American Jesus

Christianity in America has largely turned into a mess that doesn't look much like historic Christianity at all; even less so Christianity based on Scripture. Why do I say that? Simply put, there is no substance. This issue stems deeper than simple political sides. It is not a matter of the Republicans being Christians and the Democrats are not; or vice versa.

Two things stick out in my mind that have contributed to the mess we have created as well as inherited. They are American mores and ideals and theological liberalism.

In the United States, we tend to value our ideals, such as freedom, the self-made man, and the ability to self-determine everything we do. Historically, we valued them even more. One needn't look any further than the Second Great Awakening of the 1800s to see these ideals at work. The Second Great Awakening (and its later cousin, the Azusa St. Revival) was called a revival and a great move of God. But was it? Let's examine its fruits.

The Second Great Awakening was not a return to orthodoxy. It was not an outburst of genuine Lutheranism, or even Catholicism, Reformed Theology, or Eastern Orthodoxy. So, what came of it? Within American Evangelical strains, to this very day we see the heavy influence of the arch-heretic Charles Grandison Finney. Finney denied original sin and emphasized a form of pragmatism and decision theology, pressuring sinners to make a decision for Christ. Finney was basically the forerunner of what we know today as the Altar Call and the Sinner's Prayer based solely on the reason and free will of the person. 

Other fruits of the Second Great Awakening were just as bad - maybe worse. The LDS (Mormons) got their start in this time period. And voila, it was very American. Joseph Smith promised eternal progression to Godhood for faithful Mormons. Go figure. We love our individual freedom and think so highly of ourselves, we can now progress to Godhood and be just like God the Father or Jesus (two different gods in LDS theology, by the way).

Another great cult got its start here as well. They are the Jehovah's Witnesses. It should come as no surprise that the Witnesses heavily emphasize an ability of the person to will themselves to salvation and earn and keep it by works. How American.

Oh, but wait, there's more. The Seventh Day Adventists also got their start here. The SDA is yet another cult that is bent on the free will of the person and the ability to perfectly obey the commandments. Not to mention, these things are so important in the SDA, it doesn't even matter if one affirms or denies the Trinity. You're free to believe either way and still be a good member of the SDA.

Need I go on? The point is, American ideals governed all of these groups, and none of them are anywhere near orthodox historic Christianity. None of them emphasized the need for grace, given in Word and Sacrament. Every single one, on the other hand, emphasized free will decision and the ability of the self to raise themselves from the dead.

So that is our foundation for the most part. The Second Great Awakening deviated so far from actual Christianity, it is easy enough to say that this so-called revival had next to nothing to do with Christianity and was in fact, a fraudulent movement that was not Christian.

Enter the theological liberals. First of all, let us not confuse the theological liberals with political liberals, although the two often overlap. The liberals are proponents of a Scripture that is not inspired and not inerrant. So instead of the Scriptures being God's Word to man, they are rather man's word about his experiences with God. As such, one is free to interpret them in any manner they would like, as anybody's subjective interpretation is just as valid as anybody else's. 

When you toss these two things together, you end up with the perfect storm. Now you end up with the individual's right to choose along with everybody's interpretations being equally valid. So, what results have come from this illegitimate marriage? There is more to this story than I will address here (such as post-WWII theology aligning to fight the Commies), but here are some of the results.

1. Relegating core Christian doctrines to a status of secondary. This is done in numerous circles, especially regarding things like Baptism or the Lord's Supper. Many argue that Baptism and the Lord's Supper are not core essential doctrines, so we should be able to agree to disagree on them. Not surprisingly, the early church thought completely opposite of this. St. Irenaeus, in the 2nd century A.D. penned writings titled Against Heresies. In them, two of his strongest arguments against Gnosticism and Docetism were a denial of baptismal regeneration as well as a denial that the Lord's Supper is truly Christ's body and blood. Imagine that. Well, we actually have a hard time imagining it as Americans, because we have devolved, theologically speaking.

Thus, many American Christians, especially those of an evangelical bent, dislodge Baptism and the Lord's Supper from their central place in the church. They argue that Baptism is simply a work of obedience that does nothing but show God how serious you are about him, by your own free will. Likewise, the Lord's Supper is no longer the body and blood of Christ, but rather, a cute little memorial meal, totally devoid of grace, which by the way, can be distributed using elements that are not bread and wine according to the Institution of Christ.

2. The idea that everyone who claims to be a Christian is actually a Christian. Now don't get me wrong, we ought to take people at their word when they make a Confession of Faith. That much is true. That being said, there are things called core doctrines that if denied, puts one outside of Christ. Oh, but not in modern America! So long as someone says they love Jesus, we're all too willing to count them as a brother, even if they are Mormons, JWs, Pelagians, or whatever else. We don't care what people actually believe as long as it's Jesus - whatever Jesus that might be. 

Hence, everything becomes a theological grab bag. You believe the Trinity? Great! He doesn't but he is still a brother! See the problem? A minimum of one of these stances must by necessity be wrong. Well, except those dirty Roman Catholics. They're all headed for hell, surmise the evangelicals on occasion.

3. The adaptation of our churches to the culture. This is the arena where pop culture as well as politics comes in. It's no surprise that a majority of American evangelical churches have more in common with a pop rock concert than they do with the historic liturgy. We are Americans. We are free, and dammit, we will do what we want, and we want to be entertained.

Politically speaking, both the right and the left in America like to use Jesus to support their political aims. On the right, way too many American Evangelicals think Jesus was entombed for 3 days wrapped in an American flag. They equate the message of Christ with the Republican party. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently stated: "You gotta be ready for battle. So put on the full armor of God, take a stand against the left's schemes, stand firm with the belt of truth buckled around your waist. You will face fire from flaming arrows, but the shield of faith will protect you." This statement is meant to rally the Christian right, of course. However, it is also quite shameful. First, he is equating the Republican Party as the Party of Jesus. Second, he is basically calling all Democrats demonic and equating that party with Satan.

The left is no better. Recently, there has been a massive ad campaign called "He Gets Us." This campaign is more or less trying to use Jesus as a champion of left-wing causes. This is just as shameful.

Granted, there are certain political issues that Christians should take a stand on. That being said, this is not a political blog and I am not going to delve any deeper into these issues.

In summation, what we must keep in mind are a few things. First, doctrine is vital. The Scriptures teach it and the early church took it very seriously. Heck, so did the Protestant Reformers. Second, American ideals are not particularly Christian morals. Not always anyways. Third, the United States is not the promised land. Jesus did not preach an American utopia, nor did he die for that. Fourth, it is OK to love your country. But it is not OK to equate your country's ideals with Jesus. Your country is part of the world that will pass away. Countries come and go. Christ is eternal.

+Pax+