This week, in light of the racial violence and conflict seen in Charlottesville and throughout the U.S., we are reposting Part One of a two-part podcast, The Tragedy of Silent Churches. Part Two of this podcast is available here.

The Christian Church was put on earth to both proclaim a message and to model life in another world, both to call for the transformation of the human heart and to call society to align with the righteousness and love of God. Rarely do churches today skillfully straddle these twin rails of faith. In fact, many churches today are chillingly silent on social issues and this is becoming a stain on the cause of Christ in our generation.

It was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who said, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” In this stirring podcast, Stephen Mansfield wonders aloud whether the oppressed and downtrodden of our generation will not be able to say the same of too many modern churches, particularly theologically conservative modern churches. Will the silence of these churches on pressing social issues be remembered for generations, far beyond the noise of the violence, hatred and racism rending our age?

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