Today we sometimes hear it said that we are living in "the post-Christian era." The implication is that Christianity has followed the pattern of earlier religious faiths and after a period of vitality and growth it has gradually weakened in its appeal, declined in value to the human race, and is now fading into obsolescence.
If one accepts the evidence, it might seem that there is basis for such a view. Attendance at the services in some churches has dwindled, and in some cases church buildings have fallen into decay. But because faith in old-time concepts of Christ Jesus' teaching is waning, there is no reason to assume that Christianity's era is past.
When Jesus was crucified and subsequently disappeared from earth in the ascension, many people expected his influence to decline rapidly and his words to be forgotten. But the opposite occurred. The master Christian had prophetically spoken of the moment of his own departure from the human scene as a moment of glory. He said, "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit."John 12:24;
