The Death of Christian America

Sing the sad songs, drape the flag over the coffin, toss a rose in the grave and give the grieving widow a hug: the idea of a Christian America is dead. Done. Buried.

And unlike our Christian Savior, it ain’t coming back.

Maybe it was a pipe dream. Maybe it was an illusion. Maybe it was too fragile to even have a real chance, but the fact of the matter is that the United States of America now has about as much to do with Christianity as Longhorn’s Steakhouse has to do with ascetic veganism.

You can point the finger at politics if you’d like, the original quick fix that became a gateway drug for deeper, darker narcotics. Or perhaps it was the free market system with its promise of great riches without necessarily great pains. Maybe it really was liberalism, with it’s capitulation to such horrible things like science and social progress, that struck the death blow.

It honestly doesn’t matter.

Sure, some folks are screaming about the gays. And the global warmers. Don’t forget the feminists. And the sexually promiscuous. Maybe they did have something to do with it. Maybe it was all one massive conspiracy, where everyone gathered around and plotted the death of the Christian faith in the public sphere, like a demented game of Clue in reverse.

I can picture a huge, secret convention taking place in Las Vegas at Caesar’s Palace, each different cadre represented by a colorful stereotype boss-character complete with entourage and bodyguards. I bet they laughed themselves silly while discussing how to get abortion normalized, evolution widely accepted, and at the same time get TV programs like “The Jersey Shore” annual television deals. The different heads of the anti-Christian factions probably sat underneath palm trees sipping pina coladas and wearing sunglasses, all the while innocent Christians went about their business with no knowledge that their faith was about to be undermined.

In fact, I’m sure it happened that way, and the liberal media covered it up while corporations who shared in the anti-Christian, anti-family agenda, funneled money into the correct coffers to keep the plan rolling. And now, they’ve won.

They’ve won, and we Christians can sit back and comfort ourselves that our efforts at making the country a better place weren’t flawed, they were sabotaged. We can take comfort in the fact that it wasn’t our anger, greed, lust, arrogance, hypocrisy, apathy, and selfishness that somehow did us in. It was those pesky reporters at CNN. And Keith Olbermann. And Rachel Maddow.

Oh, and don’t forget Jon Stewart.

It had to be them, because it couldn’t have been us; not when we have righteousness on our side like a cudgel with which we could beat the living snot out of people. Yeah, the more I think about it, the more it had to be that stupid Dan Savage guy.

I mean, our message was so simple, so easy: God loves you! We love you! You need to be saved! And shave. And quit listening to Mumford and Sons. And thinking differently from us. And watching GCB on ABC Sunday nights. And reading Harry Potter.

Become like us. No, not like us, like Jes-Us. Because Jes-Us loves you, as long as you look like and think like and act like Jes-Us. And when you accept Jes-Us as your Savior, we will make you into his image: clean cut, conservative, ready to take home to mom or Norman Rockwell.

Jes-Us.

A false god. A false promise. Now, all that’s left is ashes.

We should sprinkle them on our head and repent, beg God for mercy and for restoration, and we should then do what we were supposed to do in the first place, preach the Good News of Christ’s Kingdom and not our own. Let the government do what it wants to, but let us do what we are commanded: love God, and love others, with abandon and sincerity and passion. Let us obey God and live as citizens of His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

We do that, and He’ll take care of the rest. Guaranteed.

So let’s bury the old dead Christian America. We don’t need her anymore. Instead, let’s embrace the One we do need, the One who died to bring us eternal life.

Have you met Him? His name is Jesus. And He’s more amazing than you can imagine.