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Further, one can even make a case for the racially biased Jim Crow laws stemming from a view of WASP culture as \u2018normative\u2019.\u00a0 Whether one is viewing the historical period of Christianity known as Christendom or seeking to understand the culture wars that have occurred in the US since the late 1960s, it is necessary to recognize both of these phenomena as attempts to establish a theocracy in order to ensure a specific sociopolitical reality.<\/p>\nI have experienced consistent frustration with these culture war efforts since returning to the US after 17 years living in a very post-Christian environment in New Zealand.\u00a0 When the election cycle rolled around there no-one was interested in what church a candidate attended or even if they attended at all. That eliminated the need for pretense and allowed candidates to focus on important issues rather than distractions regarding church attendance or whether or not they regularly read the Bible.\u00a0 Further, church communities were not infiltrated by those seeking to gain social capital by their attendance.\u00a0 None was to be had.\u00a0 So those that worshiped, attended small groups, volunteered, ate at the potluck dinners etc. were all those who were for the most part genuinely seeking to know God and grow in their faith in their chosen church community.<\/p>\n
Issues most commonly targeted by Christians, whether conservative or progressive varieties, remain largely determined along racial and class lines.\u00a0 \u201cIn the early decades of the twenty-first century as in the last decades of the twentieth, Christian presence in America has been a presence primarily in, of, and for the middle class in everything that this designation means<\/em>.\u201d[2]<\/a>\u00a0 From my perspective the culture wars revolve around issues particularly important to the security, comfort, financial well-being, and moral values of the \u2018ruling\u2019 class and race. \u00a0While they are touted as orthodox Christian values they frequently fail to take into account the full spectrum of Christian understanding.<\/p>\n While I believe moral issues are important, and most would view me as a social conservative, I do not believe that the purpose of government is to allow Christians (particularly those of the WASP variety) I thoroughly concur with Hunter when he states; \u201cContemporary Christian understandings of power and politics are a very large part of what has made contemporary Christianity in America appalling, irrelevant, and ineffective\u2014part and parcel of the worst elements of our late-modern culture today, rather than a healthy alternative to it.\u201d[4]<\/a>\u00a0 The danger in seeking to \u2018win\u2019 the culture wars is that the object is cultural dominance rather than genuine connection with the creator.\u00a0 \u201cTo be sure, Christianity is not, first and foremost, about establishing righteousness or creating good values or securing justice or making peace in the world. Don\u2019t get me wrong: these are goods we should care about and pursue with great passion. But for Christians, these are all secondary to the primary good of God himself and the primary task of worshipping him and honoring him in all they do<\/em>.\u201d[5]<\/a>\u00a0 While we all desire that God establish the Kingdom of God we must remember that it is God\u2019s work to do one that God alone will perform.\u00a0 I believe our role should be that espoused by Hunter when he says; \u201cBy enacting shalom and seeking it on behalf of all others through the practice of faithful presence, it is possible, just possible, that they will help to make the world a little bit better<\/em>.\u201d[6]<\/a><\/p>\n [1]<\/a> “Christendom.” Wikipedia. March 09, 2018. Accessed March 15, 2018. https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Christendom#End_of_Christendom.<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Ibid p. 89<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> Ibid p. 79<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/6261650491_cf37af2dd0_o-300x165.jpg\")
to feel comfortable with the surrounding cultural and social environment. I believe that Christians do have a role to play in the political arena but do not support efforts to establish a tacit theocracy or push a moral agenda in the name of Christianity.\u00a0 The demise of the moral fabric of society in the US has little to do with some catastrophic collapse of the Christian church.\u00a0 In fact, to much of the outside Western world the US is still very Christian.\u00a0 As Hunter states; \u201cFrom the European view, America remains remarkably Christian, to the point of being weirdly puritanical<\/em>.\u201d[3]<\/a><\/p>\n