Book review: Bad Religion

Not too long ago, I came across an article about the political phenomenon that is Donald Trump; the article was entitled How Christianity Explains Trump. In the course of the article a reference was made to the book Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics.by Ross Douthat, a columnist for the New York Times. As I look around at the state of faith in my country today, I found the premise fascinating. So it didn't take me too long to read it. I recommend it to anyone who wants to understand the history of 20th and 21st century American religion, and what it means for us today.

The book is divided into two main parts. First, it traces major trends in religion over the past 100 years or so. This may sound like a tedious exercise and at times it really is. There is a lot of history, a lot of names, and no shortage of facts. While this is laborious, it is necessary to lay the groundwork for today's issues. He starts with a period of time where faith was grounded in the historic Christian tradition. While there were the usual denominational disagreements about doctrines, the foundation was the historic view of the nature of Jesus, the Trinity, and God's purposes for the world. The church was growing in popularity and figures like Billy Graham helped spur unprecedented levels of church attendance. He then shows how the church moved into what he calls "the locust years," where people (and clergy) were leaving the church in droves. Much of the church then responded with "accommodation," which was based on the idea that if we could just water down the message, people would come back to a faith that didn't demand much of them. It didn't work. So then came "resistance," characterized by pushback against the softness of accommodation. It led to active political involvement of evangelicals and is the basis of much of the support from Christians that Republicans enjoy today.

And then we come to today's world, and this is where I think Douthat has hit the nail on the head. All of these forces have led us to a pair of religious philosophies that he labels as heresies. My first reaction was, "Whoa, that's strong language!" But as I look back on the warnings of Jesus and the writings of the apostles about false teachers, I think he may have something. Both of these heresies are driving the public debates of 2016.

The first is the prosperity gospel - the unscriptural concept that God's primary goal for Christians is that we have riches, or at least an easy life. If we pray hard enough or have enough faith, God stands ready to give us all that we ever wanted. Put another way, God owes me the American Dream. This is an insidious distortion of the gospel, but why is the subject for another post.

The second is when we turn American nationalism into a religion. Somehow, a large number of us have come to believe that we are some sort of latter day Israelites, the chosen nation of God. And as such, we claim the promises of God to his people (made up of "people from every tribe and language and people and nation" - Revelation 5:9) and act as if they were made specifically to our nation. This leads to a sense of entitlement and religious snobbery toward our Christian brothers and sisters around the world. It show up on the liberal side in a belief that the USA is the solution to all the world's problems. On the conservative side, it shows up as a deep pessimism: Woe is us, for our nation which used to serve the living God is sliding down the path to destruction. If only we were God's people like we used to be.

The fact is (conservatives) that God's people have always been a remnant in every nation. It should be out goal to expand the kingdom of God one person at a time.

And it is also true (liberals) that our country is not the church and so we can not expect it to meet the needs of all the people; that's our job.

I believe the book gives an excellent diagnosis of the deep divisions we have in this country. So how should we respond as Christians? I believe we must:

• Commit ourselves to the kingdom of God as our first loyalty,
• Recognize that our material blessings are a gift of God, not a right as Americans,
• Use more of our resources (time and money) for God's kingdom, including finding ways to meet the needs of the poor,
• Make sure our political thinking is kingdom-based, taking a stand on each issue separately rather than allowing ourselves to be pigeon-holed into one box or the other, and, above all,
• Avoid voting out of fear or with our pocketbooks; vote for what's right without regard for self.

Again, I highly recommend this book for anyone who is wondering why Christian influence is divided and waning. And then I recommend a lot of prayer about what you can do.

God bless his creation.

And tomorrow we vote...

On the eve of Super Tuesday, in which we Alabamians will be casting our votes for the party primaries, social media is abuzz with opinions about who and who not to vote for. As we prepare to vote, I pray for God to give us all wisdom. Speaking of wisdom, here are some Scriptural principles that I believe we Christ-followers must build into our thinking:

The Lord God reigns over the affairs of his earth, no matter how it might look...

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. (Psalm 145:13 ESV)

O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. (Isaiah 37:16 ESV)

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. (Romans 13:1 ESV, italics mine)

Fear should never be the motive for our choices, including our vote...

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10 ESV)

For God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self-control. (2 Timothy 1:7 ESV)

There is no fear in love, for perfect love casts out fear. (1 John 4:18a ESV)

We must allow our politics to become an idol, on which we hinge our hopes (See my previous post on this: Politics and Idols)...

"I am the Lord your God...you shall have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:2-3)

We must pray - for wisdom, for the election process, and for the leaders who come out of it, no matter who they may be...

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7 ESV)

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions. (1 Timothy 2:1-2a ESV)

So, with that in mind, I offer up this prayer from author Max Lucado:

Dear Lord,
You outrank any leader. You hold sway over every office. Greater is the occupant of Heaven's throne than the occupant of the White House. You have been good to this country. You have blessed up in spite of our sin and you have guarded us in spite of our rebellion. We unite our hearts in one prayer. Let your kingdom come. Let your will be done. Please, speak through the electoral process to reveal your leader. This we pray in the name of Jesus.
Amen.

Psalm 47 and national health care

What do we do when we get frustrated with life? How about when we are frustrated with the world and the power structures that seem to have dominion over our lives? There seems to be a lot of that lately, and it has exploded onto the pages of Facebook and Twitter. National health care, government slowdowns (called a shutdown, but let's face it - the government has not stopped), and politics in general.

One place we can go is the the Psalms, referred to by Dietrich Bonhoeffer as the "prayer book of the Bible." And one Psalm in particular showed up in my reading plan this morning - I think just in time. Read it carefully, slowly, digesting every word. Let it sink in where the real power is. Psalm 47:

Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.

For the LORD Most High is awesome, the great King over all the earth.

He subdued nations under us, peoples under our feet.

He chose our inheritance for us, the price of Jacob, whom he loved.

God has ascended amid shouts of joy, the LORD amid the sounding of trumpets.

Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.

For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise.

God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne.

The nobles of the nations assemble as the people of the God of Abraham,

for the kings of the earth belong to God, he is greatly exalted. (Emphasis mine) 

 What a marvelous Psalm! In it we see that the God of Israel is not just the king of the chosen people; he is the King of all the earth. Every king, every power, every authority has been made subject to his rule. There is no power that exists outside of his control. Pharaoh's Egypt. Nero's Rome. Stalin's Russia. Idi Amin's Uganda. Who was in charge?

God. God reigns over the nations...the kings of the earth belong to God.

So when I'm tempted to get bent out shape about earthly powers, I can come back to this prayer, this Psalm.

Will everything turn out like I want it to? Will my health care remain affordable for me? Will government provide every service I need? Will I continue to experience the lifestyle I've grown used to?

Maybe, maybe not. Probably not. But it doesn't matter, because life is not about my comfort, my needs, my happiness. It's about bringing glory to the only true God, whether in plenty or want.

So I will sleep well tonight, knowing that YHWH is the King over all the earth, and above all kings. Whatever they do to me, it will be for his glory. Bring it on.

Relax

Tonight was the second of three debates leading up to the 2012 U.S. Presidential election. Judging from the posts on Facebook (and other conversations), there is alot of stress over this election. Many believe that the outcome will determine the quality of their lives.

Maybe. But only if we measure the quality of life by our safety, security, and material possessions.We are not promised any of those things.

As a follower of Jesus, I am taking a step back t look at what is promised. Jesus came to establish God's rule as promised to his people in the Old Testament. Through his death and resurrection, he told hold of the world and rendered all other kingdoms inept. He is now in charge, and I am an to be a subject of that kingdom, bringing about his will on earth.

So bring on the next President. Do I have a preference? Sure. But I'm not stressed, because I know who holds the future - the One who came to establish God's temple in my heart.

Politics and Idols

As we approach the height of political season, I think it's a good time to repost something I wrote a little over two years ago. It was originally a Facebook Note (before I had a blog) and the title was "Health Care, Politics, and Idols". The references to the political hot button of 2010  (health care) is a little dated, but the message is timeless. So here it is, unedited. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

“‘I am the Lord your God…you shall have no other gods before me.’” [Exodus 20:2-3]

One of the great challenges in my life (and the life of anyone following Christ) is finding the deep idols in my life and rooting them out. I recently read Tim Keller’s book Counterfeit Gods and I highly recommend it to everyone reading this note. In it, he talks about the things we elevate to the throne of our lives, how we can identify them, and what to do about it. Of course, he talks about the obvious ones – money, sex, power, etc. But he also shows that there are many GOOD things that we place so much importance on that they become gods to us, dethroning the true God; things like family, friends, relationships, work, financial security, comfort, hobbies, and politics. I am working on all of them, trust me, and it will be a lifetime process.

But, in the wake of the recent passing of health care reform, it’s the last one I want to write about at the moment. Most of you know where I stand on most political issues, so I won’t go into that here. Suffice it to say that I am writing this from the losing side of the latest battle, and so I am writing about my own self-examination as to how important the loss is to my significance and security.

So how can we tell that something is an idol, or at least in danger of becoming one? Keller talks about several tests, but a huge one is how we react when we lose something, or when it is damaged. Check out these comments from his book and how the test relates to our feelings about our political position:

“One of the signs that an object is functioning as an idol is that fear becomes one of the chief characteristics of life…If our counterfeit god is threatened in any way, our response is complete panic. We do not say, ‘What a shame, how difficult,’ but rather ‘This is the end! There’s no hope!’

This may be a reason why so many people now respond to U.S. political trends in such an extreme way. When either party wins an election, a certain percentage of the losing side openly talks about leaving the country. They become agitated and fearful for the future. They have put the kind of hope in their political leaders and policies that once was reserved for God and the work of the gospel. When their political leaders are out of power, they experience a death. They believe if their policies and people are not in power, everything will fall apart.” [Tim Keller, Counterfeit Gods (New York: Dutton, 2009), pp. 98-99]

So I must ask myself – do I consider losing a Presidential election or a battle to keep government out of our lives a catastrophe? Is God in control, or do I need my political leaders to be in control to feel good about life? Is the reason I care so much because my lifestyle is threatened? Where is my hope?

Then Keller presents another test to see whether we are trusting more in our ideology than God:

“Another sign of idolatry in our politics is that opponents are not considered to be simply mistaken, but evil…The increasing political polarization and bitterness we see in U.S. politics today is a sign that we have made political activism into a form of religion.” [Tim Keller, Counterfeit Gods (New York: Dutton, 2009), pp. 99-100]

I can see this in my life for sure. It’s easy to attribute evil motives to the other side and only good motives to ours. We’re all sinners, on both sides of the aisle, so that is always a distortion of the truth.

One final set of comments from Keller are important to wrap this up. We need to understand how it happens in order to know what to do about it.

“How does idolatry produce fear and demonization? …(P)hilosopher Al Wolters taught that in the biblical view of things, the main problem in life is sin and the only solution is God and his grace. The alternative to this view is to identify something besides sin as the main problem with the world and something besides God as the main remedy. That demonizes something that is not completely bad and makes an idol out of something that cannot be the ultimate good.” [Tim Keller, Counterfeit Gods (New York: Dutton, 2009), p. 100]

What is my main problem? Sin. And the best President, Congress, tax structure, health care system, or any other political solution cannot do anything about it. The only solution is God’s grace and dependence on him. It happens from the inside out, one person at a time. Jesus didn’t go to Rome to change the world; he went to an obscure corner of the world, was born in a feeding trough in an obscure village, and gave up his power to die in our place.

One final, very important thought. I am not saying that it’s wrong to care deeply about trying to help our country be the best it can be. Just as it’s not wrong to love our family and friends deeply, work hard, or have hobbies we enjoy. But in all those areas, including our politics, I must always be on guard that nothing gets elevated to the position that God rightfully occupies.

God bless us all as we strive to live for him in a fallen world.