage of bad news does not mean these days are so much worse than days of old.
“You hear more of these things because of the greater increase of communication,” McDowell said, referring to the shootings in Newtown, Conn.
“We probably always had these things. But you never heard about them too much until these last few years. Now with the Internet and everything, man, everything’s exploded,” he said. “And you’re exposed to things and hear things you never used to hear about. We’ve had shootings constantly in our history. There have been some – even [worse] than the Connecticut shooting. And so I don’t think it’s escalating too much.”
But there has been what McDowell calls a shift in the United States.
He sees it firsthand. McDowell heads Josh McDowell Ministry, formed in the early 1960s “to reach young people worldwide with the truth and love of Jesus.” He has addressed more than 25 million people, giving over 26,000 talks in 125 countries.
“There’s a shift in probably half the people’s minds that America is not unique, it’s not special,” McDowell said. “I think there’s a worldview that the concept of government is totally changing. Pretty soon we will have – now this is pretty scary – in five to eight years, 10 years at the most, at least half of everyone in the United States will be getting a [subsidy] check from the government.”
McDowell said the alarms have been sounded by others hundreds of years ago.
“No democracy can survive when the people can vote for their own [subsidy payments],” he said. “And this is starting to happen. Right now it’s 47-something percent receive a check from the government.”
He said those who receive Social Security checks and don’t include that in dependence on government are only fooling themselves.
“People on Social Security say, ‘Well, this is our money, we worked for it.’ No, no, no, no, no. If you get $100, only $33 of that $100 did you ever work for. The other comes from the taxpayers. So you can’t earn it. You earned a third of it. That’s true of me, you and everyone.”
With this mentality pervasive in today’s American culture, McDowell wonders aloud about the future of the country.
“Can this democracy survive with people voting, who will always vote for their own [subsidies]?” he asked. “I think that’s one of the big problems that we’re starting to face. The other—and this breaks my heart—little by little the Church, we are losing influence on culture morally. Big time.”
The Conversation with Josh McDowell continues tomorrow.
To learn more about Josh McDowell’s other books
TUNE IN Saturday for Word News’ The Week that Was broadcast of this interview with Josh McDowell at 9 a.m. EST. To hear the broadcast, click the audio player on WordNews.org or visit blogtalkradio.com/wordnews to hear this and past broadcasts.
Print
Email
