| I'm a Christian--but you'll rarely catch me claiming religious kinship with anyone who utters the words "God Bless America." The roots of civil religion go back 313 AD when Christianity merged with the Roman Empire. After 2 centuries of Christians being a marginal social institution, someone got power hungry and didn't want their head cut off--so they "converted" the emperor. I think the Church has been suffering from that since that time, because the Gospel clearly cuts across national identities, and is meant to challenge the powers that be--not get them elected. Sorry for going off on this tangent, I just hate that so many people think Christianity is fundamentally rooted in liberal democracy and not the Gospel. That's why you end up with an American church (if you can call it a "church") that doesn't see how social/political the gospel is, and with blank check Christians who--to quote Hauerwas--"will kill anyone the democratically elected president asks them to." I don't want anything to do with such a Christianity. The real kind is much more exciting.
Scott |