How many times have we heard America called a "Christian" nation? According to legend, we were founded on "Christian" values. Even in this godless era, about 8 in 10 Americans call themselves Christians when asked about their religious beliefs. All of this brings up an obvious question. If we are following Christ, then why are the values of our nation so out of step with Christ?
Let's start with our economic system. It is driven by greed and materialism. Our corporate leaders pledge allegiance to wealth accumulation regardless of the cost or consequence to others. There is no way to reconcile their self-centered mentality with the words of Jesus. He warned that you cannot worship God and material wealth. It is a zero sum game. The more you chase material wealth, the more your spiritual wealth will diminish. The Apostle Paul said that, "love of money is the root of all sorts of evil."
Yet greed and materialism are held up as virtues in our larger culture. And no one can dare challenge those values. The "invisible hand of the free market" is even treated as sacred. When Pope Francis dared question the greed at the core of "free market" capitalism, especially as the rich have gotten richer at the expense of the rest of society. The media quickly filled with angry political and economic leaders. They called brother Francis a "socialist," "communist," "marxist," and hick from Argentina. The wealthy founder of Home Depot had a sad, demanded an audience with Cardinal Dolan, and threatened to withdraw his donation to fix the St. Pat's Cathedral. Another billionaire said criticism of the rich is like Nazi persecution of the Jews.
As a nation, we are violent. We have the highest rate of gun violence in the world. Mass shootings have become commonplace, even in our grade schools. Innocent people are murdered in our streets every single day. The gun lobby prevents any political reform. Gun manufacturers are now marketing tactical weapons to the public. Our movies, video games, and sports glorify violence.
We are also vengeful. After 9/11 attacks, we went on a blood rampage. Our political leaders ordered the military to lay waste to Afghanistan and Iraq. We also fired missiles from drones into Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, and Libya. We tortured people. We imprisoned people suspected of terrorist ties without due process. Most people in America supported these policies until the evidence of lies, incompetence, and corruption became overwhelming. Some Christian leaders even pushed the idea that we should hate Muslims because they say it is not a religion of peace. State governments demand the right to execute people by any means necessary despite overwhelming evidence that many people have been falsely convicted of a capital crime.
If I am not mistaken, Jesus never gave his followers permission to hate anyone, much less render an eye for eye, evil for evil. Anyone who has read the gospels knows that we are to love even those that hate us. Vengeance was to be the Lord's. So why is our so-called Christian nation spending obscene amounts of money to kill people in other countries? Where is the Christian narrative against our nation's lust for revenge?
Our political leaders are cutting programs designed to benefit the poor, sick, old, and disabled. The most vulnerable have been labeled undeserving, lazy, and even dishonest by many of these same "devout Christian" politicians. Jesus said we are to care for the most vulnerable and we risk being counted among the goats if we neglect that responsibility. It is not ambiguous.
Our nation and our culture embrace values that are diametrically opposed to the teachings of Christ, not to mention the entire New Testament. No one holds up a mirror to America and sees Christ.
So why isn't there a more robust defense of the values endorsed by Christ? Why are so many Christian religious, political, and business leaders apologists for our self-centered, greed-driven, and vengeful secular culture? It seems to me that when the body of Christ does not resemble the teachings of Jesus, something has gone very, very wrong.
No comments:
Post a Comment