\u201creligion becomes a license for egotism and selfishness, easily employed to justify what used to be considered deadly sins. The result is a society where pride becomes \u201chealthy self-esteem,\u201d vanity becomes \u201cself-improvement,\u201d adultery becomes \u201cfollowing your heart,\u201d greed and gluttony become \u201cliving the American dream\u201d (p.5).<\/p>\n
Douthat does not pull any punches as he outlines some of the areas where American religion has gotten off track. These include:<\/p>\n
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- A challenge to the canon of scripture, from the rise of \u201cnew\u201d gospel revelations (i.e. The Gospel of Judas) to grand historic conspiracy theories (i.e. The Davinci Code), and textual criticism run amok (i.e. The Jesus Seminar).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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- The rise of prosperity preachers, who overtly teach that God wants you to be rich, healthy and influential. Faith is the key to unlocking God\u2019s treasures that He has in store for you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- \n
- A blending of new age thought with Christianity that produces a self-centered, feel good religion which purpose is to lift us up into guilt-free bliss. Popular books such as Eat, Pray, Love<\/em> and Conversations with God<\/em> illustrate this pseudo-religion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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- The rise in a form of nationalism in the United States where political leaders are viewed as the standard-bearers of our faith, and their opponents are viewed as minions of Satan.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
As I reflect on these four areas where Americans have gotten off-course from orthodox Christianity, I believe that the factor that ties all of these heresies together is pride (aka healthy self-esteem, aka self-actualization, aka always wanting to win).<\/p>\n
Throughout the history of the church, humility has been seen as a virtue. In Philippians chapter 2, we see that Christ \u201chumbled himself by becoming obedient to death.\u201d Yet, it is self-centeredness, not humility that dominates the American psyche.<\/p>\n
American children are brought up being told they are \u201cspecial.\u201d In our society, being \u201cordinary\u201d is insulting. Intellectual men and women want to have a special knowledge of a hidden meaning of scripture, or access to a newly discovered revelation. There is an air of superiority in having access to religious text or theory that the majority of the public does not understand.<\/p>\n
Biblical doctrines about God\u2019s blessings have morphed into a religion where we serve a God whose sole desire is to make us rich and influential. Instead of humbling ourselves before a Holy God, prayer is viewed as a formula for personal gain. This teaching has even trickled down to more mainstream Christianity, as Christians have prayed \u201cJabez Prayers\u201d in order to be given a job promotion or to find a larger home.<\/p>\n
The blending of politics and religion on the right can be seen as candidates are viewed as \u201cGod\u2019s man for the job\u201d and politicians are seen as \u201cprotectors of our faith\u201d who seek to restore America as a \u201cChristian nation.\u201d Many White Evangelicals romanticize a pre-1960s America (Black Evangelicals do not, by the way).<\/p>\n
Yet, the blending of politics and religion can be seen on the left as well. Christian progressives demonize their conservative brothers and sisters as being hypocrites. They utilize the term \u201csocial justice\u201d to put a religious stamp of approval on left-leaning agendas. In turn, progressive church leaders can be just as guilty of using religion to reinforce their political beliefs.<\/p>\n
No matter what political side they are on, some Christians get a rush from insulting those who have opposite political opinions.\u00a0\u00a0 They have infused political partisanship with religious zeal.<\/p>\n
I believe that Christians must make a choice. Am I a political partisan first, and a follower of Christ second? Or does my faith challenge my political beliefs?<\/p>\n
The apex of narcissism, blended with religion, is what researcher Christian Smith called \u201cMoral Therapeutic Deism\u201d as he studied the spiritual lives of American teenagers.2<\/sup> In this view, God is a cosmic genie who lies dormant until you need him. This is a God who does not care about sexual fidelity or personal sacrifice. This \u201cEat, Pray, Love\u201d deity is often discussed on the Oprah network as a God who wants to make your dreams come true. This is a God who gives peace and happiness while asking very little in return.<\/p>\n
America is malnourished, religiously speaking. Our citizens may know deep in their hearts that the \u201cbroccoli\u201d of dying-to-self and following Christ is the healthier option. But the \u201cice cream\u201d of feel-good faith is so much more attractive.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1Douthat, Ross Gregory. Bad religion: how we became a nation of heretics. New York: Free Press, 2013.<\/p>\n
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2 Smith, Christian, and Melinda Lundquist. Denton. Soul searching: the religious and spiritual lives of American teenagers. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
- The rise in a form of nationalism in the United States where political leaders are viewed as the standard-bearers of our faith, and their opponents are viewed as minions of Satan.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- A blending of new age thought with Christianity that produces a self-centered, feel good religion which purpose is to lift us up into guilt-free bliss. Popular books such as Eat, Pray, Love<\/em> and Conversations with God<\/em> illustrate this pseudo-religion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- The rise of prosperity preachers, who overtly teach that God wants you to be rich, healthy and influential. Faith is the key to unlocking God\u2019s treasures that He has in store for you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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