I recently read this week’s Newsweek cover story, The End of Christian America, by Jon Meacham.  (That’s the title online, anyway.  The cover of the printed copy reads: The Decline and Fall of Christian America.)  He notes that recent surveys of Americans have shown that today fewer people are identifying themselves as Christians (from 86% in 1990 to 76% in 2008) while more are identifying themselves as atheists or agnostics (from 1 million in 1990 to 3.6 million in 2009).  Coinciding with this is the apparent decline of the political and cultural influence of what is usually called “the religious right.”  Some evangelicals are saying we are entering a post-Christian era in the United States.  It’s an interesting article, and I have to say I don’t find any of it too surprising, nor do I find any of it frightening or cause for alarm.

Unfortunately, it appears that enough people assumed that his article was an attack on Christianity that he had to write a follow up: Faith Isn’t Under Fire: The Difference Between Christianity and ‘Christian America.’ The fact that some people don’t seem to understand that these are two separate things is a bit frustrating to me.  I’ve bumped into plenty of Christians who don’t seem to get the idea that the church does best when it is not wed to political power.  We get hooked into thinking that all hell will break loose if we don’t rally behind this political party or vote for that ballot initiative.  But in fact, Jesus himself resisted political power and rejected the attempts of the people to make him king, opting instead to face death at the hands of the empire.  Yet the temptation is always there for Christians — especially here in America, with our strong religious heritage and representative democracy — to try to wield the sword of political power, to build our own empire in God’s name.

My hope, as we approach Easter Sunday in the midst of a changing religious, political, and economic landscape, is that we who call ourselves Christians will continue to trust and follow Jesus Christ.  I hope that we will remember that the way of Jesus is not that of wielding the sword of political influence against those who disagree with us but is that of loving service, even to those who consider themselves our enemies.  Easter Sunday and the resurrection of Jesus Christ show us that the power of God’s love will always be greater than the power of the empire.  So let’s hold tight to the unstoppable love of God and trust that the way of loving service is the way of transformation. Love wins.

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on any of this.  Please feel free to share them in the comments below!

Also, of course, if you don’t have a church home and live in or near Valparaiso, Indiana, we’d love to have you join us at Living Hope this Sunday morning at 9:30 at the Aberdeen Manor banquet hall. Details are on the Living Hope website.