Holy week finds God alive and well

Some would have us to believe that there are more unbelievers than believers in God. I am sure, but I do that those people in elected positions should not be using God as a 'prop'. Those of us that believe turn more people off about God because of our actions and not because of our words. When those of us that believe stay focused on the teachings of Christ, we would be more concerned about the least of these instead of reelections and bank accounts.

Is the Christian church slowly slouching toward an inevitable death? A study funded by Northwestern University says “yes,” concluding that Christianity is headed for extinction across the Western world.  With apologies to Friedrich Nietzsche, faith in God is very much alive in America this Holy Week. That is not to say that some religious leaders have not tried to destroy the institutions they run through dreadful misconduct.

The sex abuse scandals that rocked the Catholic Church were made worse by the Vatican’s shameful and slow response to generations of predatory priests. Evangelical preachers like Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart and Ted Haggard also became embroiled in sex scandals. Since their television platforms made them some of the most well known religious leaders, their very public falls fed into the cynicism of millions.

Too many other televangelists still pollute the airwaves begging for money while preaching the glories of the prosperous life. Jesus’ emphasis on servant leadership and humility obviously never penetrated the mind of these foul creatures.

While preachers and priests damaged the church’s reputation over the past 25 years, politicians did Christianity no favors either. The combination of religion and politics has been a toxic mix for a faith already in full retreat after the social upheaval of the 1960s.

The de facto alliance of religious conservatives with GOP candidates created even deeper divisions between liberal elites and conservative churchgoers—and assured that the church would have even fewer allies in the national press at the turn of the 21st century.

The reelection of George W. Bush in 2004 was followed by an unprecedented assault on the church from liberal media outlets. In apocalyptic rhetoric that predated Glenn Beck’s bizarre attacks against liberals, respected historian Garry Wills lashed out in the New York Times at America’s conservative Christian community for possessing ” a fundamentalist zeal, religious intolerance, and a hatred for modernity.”

Wills argued that Bush’s victory meant that the United States had more in common with al Qaeda than our Western European allies. Another Times column that week ominously suggested Bush’s Christian allies would now return America to the Dark Ages.

Actually, instead of being plunged into the Dark Ages, the American left experienced a renaissance of sorts following the election. Very soon after, a cottage industry in publishing sprung up that focused on attacking Bush, Christians, and the concept of God. Setting the Almighty up as a straw man during the Bush years was a very profitable business model for bookstores.

The New York Times best-seller’s list filled up with titles like “The God Delusion,” “God is Not Great,” “The Rise of Christian Nationalism” and “American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America."


Source Politico.com, Joe Scarborough