Synthesis of the American Church

I have a theory that might explain the popularity of Christ of Culture in American churches. Not that it is any more or less prevalent in other nations, merely that I’ve noticed a lot of it in the churches I’ve been involved in. My theory is that many American churches confuse Christ and their culture because of fox-hole conversions of their members.

I noticed this especially this last week at church. Being the Sunday before Memorial Day, the church I attended included lots of patriotic hymns and prayers thanking God for our freedom at the expense of soldiers. Now, I am grateful for my freedoms guaranteed under the Constitution, but does God want me to have freedom? I don’t read about my rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (I know this is from the Declaration of Independance) anywhere in the Bible. In fact, I read the opposite in the first of ten commandments: you shall have no other gods before me- so much for God guaranteeing my freedom of religion. That’s what makes this Christ of Culture. We have made God into the image of our culture, making him a proponent of our Constitution and definitions of liberty and freedom.

Not only that but the hymns we sang were clear examples of Christ of Culture. They included vague references to some sort of God that made no attempt to resemble the God of the Bible. The “god” of these hymns more resembled the deistic God of the founding fathers.

Why would an otherwise orthodox church sell out and confuse Christ and Culture so quickly? How can a church that historically ignored the church–calendar because it wasn’t in the scriptures now add secular holidays to its worship service? Because of the fox-hole conversions of many of its members. Now let me guard my statements by being clear. I am very grateful for the hard work and sacrifices of our armed forces. My grandfather was a Marine and geat-uncle fought in World War I even though he had newly immigrated to the US from Norway. Two of my best friends are officers in the military- and I am very proud of them. Nevertheless I believe it was fox-hole conversions that leads to our ease in syncretism.

When I say “fox-hole conversion” I am not only talking about someone becoming a Christian during the stress of battle. I use this also to refer to (perhaps) the following explanations vets might have to explain some of the more gruesome and painful events they have experienced. I often think that they use God to help comfort themselves from the horrors they have seen. This isn’t necessarily wrong. It’s probably something I would do as well. Nonetheless it opens the door to Christ of Culture.

When these vets return home, their fears and pains undoubtedly still lingering, and they re-enter society they can’t shake their explanations that help them cope. When the years pass and they become leaders in their church they are still coping from their tragedies, using God to help them explain things to themselves. As leaders in their church, when they find an opportunity to thank this God for helping them in the day of their greatest need, they take it- naturally. Thus churches have Fourth of July Service, Memorial Day Events, and other Accomidationist events sprinkled throughout the year.

Is there a “cure” for this? Perhaps. I would gently teach people and encourage vets to deepen their understanding of who God is and what he’s said. One of the distinctive of the Christ of Culture perspective is that it has a low-view of God. By making God to be their coping mechanism, they have created a false-image of God. It can only be better for anyone doing this to deepen their understanding of Him, transforming him from a help to a helper- a creator God who has graciously saved sinners like us by Christ. With a higher view of God, the syncretism will begin to disappear.