The DaVinci Myth vs. The Gospel Truth - Online Christian Library

WHY THE DA VINCI CODE IS SO POPULAR
ship. Mainline denominations and liberal seminaries are
vanishing from a lack of interest and relevance, even as
we speak. Note that in 1965, there were 3.4 million
Episcopalians in the U.S. 71 By 1994 that number was
down to 2.4 million. 72 Note that during the same time,
the U.S. population grew from 194.5 million in 1965 73
to 262 million in 1994. 74 As the population grew to 300
million by 2005, the number of Episcopalians slightly
stagnated to 2.3 million. 75 Not all Episcopalians are liberal,
of course, but the fact that the denomination
allowed John Shelby Spong to serve as a bishop for so
long speaks volumes about its lack of biblical standards.
And it has only grown worse since 2003, when the
Episcopal Church chose an out-of-the-closet homosexual
as a bishop.
In 1980, there were 9.7 million United Methodists
in the U.S. 76 Twenty-five years later, even though the
general population grew significantly, the number of
United Methodists dipped to 8.2 million. 77 Again, not all
Methodists are liberal, but it is undeniable that there are
certain liberal tendencies among some of the clergy
and members.
In 1958, the combined membership of the two
leading Presbyterian denominations, the Presbyterian
Church in the U.S. and the United Presbyterian Church
in the U.S.A., was four million. 78 These two bodies
merged in 1983 to form the Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.) which today claims a membership of 2.4 million.
79 Again, not all Presbyterians in the U.S.A. branch
are unbelieving, but many are. And in some areas, the
69