What became odd was the refusal to embrace the pagan gods and goddesses. Indeed, in every age where a mass departure from God and His truth has happened, the reasons for it seem entirely normal and self-evident. That is why the ebbing of spiritual life appears to be so innocent. Indeed, it is hardly even noticed. And the telltale sign that it is happening is that the enemies of faith disappear from sight.
People settle into doing what is culturally conventional at a spiritual level.
This is why, in the Old Testament, the prophetic calling was such a painful and lonely thing. To those far from God, the prophet always seemed so wrongheaded, so lacking in grace, so pessimistic. Since then, nothing really has changed. In an age such as ours, when evangelicalism is mistaking its outward prosperity for inward riches and confusing truth with cultural habit and desire, even the most ordinary of people who know that something is amiss have to wonder how well their perceptions will be received. Although the current moment is always extremely difficult to understand, I believe that the spiritual tide in the evangelical world has begun to go out.