Recently a billboard near the mouth of the Lincoln Tunnel in New Jersey made national news. The sign, sponsored by the group American Atheists, read: “You KNOW it’s a Myth. This Season, Celebrate Reason.” It’s the most recent in a series of incidents revealing that Christianity no longer holds the same status in our society it enjoyed as recently as a generation long ago. Sociologists predict that the Church’s influence and privilege will continue to shrink in the future as America becomes more pluralistic and secular. Some even foresee the day whey religious organizations, including churches, are no longer tax exempt unless they can prove the worth of the services they offer to the community. While this is an unwelcome development for 21st century American congregations, it does provide an opportunity to reconsider how Christian faith shapes our interactions with the rest of society.
Here are two questions I think about as I consider the current cultural environment:
1. What is the best way to nurture Christian faith in a culture which is apathetic or hostile to what we believe?
2. Do my actions and priorities differentiate me from non-believers or believers in other religions?
And here’s one more that most Americans have not had to consider since the Pilgrims came here looking for freedom from religious persecution:
What would I be willing to give up/sacrifice for the sake of my faith? Extra sleep on Sunday morning, free-time, respect of others, sports, wealth, family … life itself?
In the Gospel of Luke we read:
Then he said to them all, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words, of them the Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. (Luke 9: 23-26)
As we enter the second decade of the 21st century those words seem more relevant than they have been in a long time. Christ and our culture have parted ways. We can’t take both roads; we have to chose.