The Myth of a Christian America
The editors of Leadership magazine have touched on something very crucial for the propagation of the Gospel. They include a snippet from a book by pastor Gregory Boyd. When Boyd announced to his church that America was not a Christian nation, 1000 people left the church. Here is some of what he said:
"What gives the connection between Christianity and politics such strong emotional force in the U.S.? I believe it is the longstanding myth that America is a Christian nation."
I've always agreed with this. To vote straight Christian does not necessarily mean that you should vote straight Republican. We should definitely vote along a Biblical worldview but a Biblical worldview is nowhere near 100% synonymous with a Republican worldview. Also:
"Instead of living out the radically countercultural mandate of the kingdom of God, this myth has inclined us to Christianize many pagan aspects of our culture. Instead of providing the culture with a radically alternative way of life, we largely present it with a religious version of what it already is. The myth clouds our vision of God’s distinctly beautiful kingdom and thereby undermines our motivation to live as set-apart (holy) disciples of this kingdom"
I can think of many pagan aspects of our culture that we have "Christianized." How about 4th of July celebrations at churches? One of my professors remarked that he went to a church service on the 4th and they had acrobats in red,white, and blue jumpsuits and tall Uncle Sam's walking around on stilts. What does that have to do with the Gospel? Boyd continues:
"The kingdom Jesus came to establish is “not from this world” (John 18:36), for it operates differently than the governments of the world do....To put it differently, the governments of the world seek to establish, protect, and advance their ideals and agendas. It’s in the fallen nature of all those governments to want to “win.” By contrast, the kingdom Jesus established and modeled with his life, death, and resurrection doesn’t seek to “win” by any criteria the world would use. Rather, it seeks to be faithful. It demonstrates the reign of God by manifesting the sacrificial character of God, and in the process, it reveals the most beautiful, dynamic, and transformative power in the universe. It testifies that this power alone — the power to transform people from the inside out by coming under them — holds the hope of the world. Everything the church is about, I argue, hangs on preserving the radical uniqueness of this kingdom in contrast to the kingdom of the world."
Alas, there is the main point. We are called to be faithful. Why do we witness to people about Christ? Why do we enage non-believers in evangelical and apologetic conversation? It is not because are seeking to push our beliefs onto other people. We do these things because God has called us to and because if we really love others as we "love" ourselves, which Jesus stated is the greatest commandment, then we will witness to people because of our love of them so that they may know the True Creator of the world and that they may be able to do what they were created to do: To glorify Him. Piper says it best, "We are most satisifed in Him, when He is most glorifed in us."
"What gives the connection between Christianity and politics such strong emotional force in the U.S.? I believe it is the longstanding myth that America is a Christian nation."
I've always agreed with this. To vote straight Christian does not necessarily mean that you should vote straight Republican. We should definitely vote along a Biblical worldview but a Biblical worldview is nowhere near 100% synonymous with a Republican worldview. Also:
"Instead of living out the radically countercultural mandate of the kingdom of God, this myth has inclined us to Christianize many pagan aspects of our culture. Instead of providing the culture with a radically alternative way of life, we largely present it with a religious version of what it already is. The myth clouds our vision of God’s distinctly beautiful kingdom and thereby undermines our motivation to live as set-apart (holy) disciples of this kingdom"
I can think of many pagan aspects of our culture that we have "Christianized." How about 4th of July celebrations at churches? One of my professors remarked that he went to a church service on the 4th and they had acrobats in red,white, and blue jumpsuits and tall Uncle Sam's walking around on stilts. What does that have to do with the Gospel? Boyd continues:
"The kingdom Jesus came to establish is “not from this world” (John 18:36), for it operates differently than the governments of the world do....To put it differently, the governments of the world seek to establish, protect, and advance their ideals and agendas. It’s in the fallen nature of all those governments to want to “win.” By contrast, the kingdom Jesus established and modeled with his life, death, and resurrection doesn’t seek to “win” by any criteria the world would use. Rather, it seeks to be faithful. It demonstrates the reign of God by manifesting the sacrificial character of God, and in the process, it reveals the most beautiful, dynamic, and transformative power in the universe. It testifies that this power alone — the power to transform people from the inside out by coming under them — holds the hope of the world. Everything the church is about, I argue, hangs on preserving the radical uniqueness of this kingdom in contrast to the kingdom of the world."
Alas, there is the main point. We are called to be faithful. Why do we witness to people about Christ? Why do we enage non-believers in evangelical and apologetic conversation? It is not because are seeking to push our beliefs onto other people. We do these things because God has called us to and because if we really love others as we "love" ourselves, which Jesus stated is the greatest commandment, then we will witness to people because of our love of them so that they may know the True Creator of the world and that they may be able to do what they were created to do: To glorify Him. Piper says it best, "We are most satisifed in Him, when He is most glorifed in us."
posted by Charlie Wallace at
6:28 PM
3 Comments:
wow, i like this guy. mainly bc he makes my point. god, if he exists, is not of this world. so our political and public lives should be seperate from our religious lives. otherwise you are infusing secularism into something that is not secular. brilliant stuff. but then you said this: "We should definitely vote along a Biblical worldview but a Biblical worldview".
negative ghostrider. this country, indeed this world, is pluralist and the only way to cut across our different doctrines is to appeal to reason. i wont go through that whole speil again, but lets do a thought experiment.
you vote according to a specific baptist reading of the bible. other vote according to hindi beliefs other along buddhists lines and i vote based on the church of scientology just for fun. can we have a discussion, or reach even the broadest consensus? nope. so instead of e plurabus unum (sp?), we have out of many, there are still many.
Nice Top Gun reference. I don't believe the pastor completely divorced the idea of faith and public life. Indeed, one cannot. The point that this pastor is making is that we should let our faith drive our lives and consequent political decisions. Conversely, we should not allow our political climate, or any climate for that matter, drive our theology and adherence to our Biblical worldview.
With that said, it is difficult to divorce some Southern, or in this case American traditions that are loosely tied to Christianity. 80% of Americans maay claim to be Christians, but only 6% of those have Biblical worldviews. Indeed, as Jesus, our Lord said, narrow is the gate and wide is the path to destruction.
Excellent thoughts, Charles.
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