Deutero Q

Wow, this book has really opened my eyes: The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity, by Philip Jenkins. In a nutshell, Jenkins demonstrates that Christianity is "going South." Geneva, Rome, London, New York, etc., are giving way to Kinshasa, Buenos Aires, Manila, Addis Ababa, etc., as the centers of Christendom. In fact, by the year 2050 only about one in five of the world's Christians will be non-Hispanic Whites. Jenkins says, "Soon the phrase 'a White Christian' may sound like a curious oxymoron, as mildly surprising as 'a Swedish Buddhist.'"

The Christian world's center of gravity is clearly shifting to the Southern Hemisphere. A quotation by Philip Yancey (included in Jenkins' book) is quite revealing: "As I travel, I have observed a pattern, a strange historical phenomenon of God 'moving' geographically from the Middle East, to Europe to North America to the developing world. My theory is this: God goes where he's wanted."