by peter traben haas

In 2017 the Protestant Reformation will be “officially” 500 years old, and what do we show for it? Behold, the American Mega Church! A bloated pimple rising up from the greasy adolescent face of American frontier religion.

Since then, much of American Protestant Christianity has morphed into a corporate conglomerate of consumer-capitalistic religion – a multi-faceted industry of books, movies, music, conferences and seminars. Looking back at the sweep of Christianity’s twists and turns, it appears  that whatever good may have sprung out of the Reformation’s Pandora’s Box, that good now seems smothered over.

In short, it’s time for the next octave of Christianity to emerge into its full resonance.

So, having said that, here are three big-picture reasons why America’s Protestant Mega Churches should become communities of contemplative practice, or go extinct by 2017:

Reason #1: Meditationis now unavoidable for human  survival

Given present global conditions, risks and non-sustainable  depletion of life-sustaining resources, the future survival of human civilization will require increasing numbers of people practicing some form of a daily  contemplative/meditative prayer…