{"id":5566,"date":"2020-05-13T20:06:09","date_gmt":"2020-05-13T20:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/jaysondbradley\/?p=5566"},"modified":"2020-05-14T02:03:48","modified_gmt":"2020-05-14T02:03:48","slug":"how-a-plague-exposed-the-christian-nation-myth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jaysondbradley\/2020\/05\/how-a-plague-exposed-the-christian-nation-myth\/","title":{"rendered":"How a Plague Exposed the “Christian Nation” Myth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/p>\n

The evidence is in. The United States can finally abandon the pretense that it is a Christian nation. For most of us, this isn\u2019t news. Since its inception, America has demonstrated many of the same strengths and character flaws as other colonial western nations.<\/p>\n

But if COVID-19 has done anything, it\u2019s revealed that the U.S. brand of Christianity doesn\u2019t look anything like Jesus.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Take up your cross<\/span><\/h2>\n

There\u2019s a point in the gospels when Jesus reveals he\u2019s going to die. Peter promptly rebukes him. After all, Jesus can\u2019t die. They\u2019ve put all their hope in him as the Messiah and they expect him to deliver them from Roman oppression.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus tells Peter to can it, but then follows it up with these words, \u201cWhoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it\u201d (Matt. 16:24\u201325).<\/span><\/p>\n

Christians sum up Jesus\u2019 words here with the phrase \u201cdying to self.\u201d They love the term and use it often. But for the most part, it\u2019s a poetic abstraction, a form of spiritual idealism. It\u2019s a difficult conviction to hold when your cultural ethos focuses on your individual right to pursue happiness.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the Incarnation, Jesus laid aside his deity to identify with humanity (<\/span>Philippians 2<\/span><\/a>). And at Calvary, he laid down his human life to make reconciliation possible. In both actions\u2014laying aside his deity and taking up his cross\u2014he renounced his rights.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In a culture and economy that operates on consumption and acquisition, it\u2019s difficult to convince Christians to renounce anything. In fact, quite often when American Christians are asked to give up something for the sake of others, it\u2019s interpreted as persecution.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One doesn\u2019t have to search hard for stories about churches who continued to meet against the recommendation of authorities, even when it put people at risk.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t tread on me<\/span><\/h2>\n

Christianity in America is so entangled with patriotism and exceptionalism. When asked to shelter in place, Christians don\u2019t think it\u2019s odd to deck themselves out in G.I. Joe cosplay complete with AR-15s to storm a government building and demand their rights.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But at the same time, they\u2019re unflinching in their support of authority being misused against others.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When an unarmed black man or woman is shot and killed on camera, they instantly make excuses on behalf of authorities. That can look like trotting out an old mugshot to prove that person\u2019s terrible character, or simply pointing out that they got themselves killed by not being obedient enough.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But when asked to stay home, patriots have no problem grabbing their guns and defying orders. The mixture of Christianity and Americanism is a troubling tincture, enabling people to cite Romans 13 to get others to obey authority while they stock up weapons to fight off a potentially tyrannical government.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Any religion that demands that others take up their cross while <\/span>we<\/span><\/em> take up our sword is not Christianity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Failing the mask test<\/span><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s strange, but nothing reveals the rot at the center of American Christianity like the response people have had to wearing masks. It requires zero sacrifice to put a mask on\u2014but that\u2019s still too much of an ask for many Americans.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mask wearing is really the perfect litmus test for self-denial. It\u2019s something we do for others. My mask protects you, and your mask protects me. It\u2019s not only a legitimate way to stop the spread of germs, but it also communicates our care for others.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So when a store like Costco or Trader Joe\u2019s refuses to allow someone in without a mask, it\u2019s to protect their employees (who aren\u2019t getting paid what they deserve) and other shoppers. They\u2019re asking people to take the health of others seriously. Because the choice not to wear a mask doesn\u2019t communicate that you\u2019re OK with getting sick; it communicates that you\u2019re OK with getting others sick.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s such a low bar for denying one\u2019s self. And yet, there are people all over the country who refuse this small act of solidarity. Their discomfort and inconvenience is too big of an ask.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Following Jesus requires sacrifice<\/span><\/h2>\n

Jesus asked us to take up our cross and follow him. Following him looks like self-sacrifice. He is our model and we are his followers insofar as we <\/span>follow <\/span><\/em>him.<\/span><\/p>\n

I can imagine many American Christians reading this and saying, \u201cJesus chose to make a sacrifice. I\u2019m being expected to. I should have the freedom to choose how to carry my cross.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s not forget that Jesus suffered the indignity of an unfair trial in a kangaroo court. The Sanhedrin was looking for any excuse to kill him. His life was taken from him. His attitude of self-sacrifice was a preparation for a final act of genuine sacrifice he was prepared to make\u2013but it wasn\u2019t like he walked into Pilate\u2019s office, slammed three nails on the desk, and asked to be crucified.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He was ready for the ultimate sacrifice, but he didn\u2019t <\/span>want<\/span><\/em> it. He prayed for God to spare him this fate (<\/span>Matthew 26:38-40<\/span><\/a>).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Following his example, every one of the disciples stoically endured horrible treatment from officials and their countrymen. But they had renounced the expectation to be treated fairly. They didn\u2019t take up swords and demand their rights. They modeled themselves after their king.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

American Christianity makes salvation a personal commodity. It\u2019s something you acquire through invocation\u2013say the right prayer and you\u2019re in. It places certain social and moral expectations on us, but it doesn\u2019t infringe upon our liberty. No one can place expectations upon us. It\u2019s an insurance policy we purchase that allows us to pursue the American dream without fear of our eternal future.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We like to identify ourselves as a Christian nation, a city on a hill. But think about it a minute. What is it that separates America from every other nation on earth? We\u2019ve become an epicenter for a disease that has killed more than 80,000 of our fellow citizens. And we\u2019re the only country that would rather go to war with our local government to protect our individual freedom than make sacrifices for the greater good.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s taken a pandemic to see the gulf between historic Christianity and its American counterpart. All it took was an expectation of community responsibility to tear off the mask and reveal its true face.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The evidence is in. The United States can finally abandon the pretense that it is a Christian nation. For most of us, this isn\u2019t news. Since its inception, America has demonstrated many of the same strengths and character flaws as other colonial western nations. But if COVID-19 has done anything, it\u2019s revealed that the U.S. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3080,"featured_media":5569,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-jesus","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nHow a Plague Exposed the "Christian Nation" Myth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The evidence is in. The United States can finally abandon the pretense that it is a Christian nation. For most of us, this isn't news. 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