Is American Christianity Heretical?

This has been a very rough year for many. Little did we know 12 months ago that the coming year would bring about a worldwide pandemic in which millions would lose their lives as well as many more dealing with major health issues. The pandemic has also caused many financial uncertainties for many families. The impact financially is never simply a dollar amount. It has real-world ramifications. People losing jobs, businesses, and homes are just the tip of the iceberg. I have seen two reports in my state that this pandemic has caused major hunger issues as well as sent poor people deeper into poverty. If Covid were not enough we have been barraged by racial unrest as well as a volatile political season. All of these events have put our nation in a precarious place. This perfect storm of sorts has also affected the American Church. The church which should be seen as an agent that can bring hope into the storm has simply looked divided like the culture. We have taken positions that have divided us over how to deal with the pandemic, whether racial issues are real and what politicians should lead us. 

I realize that many of these issues are very complex and it will take a lot of work to solve them. I have decided to write not because I think I know what is best or how to solve all these issues for I know there are much smarter people than myself. The reason I am writing is that I think the American church is in trouble and it has been in trouble for a long time. It is what I call the heresy of American Christianity.

The dictionary definition of heresy is a belief or opinion contrary to orthodox religious doctrine. 

In this case, we are speaking directly towards Christian doctrine. The heresy is that the church in America sees its Christianity not through the words, actions, and teachings of Jesus but our American experience. This is heresy. What the church has not been able to do is see itself as an entity opposed to any government system. As Greg Boyd says in his book The Myth of a Christian Nation, “Jesus came to establish the kingdom of God as a radical alternative to all versions of the kingdom of the world, whether they declare themselves to be “under God” or not.” This problem of nations calling themselves Christian is not unique to America. Many European nations have done this as well.  “Christianizing” nations does great harm to the church. It sends the message that what a nation does is Christian regardless of whether it looks like Christ or not. Hence slavery, genocide, war, corrupt politics, desecration of the land, and people can all fall under the idea of Christian. These things are anything but Christian.

The church in America has been declining for many years. In the last decade, many millennials and generation Z do not want to have anything to do with the church. Many national Christian leaders blame this on the secularization of our culture. I would like to suggest that this may be a small part but probably is not even close to being the real answer. Is it possible that the younger generations are tired and fed up with the hypocrisy they see within American Christianity? The church has concerned itself more with voting in the right people or policies than simply being the right people. 2nd Century Christian writer Cyprian when speaking of the church in his age said, “we do not speak great things but we live them”.  Unfortunately, our younger generations do not see us living out the habits and practices of Jesus. So, what is the answer to the heresy of American Christianity? Let me suggest just a few thoughts to at least consider as the church seeks to have more dialogue in these areas. 

1. First, the church must see itself as a people who are a part of a worldwide identity who follow the ways and teachings of Jesus. Our Kingdom is not defined by political boundaries. We are a new people with a new identity(2 Corinthians 5:17). America is not our country it is simply the place where we live and seek to bless people.
2. Next, we need to make Jesus King and Lord of our lives. Now many Christians will say I already do this. I have made a confession of faith or I have been baptized. These are all good things to do. But what Jesus calls for us to do is to make Him Lord of every area of our lives. Early Christians when making the pronouncement that Jesus was Lord quickly added that Caesar was not. They understood that national identities did not dictate how they lived, how they saw one another, or how they treated others. Only Jesus dictated this. We must ask ourselves if Jesus is Lord what does this look like in my daily routines? How do I work out Jesus is Lord with the environment? What does Jesus as Lord look like towards immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, illegal citizens of our country, the poor, the homeless? If Jesus is Lord, we must also question our views on wealth, how we live, the homes we buy, the cars we drive, the things we spend money on? 
3. Finally, we need to model Jesus’ sacrificial life of non-violence. Jesus when he went to the cross gave us not just something to believe or a doctrine of atonement, but he gave us a way to live. He called us to follow him by dying to ourselves (Matthew 16:24-26). This is not the American way. The American way is that you must destroy your enemies. This is why nations cannot be Christian. We are called to love enemies, to do good to them and if necessary, die for them. This is not very popular in American Christianity, but it is the way of Jesus. It is what he called his followers to do.

I have listed some possible things to think about as we seek to avoid the heresy of American Christianity. There are more things to consider. Hopefully, this is a start in the dialogue. Now some may ask is it possible to love your country and follow Jesus as well?  I would suggest the answer could be yes if we see it in the same light as the Jews saw their captivity in Babylon. (Jeremiah 29) The Jews saw themselves as aliens who knew Babylon was not their home.  But God told them to bless their new communities while they lived in the land.  We can love America in this way.  We can bless people by doing good to them. We just need to be careful we do not allow ourselves to be shaped by our culture. I love America but I love Jesus more. I want America to be a good place but to do so I must live out not her purposes but those of Jesus. Ultimately America will go the way of all kingdoms of the World. Our hope as Christians is in the New Heavens and New Earth. Let us work towards those ends as we seek to share the gospel with all people.